the missing week

[Ken Gargett]

in case anybody missed me (no need for comments there), this is where i have been.

just had a week away doing the len evans scholarship at tower estate (great place for any overseas visitors looking for an extreme luxury lodge in the hunter valley). it is a full, flat out, exhausting week aimed at improving wine knowledge and especially show judging. if there is anyone out there interested (you probably need a bit of experience to get selected in the annual 12), it is sensational. probably the best thing of its nature held anywhere in the world.

for those from overseas or who have lived under a rock in aust, len evans has been the man behind the aussie wine industry. without him, we'd be light years behind where we are. he is described, by hugh johnson, in a forthcoming book as having the best palate on the planet, or something like that.

almost all wines are served blind. len gets wines from all his mates around the planet for the week and then gets in james halliday, brian croser (founder petaluma and much more), jeffrey grosset, ian mckenzie (formerly seppelt), iain riggs Brokenwood), gary steel (burgundy) etc to tutor us for the week. each day starts with several hours judging 30 wines of the same variety. each one has to be justified and it is all very rigorous - nowhere to hide. but the wines are extraordiary - the best of their ilk in the world. so the shiraz tasting will include an old grange and the guigal single vineyard wines and la chapelle and so on while cabs include the supertuscans and great napa wines and great bordeaux and so on.

afternoons are masterclasses, such as great champagne (that tied in with the melb cup), burgundies, bordeaux etc. then semi-formal dinners with an array of tastings each night - eg, leoville barton back to 1959, great grand cru white burgs, vouvray back to 33, 1960 vp's, compare producers of grand cru red burgs, great old aussie wines - which was perhaps the most extraordinary of all, the 1983 bordeaux wines including the firsts, putting the 1985 first growths in order etc etc. we finished with a final masterclass on the friday - all the 2000 drc's. brilliant.

there was hardly time for a cigar but what a week.

[JMH]

Wow, tasting 30 different wines for breakfast, that's a pretty intense schedule. Would peoples notes start to become a bit more liberal towards the 30th wine? ;-)

What's the makeup of the group? Is it mostly pro's like yourself?

[Ken Gargett]

spitting!

as tragic as it seems, you do need to spit. you get surprisingly used to it. it may have been true that some of the wines snuck down in the champers class during the race and also at dinner - spitting under the table at tower lodge would not be a good look - but the only serious assessment tasting where we didn't spit, with the blessing of all, was the drc class. i don't think i'd spit drc with a gun to my head.

the group is a majority of winemakers and the rest were sommeliers, retailers, hangers-on like me and so on. they have taken amateurs before (one, i think, who is now judging nationally) but rarely and you would need strong connections/references etc. but if you are in the tade, don't miss the chance.

[JMH]

damn, it'd be a shame seeing all that wine going to waste. You'll have to pardon my ignorance, but what does drc stand for? Overall it sounds like an awesome weekend for those who really love wine.

[Ken Gargett]

week, not weekend.

drc is domaine de la romanee conti. a burgundy estate, i and many others think that this is the source of the greatest wine on the planet. if you find a bottle of their top wine, drc romanee-conti itself, it'll set you back at least around three grand.

night with elle or a bottle of romanee-conti. sorry elle.

You'll have to

» pardon my ignorance, but what does drc stand for? Overall it sounds like

» an awesome weekend for those who really love wine.

[JMH]

Oops, typed weekend by mistake. Given the choice miyself, I might have to take the night with elle

[novasurf]

That class sounds fantastic Ken. I'm a newb to wine, I favor reds. My brother gave me a bottle of DRC years ago....but I was already pretty smashed when I drank it. He cringes when I tell him that. And I kick myself when he explained how dumb I was to drink it without reverence. Sometimes with me its like putting silk socks on a pig.

[Bunker1028]

» That class sounds fantastic Ken. I'm a newb to wine, I favor reds. My

» brother gave me a bottle of DRC years ago....but I was already pretty

» smashed when I drank it. He cringes when I tell him that. And I kick

» myself when he explained how dumb I was to drink it without reverence.

» Sometimes with me its like putting silk socks on a pig.

LMAO!! Funny chit Nova!

[habanablue]

Sounds like hard work ken! I was up there this weekend and picked up a nice few bottles of Shiraz. Did you try any Lake's Folly wines? people I was with picked up a chardonnay for $60 which was beyond my budget...apparently has a great reputation though!

[ALB]

but the wines are extraordiary - the best of

» their ilk in the world. so the shiraz tasting will include an old grange

» and the guigal single vineyard wines and la chapelle and so on while cabs

» include the supertuscans and great napa wines and great bordeaux and so

» on.

