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2 March 2010
Robert Oatley expands local vineyard holdings
Robert Oatley Vineyards have shown their continued confidence in the Mudgee wine industry by employing an additional five full time viticulturists at their local vineyards.
Spokesperson for Robert Oatley Vineyards, Darren Jahn said in addition to the new full-time positions, the vineyards will also have longer hours of work for the gangs of between 30 and 70 vineyard workers who employed during the 2010 harvest.
Mr Jahn said following the recent acquisition of Cumbandry, Robert Oatley Vineyards had undertaken a major review of the family’s vineyard resources.
“Because of the Cumbandry acquisition, many people think that we have doubled our vineyard size of our production,” Mr Jahn said.
“When we took it over we did not know what vines we would keep and had to get in there and have a good like at the vines, see what we would keep and see what would fit into the corporate portfolio of vineyards.
“Some of the lesser plots were removed and new plantings took place on the Woodbrook Vineyard’s (Wilbertree) higher ground,” Darren Jahn said.
“Robert Oatley Vineyards total Mudgee vineyard holdings momentarily doubled when the Cumbandry property returned to the family last October.
“However, Cumbandry will primarily now be used for grazing the family’s large herd of Charolais Cattle.
“The vineyards are now more in keeping with our needs and where we are heading - we have kept the best vineyards and planted the new varietals in the best spots to produce better quality vines.
“The message we want to get across is that there has been a lot of call to pull out vines round the country and we have done our little bit.
At approximately 2500 head, the Oatley family’s Charolais herd, based at Mudgee, is the largest in Australia and possibly be the largest in the Southern Hemisphere.
Mr Jahn said with the move to grazing at Cumbandry, only 92.5 hectares of the total 500 hectares of vineyards were being retained there.
“This 92.5 hectares that have been retained represent the best vineyard plots at Cumbandry,” he said.
“A 12.7 hectare vineyard neighbouring Bob Oatley’s Chardonnay Park to the immediate north has been integrated into that property.
“This property adjoins Montrose to the south and, additionally, a small four hectare vineyard on Henry Lawson Drive has been incorporated into the historic Craigmoor property.”
In addition to the removal of 407.5 hectares of vineyards at Cumbandry, the Oatley family has also removed a total of 43 hectares of lesser low-performing low-lying frost-prone plots on poorer grey soils.
“The vine removal process has been labour intensive and we have recycled wherever possible - more than 6,000 kilometres of wire, 113 tonnes of plastic irrigation piping, 12 tonnes of staples and 225,000 posts have found new homes,” Mr Jahn said.
“The nett effect of the acquisitions, removals and plantings is that the Oatley Mudgee vineyard holdings have grown from 468 to 543 hectares across eight properties.
“These properties comprise a range of volcanic origin soil at an altitude of 470 to 580 metres with an aspect unsurpassed in the region.”
The vineyards mix is predominately red (62 per cent), which is dominated by shiraz (36 per cent)1 .
Robert Oatley Vineyards
Craigmoor Road, Mudgee, NSW 2850 Region Mudgee T (02) 6372 2208 F (02) 9433 0456 robertoatley.com.au Open 7 days 10– 4 Winemaker James Manners, Chris Hancock, Larry Cherubino, Trent Nankivell Est. 2006 Cases NFP Vyds 461.83 ha Robert Oatley Vineyards is the venture of the Oatley family, previously best known as the owners of Rosemount Estate until it was sold to Southcorp. The chairman is Bob Oatley; the new venture is run by son Sandy, with considerable hitting power added by deputy executive chairman Chris Hancock. Wild Oats, as anyone with the remotest interest in yachting and the Sydney– Hobart Yacht Race will know, has been the name of Bob Oatley’s racing yachts. The family has long owned vineyards in Mudgee, but the new business has been rapidly expanded by the acquisition of the Montrose winery, the Craigmoor cellar door and restaurant, and vineyards spread across Mudgee. The family has completed a $10 million upgrade of the Montrose winery. The recruitment of Larry Cherubino as a consultant has given the business a major foothold in the southern regions of WA, resulting in east-meets-west regional blends, and also single-region wines. While there is a plethora of wines, stripped to its essentials, the portfolio is easy to understand: at the bottom, James Oatley Tic Tok ($18); next Wild Oats ($18); then Robert Oatley ($26– 28); and at the top, Robert Oatley Family, with three prices2
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