Old and Rare Wine Dinner – School of Wine - 11 June 2025

[Waiters Friend]

G’day

Adam Collet operates the School of Wine here in W.A. In addition to offering a range of wine education courses, Adam hosts Old and Rare Wine dinners from time to time. This time, it was held at Una Mes in the Perth suburb of Menora, and dinner (consisting of two courses and cheese) is included in the tariff.

Adam is a knowledgeable presenter, and his natural enthusiasm for wine shines through.

Tonight’s dinner featured the following wines:

Steingarten Riesling 2001 (Eden Valley, S.A.). I’m unsure if this was under cork or screwcap (I didn’t see it being poured), and I am aware that many Riesling producers adopted screwcap around this time. Yellow – gold in colour. A faint hint of kero on the nose. Lots of lemon-lime cordial and some florals and a little talc. There’s more lemon and lime cordial on the palate, with some lemon pith towards the back of the palate. It finishes quite long and clean.

Flametree SRS Chardonnay 2014 (Margaret River W.A.): Medium yellow colour. No malo. There’s struck match on the nose, with lemon curd and nectarine. Apparently the wine sees 35% new oak, and this is apparent on the nose and the palate. Holding well for its age.

Atticus Chardonnay 2017 (Margaret River W.A.): Slightly darker in colour than the previous wine. Desiccated peaches on the nose, with a slight raisin character, and some vanilla. There’s more (somewhat muted) peach on the palate, with prominent oak and acid. Definitely out of balance, and the diminution of fruit suggests that this has passed its prime.

Two Hands Aerope Grenache 2004 (Barossa Valley S.A.): A confected nose, with cherry cola / sarsaparilla, some vanilla and chocolate. There’s plenty of fruit sweetness on the palate, which shows low tannins, high acid and good length. I’m generally not a fan of grenache (except in blends) but I didn’t mind this one.

Irvine Grand Merlot 1996 (Eden Valley S.A.): Slightly corked, but not enough to wreck the wine completely (maybe just muted the fruit a little). Eucalypt on the nose, with some cooked plums, and a little mocha. The palate also showed developed dark fruit, with integrated but slightly grippy tannins, and supporting acid. Reasonable length, and in fairness the cork taint was very mild on pour (but grew with time in the glass).

Irvine Grand Merlot 2004 (Eden Valley S.A.): A perfumed nose with rich dark plummy fruit, and a wallop of VA / furniture polish. Some eucalypt and vanilla also. The palate flavours were focussed on the middle palate. There’s quite grippy but not chunky tannins, and plenty of acid. Medium length only. I’ve had a number of Grand Merlots over the years which had more structure and were more complete – this was lacking on the entry and the finish.

Eden Valley Wine Shiraz 2002 (Eden Valley S.A.): A collaboration between a bunch of growers and at least a couple of well-known Eden Valley winemakers. The nose is big and porty, with some raisined characters alongside rich plums and dark berries. Also some vanilla and cedary oak. The acid is keeping this wine relatively fresh, and there’s fine but quite grippy tannins. Long finish.

Hardy’s HRB Bin D637 Shiraz 2006 (Clare Valley, Adelaide Hills, S.A.): There’s menthol, black plums and cedar on the restrained nose. The palate was also a little neutral (perhaps as this wine followed the big Eden Valley Shiraz), with modestly grippy tannins and reasonable length.

Glenmore Cabernet Sauvignon 2005 (Margaret River W.A.): Eucalypt, blackberry and mulberry on the nose, with vanilla and some dried herbs. There’s almost sweet blackcurrant and cassis on the palate, with integrated dusty tannins and clean acid leading to a long finish. Possibly my wine of the event.

All Saints Durif 2007 (Rutherglen, Victoria): A big nose, with liquorice/aniseed, developed dark fruits and some oak characters. Chocolatey oak slightly dominates the palate, which is slightly medicinal, but otherwise showing stewed dark fruits. It’s big, round and mouthfilling, with both acid and tannins making their presence felt. Quite long finish.

Noon Solarie Grenache 2008 (McLarenVale S.A.): Made with grapes dried on the vine, resulting in a 17% abv wine. This reminds me of a Valpolicella Amarone and to be honest I didn’t take any detailed notes from there. Slight palate sweetness and more like a light Port as a result (without being fortified).

Not a bad way to spend a Wednesday night, and I look forward to more of these. Thanks to Adam for hosting the event, and to my fellow diners for their observations and conversation.

Cheers
Allan

24fa99f0-5e49-4166-8a12-fc461ba70eb7.jpeg