Alain Graillot / Thalvin Syrocco Syrah du Maroc 2023
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The Land
The man who made the benchmark Crozes-Hermitage also made Syrah in Morocco, and the wine is not a novelty. Zenata is a coastal appellation strung between Casablanca and Rabat, close enough to the Atlantic that the vineyards sit in cold onshore wind for most of the growing season. That matters more than the latitude. On paper this is roughly 33 degrees north, well south of anywhere in Europe that grows serious Syrah, but the ocean air drops afternoon temperatures and opens up a wide day-to-night swing that holds acidity in the fruit. The US importer describes the soils as sandy shale and gravel, free-draining ground that limits vigor. Clean air and almost no industrial agriculture nearby make organic farming the path of least resistance rather than a sacrifice.
The Wine
100% Syrah, completely destemmed, fermented in closed concrete vats with about 10 days of maceration and daily pump-overs, then roughly 15 months of aging that starts in tank and finishes in large, older Burgundy barrels from Francois Freres. Vines average around 25 years. The gentle extraction and the absence of new oak are deliberate: this is built to taste like Syrah and like Morocco, not like a barrel. Fruit runs darker and riper than Crozes without going jammy, and the cool Atlantic influence keeps the structure upright. Blueberry, black plum, dried thyme, crushed violet and a dusting of black pepper, then a plush, almost silky middle, soft tannin, and a finish that turns herbal and faintly salty. Drink it over the next three or four years rather than cellaring it. For a Syrah from Morocco, the striking thing is how little it needs explaining.
The People
Domaine des Ouled Thaleb was founded in 1923 and is the oldest operating winery in Morocco, run through the Thalvin house. Its revival in the 1990s set the table for everything that followed in Moroccan wine. Alain Graillot came into the picture after seeing the estate's mature Syrah plantings and recognizing what Atlantic-cooled fruit could do, and the Syrocco project has run for years now, with the Graillot family continuing it after Alain's death in March 2022. The approach is low-tech on purpose: hand plowing, hand weeding, goblet pruning, and the same whole-fruit, low-oak instincts that built the reputation of the home domaine in Crozes-Hermitage.
Food Pairing
This is the bottle for a lamb tagine with prunes, almonds and a long cinnamon-scented braise, where the wine's dark fruit meets the sweetness of the dried fruit head-on. Grilled lamb kefta or merguez with harissa and yogurt works for the same reason, the soft tannin absorbing the chile heat. Chicken thighs roasted with preserved lemon and olives pull out the herbal, saline finish. A plate of spiced roasted carrots with labneh and dukkah makes the vegetarian version of the same meal. It is the wine for the night you cook something you have never cooked before.
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Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Syrah is a dark-skinned grape of French origin, specifically from the Northern RhĂ´ne Valley, where it produces some of the world's most powerful and complex wines. Known as Shiraz in Australia, Syrah is capable of displaying a wide range of aromas and flavors. Cool climate Syrahs tend to express floral notes like violets, along with savory elements like olives, while those grown in warmer climates like Australia are more likely to show black pepper and dark fruit notes such as plum. The grape's versatility allows it to adapt to various climates and soil types, but it maintains its unique characteristics no matter where it is planted.
