2022 Mac Forbes Little Yarra Vineyard Pinot Noir

Little Yarra is the baby of Mac’s single-vineyard Pinot sites – planted in 2009 at Gladysdale, down in the southern end of the Valley. It’s the earliest block to be picked, shaped by warm air drifting down the valley and grey-brown clay soils that give the fruit a slightly fleshier profile than some of Mac’s higher, rockier sites.

The 2022 season was wet through winter and spring, which cut yields but left the vineyards healthy. Picking needed careful timing, and the small crop that came in had intensity and real drive. Fermentation ran with wild yeasts, about 20% whole bunches, and then a year in old oak before bottling unfined and unfiltered.

The wine is taut and a little racy at this stage. Red cherry, raspberry and rhubarb leaf sit alongside savoury spice and a firm line of tannin. It’s bright and energetic now, but the structure points clearly to more complexity with a few years’ rest in the cellar. A good decant is your friend if you’re drinking it young.