Robert Oatley

(September, 2010) BevX.com is celebrating Robert Oatley’s 2008 Chardonnay as Beverage of the Week!

“Last year we introduced BevX readers to the great wines from Robert Oatley. We are happy to report that the next vintage hasn’t missed a beat.

“While this label is rather new, Oatley is hardly a newcomer to Australian wines. Bob Oatley formerly owned the now famous Rosemount Estate for decades establishing it as leader from Australia. His Chardonnays became the benchmark for the nation if not the New World. With Rosemount Oatley helped established Shiraz as an ultra popular wine varietal. In his current project Oatley has assembled an all-star team that includes his eldest son Sandy, Chris Hancock, a winemaking genius who has worked with Oatley for more than 30 years as has Viticulturalist Sam Hayne.

“The Oatley wines represent the new and coming face of Australian wine. Their wines focus on balance and complexity with relatively low alcohols and great balancing acidity. These are tremendous food wines that have wide appeal with the established wine lover and the novice as well. They are all smartly finished with a screw-cap closure that ensures that you will experience the wine just as the experienced winemaking team has intended.

“The Robert Oatley Chardonnay has recently caught our eye and palate. When we first saw that this Chardonnay was bottled at just 12.2% alcohol by volume we believed this to be a printing error. Once we opened it and discovered the joys of this lighter bodied Chardonnay we knew that we had found something unique. Whilst light in alcohol it is not light on flavor delivering a complex and ultra-balanced Chardonnay that makes this wine the perfect choice for the dinner table. If you have grown weary of massive 15%-plus alcohol whites give this a wine a go and rediscover refreshment

Four out of five stars: Exceptional

Tasting Notes:
“Pale straw color. The nose is wonderfully fresh with scents of crisp, baking apples with an abundant dose of citrus juice and zest and hints of oak aging. The palate echoes the nose confirming the promised refreshment. It is lighter in body than you might expect but rich on complexity with crisp orchard fruit notes being complimented ideally by citrus and silky oak accents. If you have given up on Chardonnay at the dinner table, not so fast.”

(August 26, 2010) Fred Tasker, writing in the Miami Herald, had choice words for Robert Oatley Vineyards’ 2009 Sauvignon Blanc.

“Twenty years ago, they debated what it should taste like. The purists argued that it was naturally lean and crisp, with hints of minerals, cut grass and even gunflint. Pragmatists countered that, yeah, but we want to make a living, and customers prefer it tasting like ripe pineapples — in other words, like chardonnay.

“The purists seem to be winning. More sauvignon blancs are being made in the leaner style, with cool fermentation and little or no oak barrel aging. These crisp, intensely fruity wines are better than either camp was making two decades ago.

“I give some credit to New Zealand. Its cool weather, clay-rich and stony soils and winemaking methods created a distinct flavor that fans call “gooseberry.” (First time I heard that, I went out and bought a can of gooseberries and, by golly, they were right.)

“You’ll notice that many of the best sauvignon blancs are bottled with screw caps. These days, that’s a sign of quality: The tight caps seal the wines completely from air and preserve their intense fruit.

“You’ll also notice that the prices are as friendly as the wines.

“RECOMMENDED:

“Robert Oatley 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, Pemberton, Western Australia: intensely fruity, with flavors of white peaches and apricots, lean and crisp.”

Robert “Bob” Oatley has built a diverse family business that ranges from vineyards and winemaking to luxury tourism on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.  A decade after their success with Rosemount Estate, the Oatley family are leading a second Australian wine renaissance from their vineyards in Mudgee, New South Wales.

To learn more about how we are revolutionizing Australian wine once again, please visit robertoatley.com.

(August 23, 2010) In his YouTube debut, Mark Oldman highlighted a pair of Rosés, including our very own 2009 Rosé of Sangiovese. Thanks Mark!

Robert Oatley Rosé of Sangiovese is a distinctively bright, modern style – dry and a little savory, with bright red fruit flavors and a crisp refreshing finish, and the highest rated Australian Rosé by Wine Spectator two years running.

