Cabo da Roca Reserva Syrah

Description

Cabo da Roca Reserva Syrah 2022 — thirty-year-old vines under Atlantic influence

Syrah grown on limestone slopes 26 kilometres from the coast, cool-fermented and aged twelve months in used French oak.

Syrah in Lisboa behaves differently from Syrah in the Rhône: the Atlantic sits 26 kilometres away and keeps the nights cool, which holds the pepper and stops the fruit turning jammy. The vineyard is thirty years old at 135 metres, yielding five tonnes per hectare, Royat-trained on ground that shifts between alluvial flats and limestone.

Machine-harvested in the third week of September. Destemmed and crushed, three days of cold maceration, fermentation at 24 ºC to keep the fruit intact, malolactic in used barrels, then twelve months in used oak. 14.5% alcohol.

Deep red. Black fruit, blackberry and plum with black pepper. The palate is dense, with coffee and caramel underneath.

Serve at 18 ºC. Cellaring 2024–2032. Pairs with pata negra, aged cheese and game stew. First vintage produced: 2015.

Read more in the Journal

• The Secret of Flavour: How Climate Shapes Wine
• Red Wine