Mac Forbes

Mac Forbes grew up in the Yarra Valley, where his parents picked grapes for the iconic Mount Mary estate during the 1970s and 1980s. That early family connection to the land and to Mount Mary's deeply Burgundian-styled winemaking shaped Mac's lifelong perspective on Yarra Valley terroir. After completing winemaking studies, Mac gained foundational experience at Mount Mary itself, working with the John Middleton legacy on the estate's Quintet Cabernet blend and Pinot Noir programs. He subsequently joined Coldstream Hills, the James Halliday-founded estate in the Lower Yarra valley floor, gaining exposure to commercial-scale Pinot Noir winemaking and the regional contrasts between Upper Yarra cool elevated sites and Lower Yarra valley floor warmth. A pivotal period followed with Portuguese winemaker Dirk Niepoort of Niepoort Vinhos in the Douro Valley, where Mac absorbed Niepoort's deeply terroir-driven, low-intervention winemaking philosophy and the importance of site-specific bottlings as expressions of place. Mac Forbes founded his own label in 2004 and set up the winery in Healesville at 770 Healesville Koo Wee Rup Road, establishing the operation that would become one of the Yarra Valley's most articulate sub-zonal mappers.

• Mac Forbes grew up in Yarra Valley; parents picked grapes for iconic Mount Mary estate during 1970s and 1980s
• Foundational winemaking experience at Mount Mary (John Middleton legacy) and Coldstream Hills (James Halliday-founded Lower Yarra estate)
• Formative period with Portuguese winemaker Dirk Niepoort of Niepoort Vinhos in Douro Valley; absorbed terroir-driven low-intervention philosophy
• Founded Mac Forbes label 2004; winery in Healesville at 770 Healesville Koo Wee Rup Road; twentieth harvest completed 2024

Mac Forbes has become one of the most vocal and methodical champions of Yarra Valley sub-zonal identity, building a six-vineyard sourcing model that maps township-level terroir differences across the valley. The Yarra Valley GI is broadly divided into Lower Yarra (the valley floor around Coldstream, Healesville, and Yarra Glen, with warmer growing conditions and clay-loam alluvial soils) and Upper Yarra (the cool elevated sites at 200-400 metres elevation around Hoddles Creek, Woori Yallock, Wesburn, Warburton, and Yarra Junction, with grey loamy clay over siltstone soils and significantly cooler growing-season conditions). Mac Forbes sources from both sub-zones to capture the full range of Yarra expression: Coldstream represents the warmer Lower Yarra valley floor paradigm with riper Pinot Noir character, Wesburn and Hoddles Creek represent the cool elevated Upper Yarra cool-climate expression, and Woori Yallock occupies the cool elevated Upper Yarra zone with distinct soil and aspect variation from Wesburn and Hoddles Creek. Yarra Junction and Gruyere round out the six-vineyard portfolio. This sub-zonal mapping approach has helped raise awareness of lesser-known sub-zones that might otherwise have remained in the shadow of more established Yarra addresses, and has become a model for other Yarra Valley boutique producers exploring single-vineyard methodology.

• Yarra Valley GI broadly divides into Lower Yarra (valley floor, warmer, clay-loam alluvial soils) and Upper Yarra (cool elevated 200-400m, grey loamy clay over siltstone)
• Coldstream represents warmer Lower Yarra valley floor paradigm; Wesburn, Hoddles Creek, Woori Yallock represent cool elevated Upper Yarra expression
• Six-vineyard sourcing portfolio: Coldstream, Wesburn, Hoddles Creek, Woori Yallock, Yarra Junction, Gruyere; township-level terroir mapping
• Sub-zonal mapping approach has raised awareness of lesser-known sub-zones and become a model for other Yarra Valley boutique producers

The Mac Forbes Reserve Selection (RS) Pinot Noir series anchors the estate's sub-zonal mapping methodology. Each RS bottling is a single-vineyard expression of one of the four primary Yarra sub-zones in the Mac Forbes sourcing portfolio. RS Coldstream draws on Lower Yarra valley floor fruit from older clay-loam alluvial sites, producing a riper Pinot Noir paradigm with darker red fruit, fuller body, and earlier-developing tannin structure that reflects the warmer growing conditions. RS Wesburn sources cool elevated Upper Yarra fruit from sites at approximately 250-300 metres elevation, producing more aromatic Pinot Noir with red cherry, savoury forest-floor character, and finer-grained tannins. RS Hoddles Creek draws on cool elevated Upper Yarra fruit at approximately 250-400 metres elevation, with grey loamy clay over siltstone soils producing structurally driven Pinot Noir with significant savoury complexity and ageing potential. RS Woori Yallock occupies the cool elevated Upper Yarra zone with distinct aspect and soil variation from Wesburn and Hoddles Creek, producing perfumed aromatic Pinot Noir with bright red fruit, lifted savoury character, and the silky tannin profile that has earned it particular critical attention. Across all four RS bottlings, the same minimal-intervention methodology applies: hand-harvested fruit, wild yeast fermentation, unfined and unfiltered bottling, lower alcohol levels emphasising freshness and site expression over richness.