Mark Oldman is a best-selling author and his new book, Oldman’s Brave New World of Wine, will available everywhere this September. Passionate about helping wine enthusiasts jostle the jaded and slay the snooty, Mark is one of the country’s leading wine personalities.  His signature style was best summed up by Bon Appètit magazine: “winespeak without the geek”.

Robert “Bob” Oatley has built a diverse family business that ranges from vineyards and winemaking to luxury tourism on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.  A decade after their success with Rosemount Estate, the Oatley family are leading a second Australian wine renaissance from their vineyards in Mudgee, New South Wales.

To learn more about how we are revolutionizing Australian wine once again, please visit www.robertoatley.com.

(August 16, 2010) Nick Passmore used his inaugural Wine of the Week podcast to sing the praises of Robert “Bob” Oatley and his 2007 Robert Oatley Vineyards Shiraz, naming him “the Wizard of Oz:”

“Robert Oatley is one of the commanding figures of the Australian wine industry. He’d already made one fortune, in coffee, when he planted the first vineyards in the Hunter Valley in 1969. At the time Australian wine was not exactly highly regarded; in fact it was barely regarded at all beyond the country’s shores. But Oatley was a visionary, and he bought the same passion for quality that had led to his success in the coffee business to his new wine venture.

And in this he was similarly successful. By the early 1980’s his Rosemount wines were critical and commercial hits from Sydney to London, with the US following shortly thereafter. Robert Oatley, more than anyone, created the “Aussie Style” of modern, full-flavored, accessible wines.

Rosemount is now owned by Fosters, but that doesn’t mean that Oatley has settled into easy retirement. In 2006, at an age of nearly 80, he launched Robert Oatley Vineyards intent, once again, on reinventing the Australian wine industry. This time he is making wines with the same easy approachability, but with a more subtle and dialed-back intensity. The world’s taste in wine is growing up, and Oatley’s wines are evolving along with it.

I encountered his new Robert Oatley Shiraz 2007 ($18), this week’s Five Star Nick’s Wine of the Week, at a dinner at the Australian Consul General’s in New York and was wowed by it.

It’s all jazzy fresh fruit up front, laced with a smoke-tinged spiciness. It has a full, rich body from the judicious use of new oak, balanced by the sort of crisp acidity that’s all too rare in Australian reds. There’s even a hint of that quintessential Oz eucalyptus mintiness.

I later drank it at home and found it powerful enough to stand up to a spicy marinara sauce over gorgonzola ravioli. But I can’t help thinking how great it would taste, just about this time of year, served a little chilled with a big, juicy steak right off the grill.”

Listen to the podcast here.

Meanwhile, Ben Carter of Benito’s Wine Reviews tasted the newly released Robert Oatley Vineyards 2008 Chardonnay:

“Dominant aroma of apricots and honey, not overly oaked. Firm acidity, clean finish, and like the others in the series, a convenient Stelvin screwcap. It’s got enough strength so that it’s not “Another Boring Chardonnay”, but at the same time it’s not obnoxious, brassy, or buttery.”

Robert “Bob” Oatley has built a diverse family business that ranges from vineyards and winemaking to luxury tourism on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.  A decade after their success with Rosemount Estate, the Oatley family are leading a second Australian wine renaissance from their vineyards in Mudgee, New South Wales.

To learn more about how we are revolutionizing Australian wine once again, please visit www.robertoatley.com.

(August 11, 2010) In an article titled “Dual Persona” about Pinot Grigio and Pinot Gris in the most recent issue of The Tasting Panel Magazine, Deborah Parker Wong mentioned some of the great Pinot Grigios from around the world. Among the few she mentioned by name, she reserved some choice words for Robert Oatley Vineyards’s 2009 Pinot Grigio:

“Pinot Gris was introduced to Australia in 1832. The country grows twice as much of it as neighboring New Zealand, with the majority concentrated in the cooler southern regions of Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula and Tasmania. Robert Oatley Vineyards in Mudgee, New South Wales, sources fruit from south of Adelaide and Victoria’s Alpine Valleys for a benchmark medium-bodied, crisp Pinot Grigio with spicy aromas.“

