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Gueli

Erbatino Nero d'Avola 2015

Price: $44.95
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Tasting notes

The 40-day maceration in open concrete tanks pulls serious structure out of the chalky Trubi soils, giving the wine a firm tannic backbone and a long mineral finish that is not common in Nero d'Avola at this price. The balsamic herb character, myrtle, thyme, and sage on the nose, is a direct expression of the gypsum-and-sulfur soil this vineyard sits on.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
ThymeMushroomBlack CherryRaspberry
  • Style: Organic Nero d'Avola; Terre Siciliane IGT; chalky gypsum soils at 450-550m; 13% ABV; full-bodied with firm tannins
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Nero d'Avola; organic; Trubi chalky-gypsum soils, locality Rametta, Grotte (AG); 450-550m elevation; planted 2000
  • Winemaking: Native yeast fermentation; 40-day maceration in open concrete tanks; hand-stirred; 24-30 months in 220L used oak barrels; 6 months bottle age; no added sulfites; unfiltered, unfined
  • Serving: Serve at 62-65F; 30-45 min decant recommended for a 2015
  • Pairing: Braised lamb, wild boar ragu, pork sausage with fennel, aged Ragusano, Sicilian fava bean soup
  • Similar To: For fans of structured, herb-driven southern Italian reds such as Aglianico or aged Primitivo

Gueli Erbatino is 100% Nero d'Avola from the locality of Rametta in Grotte, province of Agrigento, grown on chalky white soils locally called Trubi or Erbatini — pale, talcum-like, low in stone, and high in minerals. The vineyard sits between 450 and 550 metres above sea level, planted in 2000 and trained on a Tendone pergola. This is the higher-elevation, gypsum-soil expression of Nero d'Avola, distinct from the limestone-clay soils used for Gueli's other cuvee, Calcareus.

Winemaking is hands-off and site-driven. Grapes are harvested manually at the end of September and fermented with native yeasts in open-top concrete tanks of 2,000kg capacity, with daily hand-stirring over a 40-day maceration. The wine then ages 24 to 30 months in 220-litre used oak barrels, followed by six months of bottle aging before release. Zero sulfites are added; total SO2 sits at just 6 to 15 mg/L. Unfiltered and unfined.

The nose opens with myrtle, balsamic herbs, thyme, sage, and mushroom. On the palate the wine is lush and textured with dark cherry fruit, grip from firm tannins, and a long, mineral finish. Compared to Calcareus, Erbatino is slightly fuller and more giving on the fruit, with grippier tannins and a marginally softer acid line — a character tied directly to its chalky, mineral-rich soil.

The wine falls under the Terre Siciliane IGT designation. The name Erbatino comes from the local dialect term for the gypsum-rich soils the vineyard occupies.

The tannic structure and balsamic herb notes work well alongside braised lamb shoulder, wild boar ragu, or pork sausage with fennel. Aged Ragusano or Pecorino Siciliano cut through the wine's richness cleanly. A traditional Sicilian pairing is Minestra di San Giuseppe, the hearty fava bean and bitter greens soup typical to the Agrigento area.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Full Body
Grapes:, Nero d'Avola
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2015
Alcohol:, 13%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Sicily
Appellation:, Terre Siciliane IGT
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

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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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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.

Producer profile

Gueli

Azienda Agricola Gueli was founded in 1986 by Vincenzo Gueli in the town of Grotte, province of Agrigento, in south-central Sicily. The farm covers 10 hectares split between vineyards and almond orchards, situated between 450 and 550 metres above sea level, not far from the Valley of the Temples. Today the estate is run by Vincenzo's three sons, Giuseppe, Calogero, and Davide.

The Guelis farm organically and produce only a small number of wines, all from Nero d'Avola. Their key decision was to plant the same variety in two distinct soil types — the pale, chalky Trubi soils of the Rametta locality, which give the Erbatino, and the limestone-clay soils of the Scintilia locality, which give the Calcareus — in order to document how soil type shapes the wine.

Winemaking follows traditional low-intervention methods the family calls a return to the old Palmento style. Fermentation occurs in open-top concrete tanks of 2,000kg capacity using native yeasts, with the must stirred by hand multiple times daily. After a 40-day maceration, the wine matures 24 to 30 months in 220-litre used oak barrels, then rests a further six months in bottle before release. No fining, no filtration, and zero added sulfites.

Wine region

Sicily, Italy

Sicily is Italy's largest island and one of its most important wine regions, producing under the broad Terre Siciliane IGT and Sicilia DOC designations, as well as sub-appellations including Cerasuolo di Vittoria DOCG and Etna DOC. The island sits in the central Mediterranean with a climate marked by hot, dry summers, mild winters, and low rainfall. Coastal breezes moderate temperatures in many vineyard zones. The province of Agrigento, in south-central Sicily, sits inland at higher elevations where diurnal temperature swings are more pronounced than at the coast.

Nero d'Avola is Sicily's most widely planted red variety, covering roughly 18% of the island's vineyard land. It thrives in arid, heat-tolerant conditions and produces wines that range from fruit-forward and early-drinking to structured, oak-aged expressions built for aging. The variety's home territory is the southeastern tip of the island around Avola, Noto, and Pachino, but it has spread across the island, including inland zones like Grotte where higher altitude and distinctive soils — chalky Trubi in the case of Gueli — shape a different expression of the grape.

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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