Our Wines
Australia
We proudly represent Mac Forbes from Melbourne and Fraser Gallop Estate from Margaret River.
Yarra Valley
Mac and I have been discussing the idea of a wine map of the Yarra Valley for a while. On our very first meeting he explained his interest in creating a series of small volume single vineyard pinots to explore and shed light on what he calls "Yarra sub-regionality"
The attached map is his first published version. It's not perfect, and could be clearer. But it is a start, and any region serious enough to claim differences from one part to another ought to have something like this. The largest distinction, and one which Mac talks about a lot is the difference between Upper and Lower Yarra. Mac firmly believes that his Upper Yarra Vineyards (to the right of the map - Woori Yallock, Hoddles Creek, Wesburn) are the areas which in the medium term will produce the best pinot noir, for being cooler, higher, south facing, and , because of all this, able to be dry farmed. The coloured blocks don't show which parts are planted and which not. It's simply showing local political commune boundaries from one village to the next. On a subsequent version I think contours could be clearer too.
But as we begin to import more of the single vineyard Pinots which Mac produces, I think this map is very helpful for giving an idea of the provenance of them. Any comments, ideas for improvement of subsequent editions will be gratefully received here.
Here is the detailed chart of each vineyard:
| Vineyard | Grape Variety |
Area (ha/ac) |
Approximate Elevation (metres) |
Aspect |
Rainfall* (millimeters) |
General Soil |
| Dixons Creek | Pinot Noir | 0.4/1.0 | 80 | gentle east to neutral | 750 | mottled duplex grey silty loam |
| Yarra Glen | Pinot Noir | 0.8/2.0 | 112-140 | east | 558 | shallow silty grey/brown loam overlying granite |
| Coldstream | Pinot Noir | 0.8/2.0 | 85-126 | west | 697 | duplex yellow brown loam/grey silty loam |
| Gruyere | Pinot Noir | 0.55/1.4 | 108-120 | north | 702 | duplex yellow - grey brown loam, with concretions of mudstones |
| Syrah | 0.55/1.4 | 880 | ||||
| Cabernet Sauvignon | 0.7/1.7 | 900 | ||||
| Merlot | 0.15/0.4 | 1200 | ||||
| Malbec | 0.05/0.1 | |||||
| Petit Verdot | 0.04/0.1 | |||||
| Cabernet Franc | 0.07/0.2 | |||||
| Woori Yallock | Pinot Noir | 1.36/3.4 | 100-145 |
south- south west |
880 | yellowish to grey gradational silty clay loam overlying clay |
| Chardonnay | 1.21/3.0 | |||||
| Hoddles Creek | Chardonnay | 1.4/1.0 | 170 | north | 900 | deep red friable, gradational |
| Westburn | Pinot Noir | 0.56/1.4 | 150-170 | east-north east | 1200 | duplex yellow brown loam to grey silty loam overlying clay |
* rainfall data estimated based on position and nearby stations
Click here to see a detailed map of the Yara Valley.
Margaret River
Click here to see a detailed map of the Yara Valley.