Domaine Du Val D’Argan

La Gazelle de Mogador 2018

Price: $32.95
Tasting notes

This is one of the only orange wines produced in Morocco, and the Muscat Blanc component gives it a distinctly aromatic profile — lychee, orange blossom, candied citrus peel — that you won't find in a Georgian or Italian skin-contact wine. The Atlantic winds that sweep this semi-arid site preserve enough acidity to keep the wine fresh despite the heat of the vintage.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
LycheeOrange BlossomCandied Orange PeelApricot
  • Style: Skin-contact orange wine; medium body; aromatic and mineral; clay-limestone soils; Essaouira, Morocco
  • Grapes & Terroir: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Muscat Blanc; certified organic; clay-limestone soils; Ounagha, Essaouira AOG
  • Winemaking: Extended skin contact; thermoregulated fermentation; minimal sulfites added at bottling
  • Serving: Serve at 55 F; no decanting needed; chill slightly if serving in warm weather
  • Pairing: Chicken bastilla, lamb tagine, aged goat cheese, olives, spiced nuts, roasted vegetables
  • Similar To: For fans of aromatic orange wines who want something outside Georgia or Italy

La Gazelle de Mogador is a skin-contact orange wine from Domaine du Val d'Argan, made from a blend of Viognier, Grenache Blanc, and Muscat Blanc grown on clay-limestone soils in the Ounagha area, approximately 23 km inland from Essaouira on Morocco's Atlantic coast. Extended skin contact gives the wine its amber hue and textural grip. Minimal sulfites are added at bottling.

The vineyard sits in a semi-arid climate buffeted by near-constant Atlantic winds that moderate summer temperatures and preserve acidity in the grapes. Sorghum is grown as a cover crop between vine rows to reduce heat stress and protect the fruit from sun damage. The vines are not trained on a trellis but grown low and free-standing, a common adaptation to the intense heat of the region.

On the nose, Muscat Blanc contributes lychee, orange blossom, and citrus peel, while Viognier adds stone fruit and floral lift. On the palate, the wine is medium-bodied with bright acidity, a slight tannic grip from skin contact, and notes of candied orange peel, apricot, and tangerine pith. The finish is mineral and dry.

Serve at 55 F. This wine holds up well alongside food and does not need to be rushed.

Works well with Moroccan cuisine: pair with chicken bastilla, lamb tagine with preserved lemon, or a spread of hummus and roasted vegetables. The wine's aromatic intensity and slight tannin also stand up to aged goat cheese or a board of olives and spiced nuts. It can handle dishes with moderate heat and spice.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Orange Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Muscat Blanc
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 12.5%
Country:, Morocco
Region:, Essaouira
Appellation:, Essaouira AOG
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

FedEx and other carriers we might occasionally use can only deliver wine to customers who are 21 years or older. Someone must be at the address to receive the package, carriers don't just drop a package and leave. They must ensure the person receiving the wine is 21 or older.


Re-shipping a Package

If a package is returned to us after three failed delivery attempts, we can only re-ship the wine upon payment of a re-shipping fee, to be determined based on the shipping address and number of bottles. Shipping wine is extremely expensive. We are sorry about this, but we have no other choice. Please make sure there's always someone at the address you enter as your shipping address.

If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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If you'd like to cancel an order after it's been shipped, we can do so upon payment of a small cancellation fee – the amount depends on the size of the order. Carriers charge us a lot of money to recall a package en-route.


Heat/Frost damage

We are not responsible for heat- or frost-related issues. We offer ice-packs upon request. Please let us know if you think that there could be heat-related issues. If we don't hear anything from you regarding weather issues before an order is shipped, or if you don't request a hold due to the weather, we are not responsible for heat/frost damage.


Placed an order. What next?

1. You will receive an order confirmation email with your order summary.*

2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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**If delivery is attempted 3 times without success, or if you fail to retrieve your package from the carrier depot by the stated deadline, the shipping fee will not be refunded to the customer.

Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

La Gazelle de Mogador 2018
$32.95

Producer profile

Domaine Du Val D’Argan

Domaine du Val d'Argan was founded in 1994 by Charles Mélia, a French winemaker who left his family's estate at Château de la Font du Loup in Châteauneuf-du-Pape to establish a winery in Morocco. The domaine is located near Ounagha, about 23 km inland from Essaouira. It took four years of site preparation — digging wells, planting vines, building the cellar — before the first wines were produced. The estate grew from an initial 5 hectares to approximately 52 hectares and produces around 200,000 bottles per year.

Val d'Argan was the first vineyard in Morocco to receive organic certification, which it obtained in 2006. The estate does not use tractors; instead, a dromedary camel plows between the vine rows, an approach Mélia adopted both for ecological reasons and because camels handle the heat better than horses. Sorghum is grown as a cover crop to reduce heat stress on the vines. Drip irrigation supplements the semi-arid climate. The vines grow on clay-limestone soils and are trained low and free-standing rather than on a trellis, an adaptation to the intensity of sun and wind at the site.

All white and orange varieties planted at the domaine are Rhone-origin: Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Muscat Blanc, Clairette, Roussanne, Bourboulenc, and Ugni Blanc. Red varieties include Syrah, Grenache, Mourvèdre, and Marselan. The cellar uses a thermoregulation system to control fermentation temperatures, and a separate barrel cellar houses 40 barrels for the aging of the domaine's top cuvées. La Gazelle de Mogador orange wine undergoes extended skin contact and receives only minimal sulfites at bottling.

Wine region

Essaouira, Morocco

The Essaouira wine region sits on Morocco's southern Atlantic coast. Domaine du Val d'Argan's vineyards are located near the village of Ounagha, roughly 23 km inland from the coastal city of Essaouira. The site experiences a semi-arid climate with hot summers where temperatures can reach 40°C, but near-constant Atlantic trade winds moderate heat and help preserve acidity in the grapes. This combination of desert warmth and maritime airflow creates a microclimate unlike any other wine-producing area in Morocco.

Morocco has seven recognized wine-producing regions: Guerrouane, Zenata, Sais, Beni M'Tir, Zaire, Berkanne, and Essaouira. The Essaouira AOG is the southernmost and most climatically distinct, with its Atlantic exposure setting it apart from the more continental conditions of Meknes, Morocco's largest wine hub. The country's wine history stretches to Roman-era Volubilis, expanded significantly under the French Protectorate (1912-1956), and has seen a boutique quality revival since the 1990s. Rhone varieties — Viognier, Grenache Blanc, Muscat Blanc, Syrah, Mourvèdre — dominate production at Essaouira-area estates.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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