{"product_id":"thalvin-syrocco-syrah-morocco","title":"Thalvin -- Syrocco -- Syrah -- Morocco","description":"\u003cp\u003eMorocco’s modern wine industry traces its roots to the early twentieth century during the French protectorate, when vineyards were planted along the country’s Atlantic corridor between Casablanca and Rabat, an area whose moderate maritime climate offered relief from the intense heat of the interior. One of these historic estates, the Thalvin winery near the village of Ben Slimane in the Zenata region, dates to the 1920s and sits roughly forty kilometers inland where Atlantic breezes and elevations around 500 meters help moderate summer temperatures. Famed Northern Rhône producer Alain Graillot encountered the vineyards of what he recognized as Syrah while bicycling through the region and later arranged to work with the parcels. The sites lie on clay-rich soils over limestone and ancient marine sediments, conditions that retain moisture while preserving the grape’s aromatic lift in an otherwise warm climate, and which differ from the alluvial soils of the Alain Graillot Crozes-Hermitage wines. The “Syrocco,” named partly for the Sirocco desert wind that crosses North Africa and partly as a portmanteau of Syrah and Morocco, comes from Syrah vines averaging 25 years, farmed with traditional methods such as goblet pruning, hand ploughing, and manual weed control without herbicides or fungicides. The grapes are fully destemmed (which is remarkable as Alain Graillot was a proponent of whole cluster fermentations for his Crozes-Hermitage wines) and fermented in closed concrete vats with daily pumpovers and a relatively brief maceration of about ten days before aging for fifteen months, first in tank and then in large, mostly neutral oak casks from Burgundy. The result is a lighter-bodied Syrah with aromas of purple flowers and fresh, just ripe red and black berries, subtle spice, and a touch of pepper, carried by fresh acidity and medium-low tannins. This wine would pair well with Larb, Pork Adobo or mild cheeses and could even do with a slight chill if it's a hot day.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"Kompas Wine Club","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":42936332353613,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"USD","in_stock":false}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0078\/4515\/0797\/files\/Syrocco.png?v=1777502990","url":"https:\/\/kompaswineclub.com\/products\/thalvin-syrocco-syrah-morocco","provider":"Kompas Wine Club","version":"1.0","type":"link"}