Durif is a little-known variety made famous by neighbouring Rutherglen, but planted throughout North East Victoria. Super late ripening its painfully tight bunches make it a difficult variety to grow. The resultant wines are structured, jet black in colour with a remarkable depth of flavour. They are a safe bet to reward with careful cellaring. Planted at our home vineyard in Eldorado, our vines were taken as cuttings of the original Rutherglen clone kindly provided by Stanton & Killeen. Our site in Eldorado is a cooler site for Durif, this allows us to make a more restrained rendition of this usually powerhouse variety.

Grapes are tasted daily and picked at exactly the right moment when flavour and tannin are in balance. Upon arrival in the winery the fruit is destemmed but not crushed to maximise the presence of whole berries. 10 - 20% free run juice is run off; this gives the wine further concentration and intensity. We chase freshness and bright fruit never allowing our Durif to become over ripe. The grapes are then split into multiple ferments which are cold soaked for 48 hours before fermentation. All ferments are kept cool and gently hand plunged once daily to limit extraction of harsh obtrusive tannin. When desirable extended maceration is undertaken before gentle basket pressing to a combination of new and seasoned French oak puncheons, and barriques. Approximately 20% are new. 18 months in oak on full lees to build texture.

Serve at 18-20c, put in the fridge for 15 minutes before serving in summer. As all our wines are unfined and left to rest on gross lees to build texture in barrel, decanting the wine before serving will allow it to shine!

Food match: Braised Beef Cheek

Cellaring Potential: Time is your friend, store in a dark cool spot free from large daily temperature fluctuations. This wine will continue to

Unfined, Gently Filtered, Vegan Friendly, Hand Bottled Onsite July 2023.

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