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Huntington Estate was established by Sydney lawyer Bob Roberts in 1969. His daughter Susie joined the winemaking team in 1993. More recently, the winery was purchased by Tim Stevens, who now also makes the wine. I believe he doesn’t intend to change the course of the S.S.Huntington, and the style will remain unchanged.

A rich nose, with red and black fruits, red cherries and blackberries, but also some damp earth and wood spices. The palate is rich and solid, big generous fruits with savoury complexity, smoke, bacon and dried meats. Lovely tannin structure. Still a very young wine; can be consumed now but should go another 10 years.

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Damp earth, bright cherry fruit, red leather, liquorice, a little milky and varnishy. The palate showed red currants, raspberries, dark fruits, wood spice, earth and a bit of pepper, finishing with some raspberry acid. A bit stinky really too; rustic would be the polite way of putting it. Quite a fresh bottle, and surprisingly it still has got quite a bit of life left in it. Now I have been disappointed with my last few bottle of Special Reserve wines - maybe they all need 14 years (or more).

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Twelve years old and still a dark red. Nuts and plums, brown fruits, tanned plums, leather and varnish, quite earthy, reminds me of a wolf lair the last time I was in one. On the palate, raspberries and leather, vanilla, a bit edgy and a bit stale too, rustic and sour. It also seemed to be drying out, at least compared to the last bottle I had, and hence the revised drinking window. And finally, I kinda expected it to flesh out and improve with some time in the glass but alas it was quite resolute. Drink up!

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I’m feeling a bit weird and quirky today. I know I am. Chambourcin is a beastly grape at the best of times but I like to open them just to remind myself of this fact. It’s somewhat like “The Kramer” - “He is a loathsome, offensive brute, yet I can’t look away.”

Lurid purple colour. Aromas of meat, violets, crushed dark berry, dark grape juice and a little spice. As always with Chambourcin a fascinating and challenging smell and one I like. On the palate meaty, spicy and full of dark berries and raisin. Bounces enthusiastically onto the front palate and then springs off into the distance just as quickly. Gritty tannins, prominent acidity and warm alcohol. Finishes meaty and spicy with drying raspy tannins. It’s not boring, a bit different, and not a bad example of the grape either. I’d go it with a hot curry.

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I should probably re-visit a few Mudgee producers. The region does not seem to get much press for one reason or another. It’s one of the prettiest regions in Australia and I used to like some of the wines a fair bit.

Aromas of peach, spice, butterscotch and toasty vanilla oak. Sunny fruit with a good dollop of cream. On the palate full bodied with peach, orange, butter and spicy toasty oak. Buttery texture but plenty of crisp acidity to go with it. Lots of flavour here. Warmish spicy creamy finish of good length. An old school crowd pleasing wine but a very good example of the style. It makes me feel like it’s 1991 again!

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Ah, a bit of the old Mudgee mud. I do like Mudgee, good honest earthiness, and I used to drink quite alot of Thistle Hill and Huntington Estate, but I haven’t had much wine from this region for quite a while now.

This one showed red cherries, earth, polished leather, mud (I had to say it), tobacco and mushrooms. The palate is soft and leathery, with red fruits and earth, but it is clean earth mind you, a mushroomy dryness and a touch of acid on the finish. A very pleasant wine, and offers a differently styled wine at a reasonable price.

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I opened a bottle of this last night and it seemed a little flat and old, and there was a leathery character than seemed to be masking the dreaded aroma of cardboard. So I opened a second bottle and indeed, the first one must have been corked. Luckily a replacement is already on the way - thank you Huntington Estate!

A firm red with no brown (unlike the first bottle). Red fruits and earth, brown leather and only a touch of varnish. Quite lively really, and backed up by soft earthy fruits on the palate, sour cherries and dirt. There was bountiful acid on the finish, which was less noticeable with food, but it was still there. A pleasant wine, but drink sooner rather than later.

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I like Mudgee as a region but really don’t get to drink much of it these days. I think they should go in for a bit of shameless self promotion. How many people outside of NSW have had much experience with Mudgee wines? Not many I’d bet.

Strong purple red. Aromas of plum/cherry, pepper, cloves and dusty vanilla oak. On the palate medium to full bodied with plum, cherry, pepper, earth and spice flavours. Nice and dry with grainy loose knit tannins. Spicy finish. A good and authentic wine. I’d really fancy this with a steak and chips.

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Garnet red in colour. An oaky nose: coconut liqueur, fondant, choc-malt, creamy. The palate also shows creamy oak, but with some red plum and cherries, very smooth but very much oak-driven at this stage. Not sure if it would be better drunk now while the fruit is holding up, or later when the oak has subsided and integrated further. Regardless, a fine drink indeed.

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A far better nose than the 1998 - red fruits, earth and spice, deep and rich fruit, and a touch of menthol. The palate also shows rich red fruits, with a touch of new leather and red liquorice. The tannins are on the firmer side; it really is a lovely savoury wine with some earthy touches. Good to go now, but should live a few more years easily. An honest effort.

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A confected nose: nougat and crème caramel – there might be fruit in there somewhere, but it is buried. The palate is sweet and confected too, creamy, with vague red fruits. The length is good and the wine itself is quite smooth, but too sweet for me and I do wonder if I’m drinking oak or fruit. I have vague memories of ’98 being a difficult vintage in Mudgee (lots of rain during vintage), so I suspect this wine might just be a product of the vintage.

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I think this is a record for Winorama - McLaren Vale 67%, Mudgee 24%, Alpine Valley 4.6%, Limestone Coast 4.3%, Pyrenees 3.3%, Hunter Valley 2.3%.

Crimson red. Aromas of red berry, spice and a light smoky earthy character - a bit like a Graves actually. On the palate it is only medium bodied with red berry, blackcurrant and those earthy characters again. Dry sandy tannins and a palate cleansing dry, somewhat abrupt, finish with some alcohol warmth. This is a serviceable dinner claret style and I like it for that. You can’t really complain at the price either.

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I’ve got quite a few dozen wines from Huntington, and the upcoming Huntington event reminded me it was time to have another bottle.

Eleven years old and still a good red in colour. A nose of red and black berries, earth and polished leather and earthy spices. The palate shows liqueured red cherries, earth, firm but smooth tannins, sweet fruits and old wooden casks. Quite a stylised wine, and not particularly mainstream – there are not many wines like this in Australia – and you can only but admire it of its honesty.

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Soft and cuddly nose: red cherries, cherry liqueur, almost medicinal, with some earthy notes. Palate is true to the nose: red fruits, savoury earth, wood spice, leather, old camphory wood, certainly lots of secondary characters. A wine that is orthogonal to lots of wine on the Australian market at the moment, but when consumed with food, it sits nicely in the background without feeling the need to impress and draw attention to itself.

Actually, I do fear that this was not the best bottle, because for a Huntington this is not terribly old, and it did seem to lack a bit of freshness, so I will be grabbing another bottle from the racks as soon as possible.

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