Rarely do we take the time to spotlight a single wine here. But then, rarely do four Yarra Valley bigwigs band together on a joint bottling project that celebrates connection to Country quite like this. The 2025 Ngooleek Light Dry Red is a collaboration between Mac Forbes, Giant Steps, Jayden Ong and Centare Vineyard, along with activist Tony D’Abbs and Coranderrk Aboriginal Station, focused on fostering a deeper sense of place and belonging on Wurrundjeri land. All profits – about $10 a bottle – go directly to Coranderrk, so it’s as much about feeling good as it is drinking well.
And drink well you will. The wine is an equal-parts blend of pinot noir, shiraz, malbec and cabernet franc from all four wineries, in the form of a textbook end-of-summer red. Sinewy, silken-textured and crisp-edged, flush with red cherries, flicks of white pepper, resinous herbs and blood-orange acidity. Gravel-like minerality, too, with a saline snap to close. The face-value deliciousness is undeniable, but there’s real interest here behind the easy charm – and a good chill on it goes a very long way.