Enfer d'Arvier 2019

Danilo Thomain's Enfer d'Arvier is made from 100% Petit Rouge, an indigenous Valle d'Aosta grape, grown on brutally steep, south-facing granite terraces in the hamlet of Arvier. The vineyard sits between 680 and 800 meters above the Dora Baltea river, within a five-hectare amphitheater-shaped appellation that is the second-highest red wine growing zone in the valley. Thomain farms roughly one hectare here, making him the sole independent bottler in the entire DOC. Vines are worked entirely by hand, some reaching upward of 95 years old.

The wine ferments spontaneously after total destemming in fiberglass and stainless-steel tanks. Cuvaison lasts around two weeks with pumpovers. It then ages approximately nine months on fine lees in stainless steel before being bottled unfined and unfiltered with a minimal sulfur addition. Annual production is roughly 2,500 bottles, the majority of which is allocated to the US market through Rosenthal Wine Merchant.

In the glass, this is a saturated deep ruby-red. The nose brings black cherry, wild berry, mountain flowers, and a streak of earthiness with notes of licorice and flint. Extreme diurnal swings at altitude produce that distinctive tension between ripe, luscious fruit and a sharp, driving acidity. Tannins are fine-grained and present but never grippy. This is a wine that can age: a 2008 tasted in recent years still showed well.

Enfer d'Arvier translates literally as 'The Hell of Arvier,' a reference to the intense summer heat that builds in this bowl-shaped site despite the high elevation. The appellation received DOC status in 1972, making it one of the first sub-zones in the Valle d'Aosta to be formally recognized. Viticultural records in the zone date back to the 13th century.

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.

Re-routing a Package

If you'd like to reroute a package after it's been shipped, we can do so for a $20 re-routing fee. We cannot re-route a package across state borders. For any change of address, please contact us as soon as possible, ideally within 1-2 days from placing the order or we cannot guarantee we'll be able to reroute or change your order's shipping address.

Canceling an Order

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.

3. Please track your package using the tracking service.

4. The carrier will attempt delivery a maximum of 3 times. After 3 delivery attempts, your package will be sent back to our warehouse.**

*Please ensure your email address is correct; otherwise, you will not receive the order and shipping confirmation emails.

**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.