Good Durif

I popped into my friendly neighbourhood wine shop today, only to be immediately flagged down by the proprietor, eager to show off a new arrival that she knew I would like. The wine in question was a French hybrid grape known as Durif, that has only recently gained wide distribution here in Canada.
The origins of this hybrid grape date back to the 1860s, when a French botanist at the University of Montpelier was crossbreeding grape varietals at a research facility. Entirely by accident, an ancient French varietal named Peloursin was pollinated by a Syrah vine in the greenhouse. While the resulting hybrid grape showed great resistance to the downy mildew that plagued the vineyards of Southern France, the vine produced tiny grapes and a mediocre wine at best, so it gathered little interest, and is now almost nonexistent in its native France.
The hybrid grape was named for its creator, François Durif, and vine cuttings made their way to California in the 1880s. By 1900, the Durif grape, called Petite Syrah in California had exploded in popularity, growing from nothing to 7500 acres under vine by the 1930s, then up to 14 thousand acres under vine by the swinging seventies.
Vine cuttings made their Australia in the early 1900s, where the French Syrah grape is referred to as Shiraz. Since the Durif grape boasts Shiraz as one of its parents, it is unsurprising that the Durif grape did well in the hot and dry terroir of the land down under, making Australia the largest producer of Durif wines worldwide.
Like its Syrah / Shiraz parent, Durif can be used as a blending grape, but modern winemakers love it for the sturdy tannic backbone and big bold flavours. When bottled as a sigle varietal, expect plenty of plum and blackcherry notes on the tongue, with hints of toasted cocoa or dark chocolate, followed by a spicy herbal finish.
As a big and bold red, Durif pairs well with grilled meats, kangaroo being a favourite accompaniment for the Aussies, or the less exotic BBQ ribs here in North America.
Throwing caution to the wind, I selected the easy-drinking 19 Crimes Shiraz Durif blend from my friendly local wine merchant for the bargain price of $15, and followed it up with a single-bottle varietal of Durif for $25, aiming to compare the two at my next backyard BBQ.
Unfortunately, patience seems to not be one of my virtues, as I cracked them both open while sitting on the dock later that evening. The wildly popular line of 19 Crimes wines from Australia did not disappoint, particularly at its $15 price point, although as a blend of Shiraz and Durif, it may have contained only small amounts of Durif. There was plenty of rich fruit and dried fig on the palate, and was friendly enough to pair with many different foods.
The pricier single varietal bottling had obviously spent more time in oak, with the tannins smoothed out and replaced with notes of cedar and smoke, nicely balanced by lush blackberry and anise spices on the palate. Unsurprisingly a superior wine at a higher price, although much of that was due to the longer barrel aging than any facets of the grape itself.
If you are a Syrah / Shiraz fan, and most red wine drinkers are, Durif will be right in your wheelhouse, inheriting much of the characteristics of its famous parent, plus some added hardiness and vine vigour from its less known Peloursin parent.
Despite being the ancestral home of both Syrah and Peloursin, the snooty winemakers of the Rhône wine region in Southern France do not recognize the hybrid Durif grape as a permitted varietal, so you will see very little of this wine coming out of France. Fortunately, the so-called Rhône Rangers of California are much less snooty, happily producing Durif, usually called Petit Sirah in abundance, both as a blending grape used as a less expensive substitute for Syrah, or in single varietal bottlings for those winemakers that want to bring out the best expressions of the varietal.
Now available here in Alberta at very reasonable prices, look for Durif or Petite Sirah while browsing the California and Australia aisles of your favourite wine shop, and broaden your wine horizons with this this delicious wine!