Rutherglen Estate and its Unlikely “Marriage” to Durif
A big part of the enchantment and allure of the Australian wine industry is the quirkiness and the nuances of our wines, regions and winemaking practices. As a nation, the quality of our wines punch well above our global weight, and there are plenty of stories about unexpected success of varietals, winemakers and sub-regions. One of the more remarkable, at least to me, is Rutherglen and its left field “marriage” to Durif.
The town of Rutherglen is situated a bit over 250 kms north-east of Melbourne. It’s probably closest to Wodonga – about 50 kms to the east. The local wine industry has been producing wines for about 150 years but historically, it was best known for making fortified wines such as port, tokay and muscat. But in recent years all that has changed; thanks to the contemporary winemaking practices of artisan winemakers, and a little-known grape called Durif.
The Durif grape is native to the south of France but ironically, very little of the wine is now made in the country. Somewhat surprisingly, this grape (which is genetically a crossing of shiraz and Peloursin) is now most widely grown in California and Australia. And in terms of Australian production, the majority of it comes from the Rutherglen region in regional Victoria.
This varietal was discovered in the late 1800s and was pioneered by Francois Durif – hence the name. It’s believed that it was first planted in Australia in the Rutherglen region by Francois de Castella in the early 1900s, when it was most widely used to make fortified wines or to blend with other red varietals.
In California, the grape is normally sold under the name “Petite Sirah” – though wines sold under that name are not necessarily entirely made from Durif. The grape is also grown in Israel, Brazil, Chile and even Mexico. Seemingly, it prefers quite warm and dry climates – so it does well in many inland regions. It’s naturally a big wine – powerful, muscular and tannin heavy. In terms of palate weight, it’s probably most comparable to shiraz.
Late last year at the Royal Melbourne Wine Show, I chatted to De Bortoli’s head winemaker, Marc Scalzo, about his passion for Rutherglen and for the Durif varietal. He insists that Durif and Rutherglen are a match made in heaven due to bunch design and climate. “Durif bunches are tightly bound like little hand grenades and need a mild autumn and dry conditions leading into harvest or otherwise, there’s a high risk of disease spoiling the fruit. So the climate here is absolutely perfect”, he said.
Scalzo also insists that Durif is a wine best used to accompany food. “It’s not all about the traditional fruit flavours of other reds like shiraz or cabernet. Durif speaks to the secondary characters like chocolate, spice and licorice and proudly shouts out its grainy dry tannins”.
Whilst the Rutherglen Estate of De Bortoli produce a number of Durifs, it was the Rutherglen Estate Durif 2021 that surprised me on the upside for incredible value. This is a wine which retails at a bit over $20 a bottle yet could easily be sold at twice the price. It seems it wasn’t just me who was impressed by the quality of the wine – the Victorian Wine Show judges must like it too as previous vintages have been awarded gold medals at the 2020 and 2021 Victorian Wine Shows as well as the trophy at the 2023 Show to boot!
The 2021 Rutherglen Estate Durif is a very deep, dark brooding red and purple colour in the glass. The depth of the hues really forecast the power and might behind the wine. Give it a swirl and the bramble and licorice notes hit you like an uppercut on the nose, before the first sip allows the stewed dark fruits to emerge from their screw-cap slumber. Waves of stewed plums, cassis and black forest cake come in spice-laden waves before the tannins take centre stage on the back palate. There’s nothing subtle about them though! French oak adds sophistication and elegance, though there’s also a hint of sweetness on the finish – perhaps because of the presence of a bit of American oak.
In its youth, the fruit is fresh and lively, but I’m sure that if you were patient enough to lay it down, the tannins will soften, and the wine only improve over the next ten to 15 years. An absolutely perfect partner for a slow cooked beef ragu!
For a wine region which has only about 20 wineries, the success of Durif in the Rutherglen district is really quite remarkable. It’s certainly put this town of only about 4,000 people on the oenological map!
