Rogers & Rufus, established in 2009, is the result of a collaboration between Robert Hill-Smith and Rupert and Jo Clevely. At one time Rupert was the director of ‘Veuve Clicquot’ in Australia, afterwards running a chain of gastropubs in London called ‘Geronimo Inns’. Robert is the proprietor of ‘Yalumba’, one of Australia’s largest wine companies, and ‘Hill-Smith Family Vineyards’, which owns over 20 brands ( such as ‘Jansz’, ‘Dalrymple’ and ‘Pewsey Vale’. The idea behind ‘Rogers & Rufus’ was to create savoury, delicate rosé from low-yielding, dry-grown and old-vine Grenache in the Barossa Valley, a nod to similar styles made in the south of France. The winemaker is Sam Wigan, a native of the Barossa Valley, who followed in his father’s footsteps ‘on the winemaking path’. Sam’s father was chief winemaker at Peter Lehmann Wines for over 30 years. Sam has worked for ‘Yalumba’ since 2001 and has been involved with Yalumba brands such as ‘Running with Bulls’. Rogers & Rufus is meant to be a very playful brand - as evident from their website - and the story behind the brand is part fact, part fiction. Most of the wine is sold in the United States, with smaller allocations made available for other regions.
Only one wine is made by ‘Rogers & Rufus’, a Grenache rosé, which is completely dry and has relatively low alcohol (11%), making it suitable to be chilled and enjoyed in summer. The wine has aromas and flavours of pomegranate, wild strawberries, white pepper and lavender, featuring silky finish.
For more information on Rogers & Rufus, head to their website.