3 Bridges Durif 2009 (Riverina, NSW)
14.5%, Screwcap, $22
Source: Sample
www.westendestate.com.au
 |
| Durif Sorta sounds like Dew Woof |
Do people actually buy Durif? I mean, surely someone must because wineries keep producing them, but do people genuinely go out with a mindset of ‘I must trackdown more Durif’.
I only ask as it’s a variety that’s full of heart, shows plenty of promise, yet is still largely unknown. An alternative variety (which makes it cool by default), but an odd one (making it less cool) that has been around for decades yet never really hit any sort of stride.
In that vein the good thing about Durif is that – despite it’s unsexy persona – it’s actually very well suited to the warm parts of Australia. Further, it’s so obscure on a world stage (albeit for a smattering of serious attention in the states as Petit Sirah or Syrah or whatever spellings they want) that we could probably Australianise it Russell Crowe style if we really wanted too.
Anyway I can’t quite answer any of these questions (worth asking though) without delving into more rambling so I’ll stick to the wine. This is produced by the Calabria family whom are long time Griffith producers with a solid range of varietals. Think well established Italian family, whom have been making wine the Riverina since the second world war and know how to make sunny, ripe wines.
Fittingly this is ripe and full too, jam packed full of well ripened grapy goodness, polished off with sweet vanilla oak and thick tannins. It’s a black wine, black in colour, black in fruits, covered over with coffeed richly toasty oak. That oak and fruit combination gives it something of a chocolate fudge and cocoa powder nose that is dense and really quite attractive. No surprises to see that the palate matches this, with heaps of rich, grainy choc fudge flavors. It’s a fraction too raw and hard around the edges but I kinda like it. I like just how much balls this has, how much density, yet without obvious overripeness. Indeed it’s quite a svelte and polished Durif in the scheme of things, the extract and balance pretty well spot on.
If you like your reds rich, dense and healthily proportioned (yet not OTT) then this is an easy goto wine. 17/90
Leave a Reply