Ruggabellus
BAROSSA VALLEY, AUSTRALIA
I'm going to leave the introduction to Ruggabellus to Abel Gibson, owner of Ruggabellus, as he tells the story better than I could.
"I have no recollection of life before this place. I moved here when I was two. I was about to experience the bouquet of my first wine cellar. It was Penfolds and it was the vintage of 1975. My father contributed to many vintages here and it was my good fortune to have the culture of this place woven into my childhood. Indeed since then my life has been filled with privileged experience working with and observing some great winemakers each with their own unique way of crafting wine. ‘Respect and history’ was learned at Penfolds, ‘craft and tradition’ at Rockford, ‘intellect and detail’ from Chris Ringland, ‘perfume and texture’ from Charlie Melton, ‘layers and length’ from my father Rob Gibson and most importantly ‘belief’ from Pete and Magali at Spinifex – without their encouragement Ruggabellus would in all likelihood have remained just an idea to this day."
