Rouge Homme

Situated in the southeast of South Australia some 50kms north of Mount Gambier, Coonawarra is the premium red wine district in South Australia. A freak of nature, the area is a unique isolated strip of rich terra rossa soil over porous limestone. Running in a north-south direction just over 14kms long and around 2kms wide, it is an island of red soil bordered by black soil, grazing country and sandy loams.

Right at the heart of this rare island are the Rouge Homme Vineyards. Their history dates back to 1908 when the Redman family purchased part of John Riddoch's Penola Fruit Colony.

For half a century, Rouge Homme winemakers supplied wine to other companies and merchants. But it was not until the release of the 1954 Cabernet Sauvignon wearing the first Rouge Homme label that the brand itself began to attract some of the fame.

The translation of the "Rouge Homme" - French for 'Red Man', signified the similarity of the wines to the red wines of Bordeaux. The "Richardson's" label was introduced with the 1992 vintage and named in honour of Henry Richardson - one of Riddoch's Coonawarra's pioneer settlers. In 1892 Richardson purchased land offered for sale by Riddoch's Coonawarra Fruit Colony and established a vineyard and winery on the property.

In 1965 the Redman family sold the vineyards and winery, which, with the original Richardson property, became Rouge Homme as it is today. Occupying about 60 hectares, the vineyards are planted with classic varieties including Shiraz, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Pinot Noir, with a small amount of Chardonnay. The Rouge Homme Winery is now one of the most modern and sophisticated in the Coonawarra.

A climate of cold, wet winters and mild to warm, dry summers allows slow ripening of the grapes, with excellent development of sugar levels and flavour, and the retention of good acidity. Because of the cold winters and springs, the vines at Rouge Homme are trained over especially high trellises, with overhead mist sprinklers to protect them from frosts during spring.

Winemaker Paul Gordon, has been with Rouge Homme since 1989. As custodian of the winery's great Coonawarra tradition he continues to produce a range of distinctive, approachable wines which have the potential to develop great complexity with bottle ageing over many years. With a considerable reputation as classic Coonawarra, Rouge Homme wines are frequent gold medal winners - particularly the reds. In 1994, Rouge Homme received what is regarded by many to be the wine industry's greatest accolade - the "Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy" which was awarded to 1993 Rouge Homme Richardsons Red Block.