Review of the Royal Mail Dunkeld

[kirragc]

Well we had heard about the Royal Mail Hotel for a number of years now and as a surprise the good wife (now elevated to great wife) booked us in for the degustation. She had off loaded the kids for the weekend and had us set up for two nights in Dunkeld with a little walking in between to burn off any excess consumption that may occur.

Now at the Royal there are only two choices to make for degustation either the Herbivore or Omnivore menu and that the matched wines be either Villages or Vintages. Suffice to say the waiter didnt have to give us much time to consider the options.
Three days previously our youngest boy went to school, the day before I completed my last exam for my masters degree, we were a couple of days from out ninth wedding anniversary and our business had finally starting showing some profit. This was not an occasion for frugal explorations. The full Omnivore menu with the Vintage selection was mandatory.

Almost immediately we were welcomed by our Sommelier with a Philliponat Reserve Rose as a cleanser and match for the first of ten courses. A light pinky peach colour, superfine bead and an ethereal quality in that it lingered more as an idea than an aftertaste. Presently we were presented with a tile with our first selection of appetisers. Now the chef at the Royal obviously does not wish to give away any secrets and isnt prone to verbose descriptions or Ramsayesque insertions of 'delightful's and 'wonderfuls'.
Sardine on Toast
Pork Sandwich
Heirloom Tomato with Basil

The sardines were super fresh and the salt water zing with the house made bread were a clean match for the Philliponat as were the heirloom tomatos and basil. the pork sandwich was a slow cooked belly and the super soft gelatinous quality was probably a bit of a challenge for the wine. By far the wife and I were clearly in favour of the tomato and basil, something so simple but and extraordinay effort was made to attain perfection. One taste had three types of tomato and five types of basil.

Sugar Snap peas, soured milk, spearmint, sashimi
2007 Domaine Cailboudins 'les cris'
This two part dish had the shelled peas in a light ginger and spearmint gel next to the so called sashimi, the bright red sashimi did not look or taste anything like a fish I had ever experienced and that was because it wasnt. I t consisted of dehydrated watermelon that had been slightly reconstituted. the texture of which was reminiscint of roasted capsicum but with a flavour all its own. The peas however were unique and so beautifully fresh that they were an obvious match for the developed Sauv Blanc characters of the Fume. Sharing this with the wife was a treat, her palate is distinctly South Australian and here experience of SB was basically New Zealand exclusively. Her joy is this discovery of an old world Sauvi was priceless.

Egg Yolk, toasted rye, legumes, yeast
1999 Jadot 'meaursualt-blagny' 1er Cru
Wow. I could not get enough of the dish and this wine together, the yeast and grains provided a heady toasty aroma that complimented the white burgundy so well I didnt want to consume them. just sit with a napkin over my head Mitterand style smelling those wonderful smells forever. The wine was quite delicate by Burgundian standards however was still rich and developed. Once again the lady wife was introduced to wine in the French style. This time was a little more challenging, the heady barrel characters as well as the faint mankiness was a bit of shock to the poor girl. I however was in heaven.

Southern Rock Lobster, prosciuto, sea lettuce, quinoa
2004 Dr Loosen 'Urziger Wurzgarten'
The lobster was delicately done but screamed freshness and the sea lettuce giving an even more authentic oceanic lift to this dish the quinoa and proscuito presented as a grainy mix and much more subtle than the ingrediants imply. The slight sweetness of the Urziger I expected to be a good match however the lobster was not as sweet as one would expect, the textures however were wonderful, the lobster melted in the mouth with no a hint of stringiness and the light characters of the wine mingled and sang. It was gone all too soon.

More to come

[monghead]

Wow, sounds like an amazing meal... and we're only half way...

A few observations:
- The food is surprisingly contemporary.
- The wine selections for the matched degu seem commendable.

Could I ask, how much this set you back?

Cheers,

Monghead.

[dave vino]

$195 a head, according to their website.

[bacchaebabe]

Fantastic. Can't wait for part two. I've been wanting to go here forever but have never been in the area. Their cellar is supposed to be the stuff of legends.

[Steve]

I've eaten there a few times, but a few years ago before they started going crazy with the food and wine. It was always very good, but nowhere near the same level of good as it is now.

I'd love to go back now.

If anyone is interested, Anthony Bourdain visited a while ago: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PDzLhJv3xxs - the Royal Mail bit starts about 2 minutes in.

[GravyMaker]

$195 a head, according to their website.

Yep - that's just for the wine though. Omnivore food component comes in at $150 per head.

We were there just before Christmas and it was very good. Food was fantastic and the wines were eye-opening for us as we rarely stray from Australian producers.

It should be a pilgrimage for all lovers of wine and food.

We will definitely be back.

Brett

[dave vino]

Right you are...so you'd be looking at close to $800 for dinner for two with tips/water.

[kirragc]

I havent added it up and dont want to but it would be the $800 odd meal (first night) plus accom plus breakfast plus fuel plus being weak and going back the second night.

Strangely I havent been hungry since and I have lost all urge to cook.

[monghead]

Hmmm,

Although the wines matched to the food look great, $190 per person seems a little steep for this.

For that, you could have got a couple of really nice bottles off the list.

What do others reckon?

Cheers,

Monghead.

[TiggerK]

Yes it is steep, but either way, you would have had a lot of nice wine. $190 for a single bottle might not have gone that far in terms of wow factor...... I'd probably rather enjoy the matching and variety personally. A good glass of a quality wine is often $15-20 in a decent wine bar, so 9-10 glasses or so makes it seem not too bad I suppose. But I would have liked to have seen a bit more glamour than a 5th growth personally as the 'Bordeaux star', not that I'd be complaining at the time!

So as long as the pours were generous, I'd say why not!!

Cheers for the posts kirragc, much appreciated, I hope to get there one day, pity it's so off the beaten track.
TiggerK

[Steve]

It's on the way between Adelaide and Melbourne - in fact it makes a perfect stop over if you want to leave either city late in the day and not drive at night.

[TiggerK]

Indeed, sorry being a bit Sydney-centric there...

[kirragc]

Hmmm,

Although the wines matched to the food look great, $190 per person seems a little steep for this.

For that, you could have got a couple of really nice bottles off the list.

What do others reckon?

Cheers,

Monghead.

In a way I agree with you Mong. If I was a local it might be a different story but for what was pretty much a one time thing ( except for the next night) it was easily the way to go. The horrible situation that may have faced us was that we would have to choose 5 plus matching wines, minimum, from that cellar. the Somm. Jeremy pointed out that there is so much wine in hat was orignally a private collection that its wasted if someone doesnt drink it and the dega menu is a great way to bring out those fantastic wines and share them amongst a group. Throw in a MIchelin starred chef and away you go.
The great bit is that the chef is amazing regardless of the wine. The service is better than any I have experienced.

Could you have a thre course and buy some crackers of the list absolutely but you would want to go back and do it again I can guaran-damn-tee it. The Dega was a bargain by comparison.

[monghead]

Imagine if you could go to the Royal Mail with 7 other foodies, and have a wine budget of $1600...

My list will look something like this:

1996 Pol Roger (196)
2002 Grosset Watervale Riesling (94)
2002 Bonneau du Martray 'Corton Charlemagne' grand cru (298)
1999 Leroy Bourgogne rouge (116)
2002 Dujac 'clos-saint-denis' grand cru (359)
1985 Château léoville-las-cases (380)
2006 j. j. prüm 'wehlener sonnenuhr' auslese goldcap 750ml (167)

All up $1610.

Ah, to dream...

Cheers,

Monghead.