2018 Scholars
Sarah Andrew ○ House of Fine Wine ○ Winemaker
Brendan Carr ○ Xanadu ○ Winemaker
Tim Dolan (Dux) ○ Peter Lehmann Wines ○ Winemaker
Rauri Donkin ○ First Creek Wines ○ Winemaker
Michael Downer ○ Murdoch Hill
Simon Killeen ○ Simao & Co. Wines ○ Winemaker
Alex Kirkwood ○ Aria Restaurant ○ Sommelier
Sarah Lawler ○ Ishizuka Restaurant ○ Consultant
Tim Lovett ○ Leeuwin Estate ○ Winemaker
Cath Oates ○ Oates Ends ○ Winemaker
Lance Parkin ○ Amberley Estate ○ Winemaker
Steven Paul ○ Oakdene Wines ○ Winemaker
2018 Len Evans Tutorial
The 18th Len Evans Tutorial was held in the Hunter Valley from the 5th to 9th November 2018, with Tim Dolan, Senior Winemaker at Peter Lehmann Wines in the Barossa Valley, winning the Basil Sellers Prize for Dux.
Len Evans Tutorial Trustee James Halliday noted that Tim judged exceedingly well across all aspects of the week long Tutorial. Tim will be flown business class to Europe with invitations to the greatest wine houses.
Many of the rarest, oldest and greatest wines were opened during this extraordinary week including a 1952 Domaine de la Romanee Conti Echezeaux, 1958 Mildara Yellow Label Cabernet Sauvignon/Shiraz and a flight of Hunter Valley dry red including the famous Lindeman’s Bin 3110 Shiraz.
Len Evans Tutorial convener and tutor, Iain Riggs said, “The Trustees recognise the ongoing need for high calibre Australian wine show judges and agree that the industry needs, now more than ever, highly-trained professionals to take the premium Australian wine message to a great audience.
“These are the people at the forefront of grape growing, winemaking and selling premium wine. the dramatic increase in sales of imported wine shows a sophisticated consumer. A better awareness of premium Australian wine and where it sits in relation to imported wine, is essential to the industry getting its message out to the world.”
In addition to the prize of Dux, the 2018 Len Evans Tutorial awarded the inaugural James Halliday DRC Prize to Cath Oates for correctly identifying all six vineyards in the Domaine de la Romanee Conti masterclass. This is only the third time a scholar has achieved this in 18 years.
The recipient of the MW Introductory Course held in Adelaide was Simon Killeen who impressed the tutors with his tasting ability and participation.
The Trustees of the Len Evans Tutorial would like to thank Spicers Guest House in the Hunter Valley for their generous assistance in staging this year’s event.
The Tutors for the 2018 Len Evans Tutorial were:
James Halliday, Ian McKenzie, Iain Riggs, Michael Hill Smith, Vanya Cullen, Samantha Connew, Sarah Crowe, Tyson Stelzer, Patrick Walsh, Jim Chatto, Tom Carson, David Bicknell and a large contingent of Hunter Valley winemakers including Aaron Mercer, PJ Charteris and the 2016 Len Evans Tutorial Dux, Stuart Hordern.
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“From a learning perspective, it was amazing to benchmark wines made at Peter Lehmann against some of the best wines in the world and to think a little deeper and more broadly about the styles of wine we are making now and into the future.
It was also incredibly humbling to taste and learn alongside some of Australia’s (and the world’s) greatest wine industry people. I loved every minute!
Most memorable wines: It is pretty hard to go past the 1965 Lindeman’s HRB Shiraz Bin 3110. Tasted blind on night one of the Tutorial – the quality, freshness and history surrounding this wine blew all the scholars’ minds!”
