Alain Graillot Syrocco Syrah 2021

Alain Graillot stumbled upon these vineyards and the Thalvin winery while bicycling in the Zenata region of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat. It is a beautiful area with cool winds blowing off the Atlantic and no polluting industries. The Thalvin winery has been around since the 1920s and after some discussion, a deal was reached and Thalvin provided Graillot with parcels of Syrah vines to produce Syrocco.

Fruit is grown primarily around the winery, which is located near the village of Ben Slimane (40 km from the ocean between Casablanca and Rabat in Morocco). The wine is crafted from vines 10-40 years old (average age 25 years), using traditional farming methods such as goblet pruning, hand weeding and hand ploughing, to maintain the integrity of the varietal. All vineyards are ploughed and weeded by hand, and no herbicide or fungicide treatments are used.

The grapes are 100% de-stemmed and fermented in closed concrete vats. Daily pumpovers are done and maceration is completed in 10 days. The wine is aged for 15 months, first in tanks and then finished in large oak casks imported from Burgundy (from François Frères).