Huntington Estate is one of my favourite Mudgee wineries — when we visited it in 2013 I liked every single wine I tasted there. That occasion instilled so much confidence in Tim Stevens’s winemaking skills that I made an exception to my rule and once blindly bought a whole case of their wines just by phone; and the only thing that I regretted after tasting was that I didn’t order more. (It has to be said that those were their older wines that they sold as cleanskins, for the price of cleanskins — irresistible!)

This year our stay in Mudgee was just one night and I had to curtail my dégustation plans, but Huntington easily made the shortlist. I bought a couple of bottles there, one of which was my favourite blend — 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot. I should have kept it for longer but I found myself running out of red wine and its time had come just six months after the purchase.

When I poured the first glass and stuck my nose into it I had complete impression that I opened a jar of blackberry jam — not the supermarket, jellied-to-death variety, but the chunky artisan produce which I once bought at Pittwater Food and Wine Fair. The taste matched the expectation set by the aroma — dry, spicy with long bitterish finish, same as you get from fine dark chocolate. I had the first glass with beef-filled cabbage rolls for which the wine provided an uplifiting fresh contrast striking a chord with the spicy tomato sauce.

Two days later the dark chocolate and black berry flavors became more intense and were further brought out by sharp cheddar.

Although the cheese pairing was excellent, the wine demanded proper, rich food and next weekend we cooked lamb cutlets on the BBQ. The wine passed the BBQ test with aplomb — it was in complete harmony with pomegranate marinade and the smoky, woodfire flavour.

It’s a great wine but still quite young and will benefit from a few years in a cellar. If I have an opportunity I will definitely buy another bottle just to see what will become of it. Interestingly, during my 2013 visit to Huntington Estate I also bought Cabernet Sauvignon Merlot blend which at the time of tasting was 8 years old. If that tasting was any guide then 2013 vintage should definitely pick up another star in my rating by 2021.

P.S. Having written this I went to Huntington Estate website and found that this wine had been completely sold out. It’s the story of my life — I never buy enough good wine.