Morris Durif 2000

A peculiar and not entirely pleasant greenness (a bit like the shell of a passionfruit) was completely dominant on first pouring the wine. The palate also seemed thin and lacking in flavour, with overly assertive tannins. Time to leave it in the glass for a while, I think. 

A few minutes later and things have improved quite dramatically. The slightly vegetal aroma is still present but is now balanced by some volatility, somewhat raw oak and a strand of very attractive dark, sweet fruit. Some dusty leather suggests bottle age. That all probably sounds worse than it is. It's actually quite interesting, if unsophisticated, as flavour profiles go. 

The palate, even after settling for a while, is rather rustic in mouthfeel. The entry is immediate and flavoursome, and leads to a mostly fruit driven middle palate of medium to full body. Fruit is deep and sweet, with an attractive raspberry liqueur note. Acidity is quite prominent and gives the wine a notable astringency that, to my taste, overwhelms the fruit a little, although this abated somewhat with a couple of hours in the glass. Those fine tannins make themselves felt relatively early in the wine's line and silence the fruit flavours prematurely. There seems to be an underlying greenness to this wine, both in flavour and tannin character, that suggests slightly unripe fruit. 

Overall, I found this wine enjoyable enough, but lacking in any significant complexity or harmony of flavour. The slight lack of ripeness is another minus. With food, the wine's structure may be more forgiving.

Price: $A30 (purchased as aged release)

Closure: Cork

Date tasted: December 2007