Two Mac Forbes wines – they’re great!

Mac Forbes is without a doubt my new favourite producer from Australia. His wines are sculpted entities of well-defined personality, quite different to the general style of piss boring rocket fuel pumped out by the tedious manufacturers of over-cooked jam who seem to populate Australia’s wine growing regions. Mac Forbes makes wines of real class; I strongly urge you to seek them out.

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Riesling rs37 2008, Mac Forbes

He’s put the amount of residual sugar on the label! Brilliant! If only some producers in Alsace would do this. This smells lovely. Plenty of ripe lime fruit which is combined with a slightly creamy, slightly orange pekoe tea minerality. By arse, an Australian Riesling that has distinct vineyard character; I’m pulsing with excitement to try such a thing. There is clearly focussed and precise beauty to this nose, but it is far more giving, interesting and attractive than Grosset Polish Hill. The 37g/l of residual sugar make this perceptibly sweet, but it has thrilling, spell-binding acidity which Mr Forbes must have picked up large bags of in Germany whilst he was learning the ropes there. This is a light-bodied, graceful palate with nothing out of place in its smart, sharp structure; the minerality, fruit, acidity and alcohol (9.5%) are all well-groomed into chic harmony. It strikes me that making such a wine is Australia is an incredibly brave move, but with the evident quality of this wine you’ve got to applaud the man. I certainly think this is palpably compelling and I want to drink it in vast measures until someone pours me a Pinot Noir of at least this quality.

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Pinot Noir ‘Woori Yallock’ 2008, Mac Forbes

Oh now this is a nose of really alluring Pinot. The fresh fruit character could come from a particularly charismatic Cote de Nuits producer, but it is more directly fruity and openly attractive than even most people on that great hillside can usually manage. Along with this appealing fruit there is a distinct, rich, earthy tang which is very flattering. This nose, let us not arse about here, is dazzlingly sex-tastic, invitingly ravishing. It has a terribly sophisticated palate with layers of delicious, polished fruit supported by svelte tannins and a arrestingly lively thrill of acidity. It is very long. And very, very lovely. I will admit that this might not have the ultimate complexity of a more decorous bottle of Burgundy, but it still has well-defined vineyard character and it explodes with ardour. I never thought I’d have a bottle of Pinot as delightful as this from Australia. It is a throbbingly gratifying Pinot to drink, from the moment the screwcap was popped my affection for it just grew and grew into colourful devotion. I really am sincerely smitten; we drink wines in the hope of having experiences like this.

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