Tim Dolan Named Dux of the 2018

We are thrilled to share the news that our talented Peter Lehmann winemaker Tim Dolan has been named Dux of the Len Evans Tutorial.

The Len Evans Tutorial is a prestigious wine school established in 2001 and located in the NSW Hunter Valley. It’s named after its founder, the late Len Evans – a champion of Australian wine who contributed significantly to the industry during his lifetime.

Prominent Australian wine reviewer James Halliday, who is also one of the experts involved with the program, describes the Len Evans Tutorial as “the most exclusive wine school in the world.”

Each year – and out of a pool of over 100 hopefuls - the Len Evans Tutorial invites 12 of Australia’s wine industry’s most promising and talented professionals to further develop their wine appreciation under the guidance from leading wine experts. Now in its 18th year, the program is designed to help train the next generation of wine judges on the demands of Australian wine shows.

This year, the Tutorial took place from 5-12 November and a team of five wine experts (or tutors) guided Tim and his co-scholars through an intense 5-day period of tasting and studying some of the greatest, rarest and oldest wines of the world.

The program included morning blind tastings, afternoon master classes and evening dinners. The wines are judged as if they were in an Australian wine show, and every scholar sequentially calls his or her points for each wine, and has to justify those points where they differ from the tutors’ points.

Tim’s accuracy triumphed over the other 11 scholars and he took out the dux title, and also won a return business-class trip to Europe.

“I’ve applied for the past three years, so to be part of the 2018 Len Evans Tutorial was a dream come true. The week was unbelievable and a surreal experience. What Len Evans created with his Tutorial is one of the Australian wine industry’s greatest treasures and I’m so appreciative to have had the opportunity to complete the program,” said Tim.