Is Durif a Grape?
Many people coming into our cellardoor are not familiar with one of our wine varieties called Durif.
Durif is a variety of red wine grape primarily grown in Australia, California, France, and Israel. It produces tannic wines with a spicy, plummy flavour. The grape originated as a cross of Syrah pollen germinating a Peloursin plant.
In the 1860s the French botanist François Durif kept a nursery of several grape varieties at his home in France where he had plantings of both Peloursin and Syrah. At some point the two vines cross pollinated and Durif discovered a new grape variety growing in his nursery.
More About Durif
Australia and California are the two leading producers of Durif. This red wine grape from the Rhone Valley is not highly regarded in its native France. In California this grape variety is referred to as "Petite Sirah".
In Australia the variety is most commonly associated with the Rutherglen region in North Eastern Victoria. However there are several other wine regions in Australia that do produce Durif. In Western Australia there are some wineries in the Swan Valley and a number of wineries in the Perth Hills. You can find Perth Hills Durif at Plume Estate, Myattsfield and Faibrossen.
Wine Style
Durif produces dark, inky colored wines with firm texture and mouthfeel. It has a bouquet with herbal and black pepper notes and displays flavors plums and blue berries. Compared to Shiraz the wine is noticeably more dark and purple in color and typically rounder and fuller in the mouth. The wines are very tannic with long aging ability in the bottle of over ten years.
Plume Estate’s Durif has aromas of nutmeg overlaying dark liquorice and raisin fruits.
The pallet displays mocha, dark cherry fruits with long tannins from fine French oak.
The wine has good ageing potential with careful cellering for at least 10 years.