Vítor Pereira was hoping his Wolves side could extend his unbeaten start to his reign as manager since taking over from Gary O’Neil, but high-flying Forest had other ideas as they raced into a seven-minute lead.
As they have done so many times, Forest broke on the counter through former Wolves man Morgan Gibbs-White, and though boos rang around Molineux, he fed Anthony Elanga, who duly returned the ball for the 24-year-old to fire home and silence the home crowd.
The Old Gold responded well to falling behind and had multiple opportunities to draw level, but a lack of quality in front of goal continually let them down.
First, Hwang Hee-chan drove into the box and his effort should have been turned in by Jørgen Strand Larsen, but the Norwegian failed to convert.
Then, Rodrigo Gomes unleashed a stinging volley which was palmed away by Matz Sels, before the Belgian denied Strand Larsen’s header from point-blank range.
Wolves were made to rue those missed chances, as Nuno Espírito Santo’s men doubled their lead moments before the break.
On yet another counter attack, Callum Hudson-Odoi broke into the hosts’ box before pulling the ball back for Chris Wood to sweep home his 12th PL goal of the season.
Forest had last failed to win a game when 2-0 up at HT in September 2022, and Wolves last came back to win from the same deficit in January 2020, so the omens were promising for the visitors.
Wolves didn’t go down with a whimper though, as the contest opened up following the restart, but Sels and Nikola Milenković stood firm at the back for the Reds who boast the division’s joint-best defensive record.
Just past the hour mark, Forest built on that foundation, and should have wrapped up victory when Elliott Anderson flashed a shot inches wide of the target.
Forest's superb game management allowed them to see out the rest of the contest with relative ease, even adding a third deep into stoppage time as substitutes James Ward-Prowse and Taiwo Awoniyi combined to allow the Nigerian to turn home into an empty net.
The visitors' 12th PL win of the season takes them to the 40-point mark and level with second-placed Arsenal, who they trail on goal difference.
Nuno's former employers, Wolves, on the other hand, remain outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone, though a sobering run of fixtures ahead outlines the size of the task ahead for new boss Pereira.