Two Furlongs owner Johnnie Furlong said the demanding standards of the show meant very few  Cabernets won medals, making the local vineyard’s bronze even more impressive.

“It’s the top judges and they really set a high standard,” Mr Furlong said.

“You’re up against all the wines from all around Australia.

“Even to get in the show, you’ve got to have won a gold medal for the wine at some stage, so it’s a very prestigious show.”

The 2009 Cabernet was released under Two Furlongs’ reserve label and has already been awarded gold medals at the Cowra Wine Show and the Winewise Small Vigneron Awards.

It will go on to compete this year in the Mudgee Wine Show and in Melbourne and Adelaide.

“It just highlights the region for the traditional grape variety of Cabernet Sauvignon,” Mr Furlong said.

At the time the Two Furlongs vineyard was established, in 1979, he said wine writers were describing the Mudgee region as “the next Coonawarra” for Cabernet.

With his vines now well-established, Mr Furlong said the vineyard was at its best and producing great flavours.

The Two Furlongs vineyard operates “the old fashioned way”, without irrigation, leading to a small yield of fruit but great intensity of flavour.

“We are truly boutique,” Mr Furlong said, explaining that only 350 cases of the 2009 Cabernet were produced.

The vineyard yields its best fruit in dry years such as 2009, with the Cabernet grown in 2006, another drought year, also earning the reserve label and winning a string of gold, silver and bronze medals.