Review of the Royal Mail Dunkeld
Posted: Sun Feb 07, 2010 9:05 pm
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
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