Robert “Bob” Oatley has built a diverse family business that ranges from vineyards and winemaking to luxury tourism on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.  A decade after their success with Rosemount Estate, the Oatley family are leading a second Australian wine renaissance from their vineyards in Mudgee, New South Wales.
To learn more about how we are revolutionizing Australian wine once again, please visit www.robertoatley.com

(August 3, 2010) In the 2011 edition of his Australian Wine Companion, James Halliday rated Robert Oatley Vineyards a prestigious five out of a possible five stars, with the observation: “Outstanding winery capable of producing wines of very high quality.” Halliday named Robert Oatley Vineyards as one of the best wineries in Australia.

Robert “Bob” Oatley has built a diverse family business that ranges from vineyards and winemaking to luxury tourism on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef.  A decade after their success with Rosemount Estate, the Oatley family are leading a second Australian wine renaissance from their vineyards in Mudgee, New South Wales.

To learn more about how we are revolutionizing Australian wine once again, please visit www.robertoatley.com.

(July 21, 2010) Stephen Tanzer, writing in the latest issue of his journal, International Wine Cellar, had some choice words for the Oatley Range:

Stephen D. Tanzer is editor and publisher of the critically acclaimed bimonthly International Wine Cellar, an independent journal read by wine professionals and other wine lovers in all 50 states and 34 countries, and the first American wine periodical to be translated into French and Japanese. Tanzer has also served as Senior Editor and wine columnist for Food & Wine magazine and wrote Food & Wine’s Official Wine Guide in 1998 and 1999.

(July 20, 2010) Robert Oatley Vineyards continued their winning streak this weekend at the Long Beach Grand Cru, where the 2008 Chardonnay was named Best of Class in the largest category of wines in competition. Other Oatley wines honored included a Gold Medal for the 2009 Sauvignon Blanc, and Silver Medals for the 2007 Shiraz and 2007 Cabernet-Sauvignon Merlot. In summary, Robert Oatley wines took home:

Robert “Bob” Oatley is a proud and passionate third-generation Australian who has built a diverse family business that ranges from vineyards, wineries and cattle stations, to thoroughbred horses and luxury tourism at Hamilton Island on Australia’s iconic Great Barrier Reef. Each of these ventures reflect Bob’s passion for bringing to the world the best of things Australian.

Born and bred near Sydney’s harbour, sailing became part of Bob’s life at an early age, and his Wild Oats XI racing super-maxi yacht holds a record four consecutive wins as well as course time record in the treacherous Sydney-to-Hobart race. His wines have topped Australian and American sales, been found on the world’s best wine lists and awarded some of the highest possible international accolades.

“Bob’s a great believer in what is possible,” says his long-standing friend and colleague Chris Hancock, “and a great believer in the people around him. He gives people strength, individuality and presence. He turns ordinary people into extraordinary people. Just being in his presence makes you a different person. It’s quite amazing.”

Bob’s first international trade success was during the 1960s with Papua New Guinea’s coffee and cocoa industry — he exported the beans around the world. He was later recognized by Queen Elizabeth II and awarded the British Empire Medal for his contribution to the country’s economy.

After his great success with coffee, Bob decided to take what he learnt about agriculture, commodity trading in expanding international markets and apply his knowledge to one of his great passions: fine wine. In transitioning from coffee trading to the emerging Australian wine industry, Bob developed a mantra about quality and taste. He recognised that wine, to the tastes of many, lacked a flavour connection to its consumer. “Bob would make these lip-smacking noises,” says Chris Hancock, a former Grange winemaker who joined Bob in the 1970’s. “He’d say, ‘Chris, that’s what it has to taste like – like you want some more.’”

Bob’s first wines were made in the 1970s at Rosemount Estate in Australia’s Hunter Valley and today his winemaking home is Mudgee, 162 miles north west of Sydney, a region of sunshine, terrific soils and fascinating winemaking history –  home of Australian chardonnay, site of the earliest known plantings of the variety.

