2019 Eldorado Road Onyx Durif, Beechworth
$39.00
8 out of 10 CORKSCREWS
The Wined Up Review – We need to appreciate more Durif!
This is a well made wine. It’s a blend that is 50/50 from Rutherglen and Beechworth. It looks like a shiraz, but slightly lighter and more elegant than expected. The scent of chocolate and black tea leaves certainly come through but mixed nicely with ripe fruits for a beautiful aroma. It’s elegant and balanced mixed plums, blueberries, as plush fruits, with hints of oak and earthiness.
What’s wrong with Durif? Absolutely Nothing!
We’ve been listening to a fare bit of commentary on the Durif (also known as Petit Syrah) and it doesn’t seem like it’s getting much love. We tried this 2019 Durif Onyx, Eldorado Road, Beechworth to see what’s wrong with it and honestly can’t understand what the noise is about. It has similar fruit notes as a Shiraz but with more pronounced flavours of black tea, and in other Durif more chocolate notes. Give it a try and spread the love for Durif.
How was it made?
The Eldorado home vineyard in Beechworth took cuttings from an original Rutherglen clone and was planted in 2008. It’s a cooler site than Durif would normally experience but their unique terroir allows Eldorado Road to create wines that have the typical varietal characteristics of concentration, structure, and power, but with elegance and finesse. They used wild ferment in stainless steel, hand plunged daily, and kept it cool to allow for a long extraction to reduce high levels of tannins. It spent 14 days on skins before being gently basket pressed. This was a 50/50 blend with the second parcel of grapes sourced from a mature vineyard in Rutherglen.
| Corkscrew Rating | 8 out of 10 |
|---|---|
| Country | Australia |
| Region | Beechworth |
| Varietal | Durif (Petit Syrah) |
