Gourmet Traveller WINE Readers’ Choice Award: Royal Mail Hotel, Dunkeld

There’s no distance too great for gourmands to make the pilgrimage to Dan Hunter’s wonderful restaurant set against the backdrop that is the Southern Grampians’ Mt Sturgeon. The revamped Royal Mail Hotel,  in Victoria's Western District, offers a dining experience that is quite possibly life-changing. Or, at the very least, reaffirming.

Hunter combines outstanding seasonal produce and then, with great culinary skill, artistry and innovation, morphs it into an exquisite 10-course dégustation. So, to celebrate the beginning of the night, start with a glass of Philipponnat non-vintage rosé as that is the Mail’s welcome drink.

There are 15 other terrific by-the-glass choices from a one-page list that is the only small part of the drinks equation because the Mail’s list is humongous, comprising 2000+ entries. Head wine guy Jeremy Shiell inherited the tome in late 2009 although he had experience managing the list six months prior as assistant sommelier.

As it concentrates on French wines and varietals, start with that country’s great regions, say Pomerol for a 1990 Château Pétrus, or to Vosne-Romanée for a ’78 Domaine de la Romanée-Conti La Tache, before heading over to Italy, Germany and Spain. Then return home with the best choice of Crawford River wines on any list, plus there’s an outstanding local selection of cabernet-based wines such as Wynns Coonawarra Estate John Riddoch to pinot noir and shiraz.

WORDS JANE FAULKNER PHOTOGRAPHY ROYAL MAIL HOTEL

Royal Mail Hotel, 98 Parker St, Dunkeld, Vic, (03) 5577 2644

This article is from the August/September 2010 issue of Gourmet Traveller WINE.