I would love to see the look on a winemaker’s face and her/his reaction and excitement at finding a barrel or two of something just that little bit special.  A wine that shows that extra ‘something’ about their vineyard.  I wonder if they would yell out to others to come see and taste, or would they look around furtively to see if anyone is looking then joyously jumping while punching the air before composing themselves and taking another sip just to check it again.

With all due respect to Tim Stevens, Winemaker at Huntington Estate, I don’t reckon he did any sort of jumping when he tasted a sample of this wine while in barrel.  Whichever way he decided to ‘celebrate’ his discovery,  he made the decision that,  “there were a couple of barrels” he “couldn’t blend away and so bottled (them) separately as a ‘Bin’ wine.”  Good decision Tim and thank you.

Looks divine, smells delicious, tastes great!  That about sums up this wine but there is more to it than that.  Allow me to continue.

The deep and dense colour from the core to the cusp got my attention immediately.  Swirl it about and that density is evident even on the nose, although a better word is probably richness.  Black fruits and plums are the obvious aromas for me and there’s some oak on show here too.  On the palate the oak is a little bit more obvious, but the lush blackberry and plum fruit are up to the challenge while a spicy element adds a nice touch.  To finish things off, it’s smooth and long with a creamy sort of mouthfeel. The tannins aren’t shy either.  This just shows how it portends well for it’s future development.

These “…small parcels of wine that offer an interesting difference to the core range of wines” could well prove to be a popular player in the Huntington Estate range.  I wouldn’t be at all surprised.

Huntington Estate Website

Region: Mudgee, NSW     Price: $32     Source: Sample thanks to Huntington Estate and Define Wine