» afternoons are masterclasses, such as great champagne (that tied in with

» the melb cup), burgundies, bordeaux etc. then semi-formal dinners with an

» array of tastings each night - eg, leoville barton back to 1959, great

» grand cru white burgs, vouvray back to 33, 1960 vp's, compare producers of

» grand cru red burgs, great old aussie wines - which was perhaps the most

» extraordinary of all, the 1983 bordeaux wines including the firsts,

» putting the 1985 first growths in order etc etc. we finished with a final

» masterclass on the friday - all the 2000 drc's. brilliant.» there

was hardly time for a cigar but what a week.

Gee Ken,

It just sucks to be you:yes:

[El Presidente]

Ken,

So what was the consensus on the best cask wine?

[Maverick]

Ken,

I will probably get ridiculed for this, but anyway. How would you suggest I start getting a knowledge of wines. My knowledge thus far is to simply buy a brand that I have heard of and pick the cheapest in the range.

I would love to learn more but dont want to spend a mint doing it?

Do you think Rob would allow you to run a course at the new shop?

Ross...

[El Presidente]

Great idea Ross

I can't think of anything better than having Ken ramble on for hour after hour in an enclosed environment

We will do it on the first floor in case anyone want's to jump after the first 20 minutes of the pro's and cons of filtering.

Alas I am being unkind as Ken is one of the best wine minds in the land. Let Ken and I get our heads together and see if we can put together an event for early next year.

[Ken Gargett]

i have to confess that a few drc's have slipped down when they may have been better appreciated at another time. no worse than after a massive lunch, a mate i went back to his office (and cellar) and had a few more great bottles. when he could no longer walk, he sent me to the cellar - lord knows how i made it - to pick anything i wanted (silly suggestion). next morning we discovered that we'd knocked off a bottle of 59 romanee-conti. these day, the cheapest bottle available in the world is found at a shop in england for a mere A$11,500 plus!!

no idea how it tasted but my mate didn't mind - long as we'd enjoyed it.

» That class sounds fantastic Ken. I'm a newb to wine, I favor reds. My

» brother gave me a bottle of DRC years ago....but I was already pretty

» smashed when I drank it. He cringes when I tell him that. And I kick

» myself when he explained how dumb I was to drink it without reverence.

» Sometimes with me its like putting silk socks on a pig.

[Ken Gargett]

be fair, there have to be compensations for knowing rob.

and monday i was reduced to drinking reds from heathcote! actually, they were terrific.

think of it as a five-star lifestyle on a half-star pay.

»

» Gee Ken,

»

» It just sucks to be you:yes:

[Ken Gargett]

would loveto - one condition, the pres is interstate. don't need a peanut gallery and why waste good wine on an iron tongue.

» Ken,

»

» I will probably get ridiculed for this, but anyway. How would you suggest

» I start getting a knowledge of wines. My knowledge thus far is to simply

» buy a brand that I have heard of and pick the cheapest in the range.

»

» I would love to learn more but dont want to spend a mint doing it?

»

» Do you think Rob would allow you to run a course at the new shop?

»

» Ross...

[Maverick]

» would loveto - one condition, the pres is interstate. don't need a peanut

» gallery and why waste good wine on an iron tongue.

»

»

Sounds good,

The most expensive bottle of wine I have ever bought and drunk was about a $15 Red.

Ross...

[Ben]

» » would loveto - one condition, the pres is interstate. don't need a

» peanut

» » gallery and why waste good wine on an iron tongue.

» »

» »

»

» Sounds good,

»

» The most expensive bottle of wine I have ever bought and drunk was about a

» $15 Red.

»

» Ross...

Come on Ross you mean to say you've never been to a fancy restaurant and paid $50 for a $15 Red

[Maverick]

I did once dine at Bathers Pavilion in Sydney and paid about that for a glass of Red. But it wasnt my money so I didnt care. I didnt have a clue what to order so just asked the Somelier (spelling???) to suggest a wine.

Ross...

[Ken Gargett]

sorry - just caught up with this. we had the 89 lakes folly chardonnay twice. once, it stunned the judges. next time, seemed very acidic. do get a huge amount of bottle age in the older wines.

as for the lakes folly reds, i think that they are probably as good as they have ever been now but i'm yet to be convinced by cabernet in the hunter (and pinot). i bought whatever i could find when i first got interested in wine and was disappointed so often that eventually the lot went off to auction. i think it one of our most overrated reds.