• RS Coldstream: Lower Yarra valley floor; riper Pinot Noir paradigm with darker red fruit, fuller body, and earlier-developing tannin structure
• RS Wesburn: cool elevated Upper Yarra at 250-300m; aromatic Pinot Noir with red cherry, savoury forest-floor character, and fine-grained tannins
• RS Hoddles Creek: cool elevated Upper Yarra 250-400m on grey loamy clay over siltstone; structurally driven Pinot Noir with significant ageing potential
• RS Woori Yallock: cool elevated Upper Yarra zone with distinct aspect and soil variation; perfumed aromatic Pinot Noir with bright red fruit and silky tannins

The Mac Forbes philosophy is built on minimal intervention and maximum attention in the vineyard. Vineyards sit at elevations ranging from approximately 50 metres in Lower Yarra Coldstream sites up to nearly 1,000 metres at high Strathbogie Ranges Riesling sites, across soils that shift from red volcanic material to grey loamy clay overlying siltstone in the Upper Yarra cool elevated zone. Hand harvesting preserves fruit integrity. Wild yeast fermentation adds textural complexity and site-specific microbiome expression. All wines are released unfined and unfiltered, preserving aromatic complexity at the cost of slight bottle variation. The result is a house style defined by elegance, precision, and firm structure rather than richness or overt fruit weight, with lower alcohol levels (typically 12 to 13 percent) that reflect the cool-climate sites and modest-ripeness harvest decisions. Mac Forbes argues that minimal-intervention winemaking allows site-specific terroir to express itself without winemaker overlay, and the RS series specifically is designed to maximise the differences between sub-zones rather than producing a unified house style across the range.

• Elevations 50 metres in Lower Yarra Coldstream up to nearly 1,000 metres at high Strathbogie Ranges Riesling sites
• Soils shift from red volcanic material to grey loamy clay over siltstone in Upper Yarra cool elevated zone
• Hand harvesting, wild yeast fermentation, unfined and unfiltered bottling preserve site-specific microbiome expression
• Lower alcohol levels (typically 12-13 percent) reflect cool-climate sites and modest-ripeness harvest decisions; firm structure over richness

Beyond the Yarra Pinot Noir and Chardonnay core, Mac Forbes sources Riesling from the Strathbogie Ranges, an elevated cool-climate region north of the Yarra Valley with granite-derived soils that produce structurally driven Riesling with crisp citrus and mineral drive. The Strathbogie Ranges Riesling offers a stylistic counterpoint to the Yarra Pinot Noir focus and demonstrates Mac Forbes' broader interest in cool-climate Australian sites beyond the Yarra Valley. The experimental batch (EB) series gives the winery room to explore varieties and techniques outside the main range, with rotating limited-quantity releases of Gewürztraminer, Petit Manseng (a rare southwest French variety), Syrah, Barbera, Dolcetto, and Chenin Blanc. These experimental bottlings reflect Mac Forbes' appetite for pushing beyond conventional Yarra Valley expectations and provide a creative outlet for site and variety exploration. The EB series has become a sought-after small-quantity allocation among collectors interested in unusual Australian variety expressions. Total Mac Forbes production sits between 2,500 and 3,500 cases annually, with the boutique scale allowing tightly focused quality across all bottlings.

• Strathbogie Ranges Riesling sourced from elevated cool-climate region north of Yarra Valley; granite-derived soils produce structurally driven Riesling
• Experimental batch (EB) series: rotating limited-quantity releases of Gewürztraminer, Petit Manseng, Syrah, Barbera, Dolcetto, Chenin Blanc
• EB series provides creative outlet for site and variety exploration; sought-after small-quantity allocation among collectors
• Total production 2,500-3,500 cases annually across full range; boutique scale allows tightly focused quality across all bottlings