DAN'S WINE BLOG- THIS WEEK'S WINE REVIEW

2024-10-18

Those who know me, are aware that I have been a Durif tragic since the 1980’s when I first encountered Mick Morris and the magnificent Morris of Rutherglen #Durif. Growing up in Sydney and cutting my vinous teeth on Hunter reds, I was utterly bog-smacked when I first tasted a #rutherglen Durif.

Since then, I have amassed an array of Durif in my cellar, originally from Rutherglen but more recently from several other areas around the country as Durif has evolved. First came Griffith, then the Riverland Wine, #heathcote, #barossa etc- I even have a couple of bottles of GranMonte Vineyard and Winery Durif all the way from Thailand in my collection.

As with almost all reds, in Durif there has been a gradual lightening of style and depth as the variety has become more contemporary and sophisticated. Today’s Durif are not as big, bold or chunky as they were last century. So today’s wine is a step back in time to an era when Durif was bigger & bolder. It is the:

MORRIS CHM 2019 RUTHERGLEN DURIF.Named after Charles Henry Morris a.k.a. Mick Morris who launched the first varietally labelled Durif wine in the world in 1954.

The wine is deep, dark & dense in purple, almost black in colour. The bouquet in contrast is quite gentle and subtle with attractive dark berries and a dash of dried herbs. The palate is deep, dense, bright and tight, the fruit being ever so restrained, meaning that it needs a good long spell in the cellar to blossom and shine at its best- i.e. a good old-fashioned Durif is a sea of “drink me soon” Durif. A fitting tribute to a great man, who above all else was a “bloody good down to earth bloke” thus this is a “A bloody good down to earth Durif”

This stunning wine along with the rest of the excellent Morris of Rutherglen range can be found at www.morrisofrutherglen.com -well worth checking out, especially as they also produce a range of whiskies and have just released their inaugural Gin.