Dureza
Ardèche, France
A rare, deeply colored red grape from the Ardèche region of France, grown only in small quantities today but notable as one of the two parents of Syrah.
Sensory profile
Characteristics
Flavor & aroma
At a glance
Production facts
Prevalence
Rare
Climate
Moderate climate
Ripening
Mid season
Wine styles
Still
Where it's grown
Geography
Shaded areas are the state, province or département(s) containing each region, so they run wider than the appellations themselves.
France
Ardèche
A handful of conservatory plantings survive in the grape's historic home region.
Background
Origin & History
Dureza was once cultivated in modest quantities in the Ardèche, prized for the deep color it lent to blends, but it fell out of commercial favor over the 20th century and today survives mainly in a handful of conservatory plantings. For a long time it was little more than a footnote in French ampelography.
That changed in the late 1990s, when DNA profiling by researchers including John Bowers, Jean-Michel Boursiquot, and Carole Meredith identified Dureza as one of the two parents of Syrah — the other being Mondeuse Blanche — finally resolving centuries of romantic but unfounded folklore that had traced Syrah's origins to Persia or the ancient Greek colony of Syracuse.
Lineage
Family tree
Parentage not recorded — Dureza is an old variety of unknown origin. Click a related grape to explore its own lineage.