Richard Hamilton was born to a well-known wine family in South Australia in the 1830’s. The current winery was purchased in 1972 in McLaren Vale, by renowned vigneron, Sydney Hamilton, and named Richard Hamilton, after the current son. The vineyard is approximately 70 hectares, containing some very old vineyards, such as the Centurian Shiraz vineyard, planted in 1892; the vineyard is amongst the oldest in the region and planted on own rootstocks. Richard Hamilton lies at the southern end of McLaren Vale with a south-eastern aspect that takes advantage of the morning sun. The climate is moderate and tempered by cool sea breezes achieving full ripening of Riesling, Semillon, white Rhone varietals, Merlot, Grenache, Cabernet Sauvignon and Shiraz. They also own vineyards in Coonawarra under the Leconfield label.