When in 1969 Bob Oatley sold his coffee and cocoa plantations in New Guinea he focused on the Upper Hunter Valley, intending to run Charolais cattle and thoroughbreds, but did plant a few hectares of shiraz and gewurztraminer that produced Rosemount’s first commercial vintage in 1975. Fast forward 16 years, and Southcorp pays $880 million in cash, and $610 million in Southcorp shares for Rosemount’s wine empire and, critically, its management. Rosemount’s management team was peerless: a brilliant chief winemaker, Philip Shaw, able to duplicate quantities of the Diamond Label Chardonnay if sales threatened to exceed supply; Chris Hancock was the affable general manager, filling in the communication gaps and silences of Shaw; and Oatley’s vision saw markets established in both the UK and US.
A new face appeared in the wake of the merger, Keith Lambert, CEO of the Rosemount Group, with a beer background, not wine. It is a matter of (extensive) public record that his aggressive approach through deep discounting caused mayhem in the market. But even worse was his decision to terminate the long-standing and very productive US distribution agreement between Lindeman’s and WJ Deutsch that had made Lindeman’s Bin 45 Chardonnay the number one brand in the US. John Casella figuratively walked by with a series of labels already registered and protected (including Yellow Tail), and a winery back home looking for large scale distribution of cheap but reliable quality a la Bin 45. Game over?
Well, not quite. For one thing Balmoral Investments, the Oatley Family company, owns Hamilton Island, the yachts and other investments, and back in January 2005 had sold its Rosemount shares to Foster’s for $590 million, which came in handy as Oatley began to rebuild its wine business once a five-year non-compete restraint expired. Indeed, it’s been so successful that Sandy, Bob Oatley’s eldest son, who has run the wine side of Balmoral’s assets, has purchased all those assets and will run this as a separate company albeit with a shared head office facility (no change here).
2018 Robert Oatley Vineyards The Pennant McLaren Vale Shiraz
Sourced from 40-80yo vines that spent 14-21 days on skins, then matured in French oak (20% new) for 12 months. It has excellent texture and structure, rising 5yo and winemaker Larry Cherubino has not made any attempt to temper the power of the spicy black and blue fruit which confer authority and length on the palate.
95 points, drink to 2038, 13.5% alc, Screwcap, $105
2022 Robert Oatley Vineyards Finisterre McLaren Vale Grenache
You don’t often come across a grenache led by elegance, brilliant colour, purity and nigh-on perfect texture and structure. It’s a dividend for the investment in being hand-picked, sorted, and matured for 6 months in used, large format, French oak.
95 points, drink to 2033, 13.5% alc, Screwcap, $40
2022 Robert Oatley Vineyards Signature Series Margaret River Sauvignon Blanc Semillon
An 80/20% blend, separately fermented, but neither component had any exposure to oak. The bouquet is highly floral, the palate with the full array of tropical fruits, tethered by strong acidity. One of those Margaret River SBSs that delivers a complex message of fresh citrus from the winery team. The acidity an all-important driver. It has a cellar-worthy structure most likely to be ignored – a pity.
93 points, drink to 2032, 12% alc, Screwcap, $24
