Mac Forbes on Connection to Place, His Early Days & Farming Without Compromise In The Yarra Valley

From nervy beginnings to one of the most ambitious dry-farming vineyard projects in Australia, Mac Forbes has always done things his own way. In this wide-ranging conversation with one of our best mates in the Yarra Valley, Tom sits down with Mac at his Don Valley site to trace the story of Mac Forbes Wines - from early vintages to today.

They cover the origins of the single vineyard focus, lessons from Burgundy and Mount Mary, the struggles of farming without compromise, and the radical patience behind the seven-year wait for fruit from his Don Valley vineyard. We love Mac; he's been one of our closest producers since the early days of DD. It was great to finally get a chance to sit down in his shed, open some great old wines (and some brand spanking new!) and chat all things Mac Forbes.

⏱️ Chapters
00:00 – Intro: Flat tyres, rain & a roaring fire in Don Valley 
01:32 – The beginnings: Single vineyard focus & the 2006 Woori Yallock Chardonnay 
03:00 – John Middleton’s reaction & the search for connection to place 
04:28 – Growing up in the Yarra & finding meaning in vineyards 
06:00 – Ceremony, generosity & falling for wine 
07:00 – Ferguson vineyard: discovery, farming changes & chapters in the wines 
08:50 – From Mount Mary to Europe, returning to start his own label 
10:00 – A new generation of winemakers in the 2000s 
11:00 – Branding, labels & why place comes before variety 
12:20 – Tasting the 2015 Woori Yallock & the shift in farming 
13:30 – Oxera, dry farming & the stretch of those years 
15:30 – Understanding Ferguson’s DNA & letting the site speak 
17:00 – Why soils matter & the pursuit of clarity 
18:15 – Trials, cordon height & learning from mistakes 
20:20 – The 2022 Ferguson: intensity, structure & tannin clarity 
22:30 – In the winery: skins, concrete & calm after chaos 
26:30 – The vineyards today: Yarra, Spear Gully, Nambruke & Don 
28:00 – The Don Valley project: planting, patience & first Chenin Blanc crop 
30:00 – Looking ahead: excitement, fear & the future of the Yarra Valley 
31:30 – Legacy, land & doing things your own way 

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