Syrocco is produced by legendary Rhône vigneron Alain Graillot and his sons, Maxime and Antoine. He stumbled upon these vineyards and the Thalvin winery while bicycling in the Zenata region of Morocco between Casablanca and Rabat. This gorgeous area is an organic dream, with cool winds blowing off the Atlantic and no polluting industries whatsoever. The Thalvin winery has been around since the 1920’s, and when Alain found their gorgeous property, he formed a partnership with them to provide Syrah vine for his own Moroccan wines. Alain crafts these two wines as fruit-forward and juicy, yet they are made in an Old-World style with soft ex- traction, excellent balance, and complex aromatics.
 
TERROIR:
From the Zenata region of Morocco, between Casablanca and Rabat on the Atlantic coast Cool micro-climate from the cold winds off the Atlantic. 25+ year old organic vines, sandy shale and gravel terroir. 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.
 
WINEMAKING:
The grapes are 100% de-stemmed and fermented in closed concrete vats. Daily pump-overs 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). Aged in large older barrels