Morris of Rutherglen, Classic Liqueur Rutherglen Topaque

For over 155 years, the Morris family have earned their position as one of Australia’s most prominent winemaking families and their name is now synonymous with ‘Liqueur Muscat’. Today, David Morris, the fifth generation of the family to run the winery, continues his family's exceptional legacy.

In 1859, George Francis Morris established a four-hectare vineyard and winery near Rutherglen, planted on ancient red loam over red and yellow podzolic clay soils. A charming, northeastern Victorian town, Rutherglen still speaks of the gold rush, which led to the development of its wine industry in the 1850s. By 1885, the plantings had grown to over 80 hectares, making Morris the largest wine producer in the Southern Hemisphere, but the region’s vines were crippled by the spread of phylloxera in 1890. Charles Hugh Morris, son of George, established a new vineyard close to the original plantings in 1897, selling his prize-winning horse to develop the winery. A showjumping horse remains the company’s logo to this day. Charles Tempest Morris took over operations in the 1930s to guide the company through the depression and war, and his son Charles Henry Morris became head winemaker in 1953. Charles’ son David took over the reins in 1993. Casella Family Brands, also the owner of Peter Lehmann Wines, acquired Morris Wines in 2016.

The Morris wines differ significantly in style from those of Chambers Rosewood. Their vineyards and winery are situated east of Rutherglen, where the climate is warmer and drier. Historically, this resulted in riper grapes, yielding richer and denser wines. Chambers Rosewood, located northwest of the town, is in a cooler site, so the wines are more restrained and less sweet than Morris'. Today, the producers can better control the style of the wines, but Morris remains in the ‘sweet and rich’ camp of Rutherglen, while Chambers Rosewood are in the ‘drier’ camp. As a result, they are wonderfully complementary.

The ‘Classic Muscat’, made from predominantly Brown Muscat, has a rich yet fresh bouquet of rose petals, preserved fruit and nuts. The ‘Classic Topaque’, made predominantly from Muscadelle, often considered the ‘elegant cousin’ of Muscat, displays concentrated notes of malt and treacle with preserved figs. Both are blends of different vintages with an average age of around eight years, resulting in freshness and varietal character balanced by subtle complexity from ageing in barrel. When blending the ‘Old Premium Rare Muscat’, only the best wines from the best vintages are chosen. The art lies in finding the right balance of very old and much younger components, resulting in a heady combination of intense raisin fruit, soft woody characters, luscious flavours, and great depth and complexity.