In 1969 Bob and Wendy Roberts planted vines in Mudgee. A young Sydney lawyer, Bob Roberts was part of the infamous ‘Bulletin Place’ crowd that was to transform the Australian Wine Industry.
Two of the most prominent members of this group were James Halliday and the late, great Len Evans. The group enjoyed wine from all parts of the world; the ‘wine bug’ had gripped most of them and many soon established vineyards, mostly in the Hunter Valley.
Unlike Len, James and other members of the group though, Bob decided that Mudgee presented a better climate for his favoured wine styles. He adored the classic reds from French regions such as Bordeaux, the Rhone Valley and Burgundy.
In 1969 he established Huntington Estate on the site of an old peach orchard and began his egalitarian mission to make some of Australia’s best wines at affordable prices.
Bob launched his wines with a focus on red wines that would past the test of time. Many of these wines were labelled with their relevant Bin numbers; many held a prefix of MB (medium bodied), FB (full bodied) or LB (light).
50 years on, with a nod to these early wines, two new Bin range wines have been released. These include the 2015 Huntington Estate ‘Bin 25’ Cabernet Sauvignon ($32) and 2015 Huntington Estate ‘Bin 18‘ Shiraz ($32).
The 2015 vintage in Mudgee was a return to a more ‘normal’ vintage, being warm but not too hot, dry but not drought and welcome, timely rain. Cooler evenings allowed a perfect ripening period, and ensured that the Huntington Estate winemaking team could harvest the fruit when they chose, as opposed to being dictated by weather.
“Our Bin wines are small parcels of wine that offer an interesting difference from our core range of wines,” explained winemaker Tim Stevens. “There were a couple of barrels that I couldn’t blend away, and so bottled separately as a ‘Bin’ wine. These are exciting wines that show the terroir of a single vineyard block, or even a couple of rows of the vineyard.”
Pricing and Distribution:
The Huntington Estate wines are available from the Huntington Estate Cellar Door and online via huntingtonestate.com.au
2015 Huntington Estate ‘Bin 25’ Cabernet Sauvignon (Mudgee, NSW) $32.00
2015 Huntington Estate ‘Bin 18’ Shiraz (Mudgee, NSW) $32.00