- Rutherglen, VIC - $20-$29
- Screwcap
- 14.5%alc
Given the rather heavy hitting, long living wines made from durif in Victoria's Rutherglen region, it makes me wonder why there aren't more examples of the variety from South Australia's warmer districts. Morris has really nailed the style over the years, gifting us firm, robust, weighty, classically Australian reds, sold at a wonderful price to the consumer.
Richly scented and profoundly deep for its price, the 2007 Morris Durif displays a beautifully even, heady fragrance combining dark aromatic character with bright expression. Shiraz-like dark plums and berries, choc-raisins/licorice and a peppery hint of dry roast meats live it up in the nose, while a gentle whiff of chocolate/vanilla oak provides no more than a backing role, allowing its vivid fruit to power through. The palate begins with a similarly bright, generously weighted mouthful of ripe plums and berries, before its nature becomes much more rustic as it progresses, in both taste and feel. Advancing and containing its well measured richness is a powerfully dry, intensely tannic and hard-boned structure, that should take years to settle into its substantial fruit base. Basically, this is what top quality durif is all about for me; impact and age-worthiness. Just strap yourself in and feel the G's!
ü+ A classic Rutherglen durif, that's hard to split from Morris's magnificent 2004 (94pts). However, unlike the 2004, the 2007 is sealed with a screwcap, so you can cellar with complete confidence. Awesome. Drink to 2025.
93 points
Sounds interesting. I have only very recently discovered Durif. Needed a good half an hour in the decanter but the wait was worth it! I might check this one out.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dasein. For the price I couldn't recommend any Australian durif more, but I'd definitely recommend at least 1-2 hours in the decanter for this beast. Patience and company permitting of course :)
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Chris P
p.s. been really enjoying your Beer around the world blog - keep the entries coming!
I love a Morris Durif but I generally won't touch them until they are at least 10 years old.
ReplyDeleteI picked up a few bottles of the Stanton and Killeen recently which I probably like a little more but they also cost a few dollars more. I agree that it is suprising that there isn't more Durif coming out of South Australia
Paul,
ReplyDeleteIt's definitely a good point you bring up about the Morris Durif. With this wine (which I also found with the 2004 I drunk at 5 years old, and loved), I found I much enjoyed the first glass; after 2 hours decanting, but the second glass felt like much more of a tannin-blitzkrieg in my mouth, digging deep tannin trenches that couldn't be removed. Still, I have a soft spot for bit of mouth-bashing tannins in my mouth, so long as it's balanced by quality fruit. :)
Cheers,
Chris P
We just had an '08. Amazing value. This is exactly the sort of red I adore! Thick!!
ReplyDelete