Rosemount lost and found for billionaire SA wine family
A father-daughter duo are reclaiming their famed family wine brand – after seeing it sold off more than 25 years ago.
Iconic South Australian wine brand Rosemount has been sold back to the billionaire Oatley family in a deal that also includes wineries in the Barossa and McLaren Vale.
A.G. Oatley Wines confirmed the sale of Rosemount and McLaren Vale’s Indgolby Wines this week, along with Murray Street Vineyards in the Barossa in a separate transaction as it expands its Australian wine holdings.
Second and third-generation vintners Sandy Oatley and his daughter Nicky Oatley are adding the new buys to the company portfolio with Sandy Oatley saying “we are thrilled to be able to bring Rosemount home to our family once again”.
The Murray Street Vineyards deal includes the family taking over the winery, its cellar door featuring its artisan wine, 56 hectares across the Barossa Valley, with its sweeping vineyards specialising in varietals including Grenache, Shiraz and Cabernet Sauvignon.
Rosemount also has vineyards in McLaren Vale, Robe and on the Fleurieu Peninsula and was founded in 1969 by Robert Oatley AO BEM before its sale for around $1.5 billion to Southcorp in 2001.
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“I worked with my father building Rosemount into a globally recognised Australian brand for over 20 years,” A.G. Oatley Wines owner Sandy Oatley said.
“To have the opportunity to now work on the brand with my daughter Nicky is an extraordinary full circle moment.”
It follows a string of purchases for the brand, including the recent acquisition of Chalk Hill’s 10.8 hectare La Colline Vineyard from the Hancock family.
The family confirmed that Hancock and Hancock, which operates out of La Colline, would continue “recently refreshed and relaunched” under Oatley ownership. The relaunch includes three new South Australian varietals; Clare Valley Riesling, McLaren Vale Chenin Blanc and Barossa Shiraz.
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“South Australia is such an important part of the industry’s future, and these investments in the Barossa Valley and McLaren Vale allow us to play a meaningful role,”winemaker and co-owner Nicky Oatley said.
“With Rosemount, it’s truly exciting to have the opportunity to work alongside my dad to reimagine a brand that holds such a special place in our hearts. We’re not quite ready to share what that looks like yet.
“For now, we’re just incredibly happy to have Rosemount back in the family and excited about what’s ahead.”
Speaking on their sale of Murray Street Vineyards, co-owner Janai Brengman said that building the brand had been a “passion” for her family.
“We are incredibly proud of the wines and community we have built over the past 25 years, and we are confident that the Oatley family will guide the brand into its next exciting chapter,” she said.
In a statement, the family said they were “honoured” to be the next custodians of the winery, which had “built an outstanding reputation in the Barossa”.
“As a family business ourselves, we share the values that have shaped Murray Street, and we look forward to building on the legacy Bill [Jankhe] and Janai have created,” Oatley said.
The sale to the Oatley family comes as Treasury Wine Estates (TWE), who previously owned both Rosemount and Ingoldby, aims to cut costs by $100 million over the next three years.
TWE, who own Penfolds, Pepperjack and Squealing Pig, reported a bottom-line net loss of $1.1 billion in the 2025/26 financial year.
Rosemount will transition into the A.G. Oatley brand in October with winemaking overseen by Murray Street’s Ben Perkins, with the AG Oatley Wines portfolio now taking in Margaret River, McLaren Vale and Barossa, with its brands including Robert Oatley, Wild Oats, NOW. (Nicole Oatley Wines), Whipbird and Hancock.
Winemaking is led by Larry Cherubino, with Debbie Lauritz at the family’s Mudgee winery and vineyards – and now joined now by Perkins.
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