I was listening to a podcast recently of the world’s first female roadie, Aussie Tana Douglas. Fascinating lady. She spent time with many famous bands and musicians but what stuck in my head was when she spoke about AC/DC, but more specifically, something she said about Angus Young. I didn’t realise but he wore quite a few outfits not just the school uniform he became so famous for. I do remember the prison one he wore for ‘Jailbreak’ and he apparently wore a Superman costume as well. One thing Tana said was, yes, he wore many outfits/costumes, but they were never a distraction from his talent.
Tim Stevens, at Huntington Estate, is similar except he is a winemaker, not a guitarist (well, not that I’m aware of). When he makes the decision to put the finished wine into bottle, then put his name to the wine, he is sending out something that definitely shows his talent. There is no distraction. It is there for the punter to see, smell and taste. And, why wouldn’t you put your name to a quality wine such as this beauty.
It’s a lovely, bright and youthful colour…as expected. It smells divine. You can tell there is nothing but quality fruit here just by the aromas emanating from the glass. Think dark cherry and blackcurrant characters, a savouriness there too and oak just poking through on the nose.
Tasting this wine is based around three words. Complex, Concentrated and Charming. Abundant, bold, dark fruit flavours to the fore. Blackberries, dark cherries, plums and blueberries too. There’s a fresh red fruit ‘complementary’ factor as well (sorry, I don’t know how else to describe it) and a dark chocolate influence. It’s rich and smooth, it’s intense yet there’s a certain, sort of, elegance about it too (that’s that charm I mentioned earlier) and lingers longingly on the palate. Oak has certainly been well played and the tannins let you know they’re about but, with lots of swirling in the glass, they eased up and contributed perfectly to the impressiveness of this wine. Just superb!
Region: Mudgee, NSW Price: $100 Source: Sample thanks to Huntington Estate
