Mac Forbes Gembrook Village Pinot Noir 2022

The deepest, and most brooding of the range, yet curiously with the sweetest fruit profile. Sweet English strawberry and raspberry, kirsch and sweet Middle Eastern spices. Fascinating palate, due to its chalky, savoury, pithy and mineral profile, awash with sweet red fruits. Tertiary notes of herb, spice and compost are very subtle, but will no doubt develop and become more prominent in the years ahead. Waters Wine Co

From a single vineyard planted on granite; 10–20% whole bunches, fermented for three to four weeks on skins before being pressed to seasoned oak for 11 months. This is the first Gembrook pinot in the Village range. A medium and bright ruby garnet. Fragrant and darkly fruited, this offers black cherries and satsuma plums with hints of earth, clove and bay leaf. Firmly structured but well balanced, the medium-bodied palate is sapid, ferrous and long. Built to go with aged rib eye and the like, this will become more complex and softer with time. 94 Points, Halliday Wine Companion

Located at around 300m elevation at the southern end of the Yarra Valley, much of the Gembrook subregion is situated on red volcanic soils, with small outcrops of granite scattered across the region. The vineyard this fruit is drawn from grows entirely on one of those patches of granite, and we see this so clearly in the tactile structure of the wines. An exciting addition to the village portfolio.

Brooding dark cherry and berry fruits draw you in, evoking memories of black forest cake. Density and compression on the mid palate unfurl, with bright fruits coming to the fore and chalky structure providing freshness. Producer’s notes