Almost overnight, Bob Oatley’s wines became ‘The Taste of Australia,’ and the style that defined a continent. With his Chardonnay in Europe and followed by his Shiraz in the US, Bob Oatley created the original ‘Aussie Style’ and an international following for Australian wine. By 1983, boosted by a Double Gold Medal at the 1982 London International Wine & Spirit Competition, all of England was talking about – and drinking – Rosemount Chardonnay. Oz Clarke, writing in New Classic Wines of the World said “I remember when Rosemount Show Reserve 1980 hit the British shops, with its honeyed spice, its brazil nuts cream, its whiff of toasty smoke and an almost syrupy texture. Chardonnay was never going to be the same again.”

In 1986, Rosemount was awarded Winemaker of the Year at the IWSC and in 1999 became the first Australian winery to win Winery of the Year at the San Francisco International Wine Competition. More recently, before his handing over of Rosemount Estate, Oatley won Australia’s most prestigious wine award, the Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy, in 2002.

Four decades after the success of Rosemount, Bob Oatley and his family are again playing a key role in setting a new direction for Australian wine. Never one to rest on his laurels, in 2006 and at the age of nearly 80, Bob decided it was time to redefine perceptions about the essence of Australian wine. Still focused on creating wines with flavours that invite a second glass, Robert Oatley Vineyards reinterprets the Aussie Style with the subtlety required for today’s culinary fare. The hallmarks are appealing texture, moderate alcohol, and purity of flavour. But one thing never changes – Bob Oatley’s requirement that the wine always tastes “like you want some more.”

Today, Bob’s winemaking home is Mudgee, 261 km north-west of Sydney, a region of sunshine, ancient red-brown earths and a rich winemaking history. His wines are produced from a diverse set of family-owned vineyards spread throughout the Mudgee region as well as grapes grown for the family from vineyards as far away as Margaret River and Pemberton, Western Australia.

Bob’s eldest son, Sandy, who was in high school when the family planted the first Rosemount vineyards, is mentoring his children and other members of the next Oatley generation. Working side by side with Sandy, as Sandy did with Bob, the third generation is learning the Oatley way in wine and business.

From the family vineyards in Mudgee comes a wine style reflecting old world wine influences as well as contemporary international tastes. It’s the beginning of a second Australian wine renaissance grounded in a sense of place and tradition, led by the vision of Australia’s first wine statesman.

Robert Oatley Vineyards builds on Bob Oatley’s forty years of experience in crafting market leading Australian wines that people enjoy drinking – and taking them to the world.

A Lifetime of Quality

1946 – Before the age of 20, Bob Oatley gains experience in trading for Colyer Watson, a coffee trading company with operations in Australia, New Zealand, and New Guinea.

1958 – At the age of 30, becomes the sole employee and head of Colyer Watson’s New Guinea coffee trading division.

1963 – Mr. Colyer offers Bob the opportunity to be a partner in a new company, Angco, to control coffee and cocoa operations in New Guinea.

1969 – Plants first vines at Rosemount Estate’s Hunter Valley property

1973 – Sells Angco to the Government of Papau New Guinea

1974 – First harvest at Rosemount Estate

1976 – Winemaker Chris Hancock joins Bob Oatley as managing director of Rosemount Estates.

1982 – Awarded Double Gold at the International Wine and Spirit Competition in London for 1980 Rosemount Roxborough Chardonnay.

1985 – Queen Elizabeth II honors Bob with the British Empire Medal for his contribution to Papau New Guinea’s economy.

1986 – Establishes export office in United States for Rosemount Estate

2001 – Bob Oatley sells Rosemount Estate

2006 – Bob and his son, Andrew ‘Sandy’ Oatley establish headquarters for the new wine venture, ‘Robert Oatley Vineyards’ in Mudgee, NSW

2008 – Robert Oatley Vineyards establishes an export office in the United States

2009 – Robert Oatley Vineyards establishes an export office in Canada

(July 7, 2010) Wine Blogger Ben Carter, writing on Benito’s Wine Reviews, sampled three of Robert Oatley Vineyards’ latest releases and came away impressed: