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Margins Wine

Mourvedre 2017

Sale price: $28.95 Regular price:$29.95
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Tasting notes

California Mourvèdre is rarely this complete: the hot, sandy-loam site gives dark fruit and chocolatey depth, while the site's pronounced diurnal swing keeps the acidity alive and the finish fresh. The spontaneous fermentation and neutral oak let the grape read clearly, without winemaking noise layered on top.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
BlackberryCoffeeGarrigueBaking Chocolate
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; Santa Clara Valley Mourvèdre; dark fruit, coffee, herbs, creamy palate
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Mourvèdre; Sattler's Family Vineyard, 2.7 acres; sandy loam; 266 ft elevation; southern Santa Cruz Mountain foothills
  • Winemaking: 100% destemmed; ~10-day maceration; spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts in neutral oak; 8 months neutral oak aging; unfined, unfiltered; 20 mg/L SO2
  • Serving: Serve at 60-64°F; 20-30 min decant recommended
  • Pairing: Braised lamb, roasted pork, beef stew, aged hard cheese
  • Similar To: For fans of Bandol Mourvèdre or Monastrell who want a California take with fresh acidity

Mourvèdre from the Sattler's Family Vineyard, a 2.7-acre plot planted in 2009 in the foothills of the southern Santa Cruz Mountains at 266 feet elevation. The site sits within the Santa Clara Valley AVA but at too low an elevation to qualify as Santa Cruz Mountains. Sandy loam soils, hot and dry days, and a sharp diurnal temperature swing that preserves acidity in the grapes.

Winemaker Megan Bell destemmed the fruit entirely, macerated for approximately 10 days, and fermented spontaneously with indigenous yeasts in neutral oak. The wine aged 8 months in neutral oak with no fining, no filtration, and a minimal addition of 20 mg/L sulfur dioxide added the week before bottling.

The nose is layered: ripe dark berry, coffee, herbal wood notes, and a spiced chocolate backdrop. On the palate the wine is luscious and creamy with supple tannins, a drawn-out mid-palate, and persistent high-toned acidity that carries through the finish without cutting. Mourvèdre rarely gets this treatment in California, which makes this bottling a useful reference point for the variety outside its Southern Rhône and Spanish Monastrell contexts.

At the time of the 2017 harvest, the vineyard was in the early stages of transitioning toward organic farming, a process Megan Bell initiated in 2018 and completed by the 2021 vintage.

The savory, herb-edged character of this wine suits lamb preparations well, particularly braised or roasted with rosemary and garlic. It also works alongside grilled pork with stone fruit or a slow-cooked beef stew. The wine's acidity and integrated tannins make it versatile at the table without needing a heavy dish.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Mourvèdre
Farming:, Sustainable
Vintage:, 2017
Alcohol:,
Country:, USA
Region:, Santa Clara Valley
Appellation:, Santa Clara Valley AVA
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.


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.

Producer profile

Margins Wine

Margins Wine was founded in 2016 by Megan Bell, who grew up in Livermore, California and completed a BS in Viticulture and Enology at UC Davis in 2012. Before starting Margins she worked in wineries and vineyards in Napa Valley, the Livermore Valley, the Willamette Valley, Central Otago in New Zealand, and the Loire Valley in France. She later worked as enologist at Bonny Doon Vineyard and as assistant winemaker at Beauregard Vineyards in the Santa Cruz Mountains before launching Margins with a crowdfunding campaign to produce eight barrels of Chenin Blanc.

The Margins concept was built around sourcing grapes from underrepresented regions, vineyards, and varietals throughout northern and central California. Bell's approach to sourcing was explicitly tied to agricultural change: she worked with growers who were in transition toward organic farming, providing a guaranteed home for their fruit as an incentive to convert. The Sattler's Family Vineyard, planted by Ed Sattler in 2009, began its organic conversion in 2018 and was fully certified by 2021. The Sattler's sold their property at the end of 2022, ending Margins' relationship with the site.

Bell made all Margins wines using indigenous yeast fermentation, no fining, no filtration, and only neutral oak for aging. Sulfur dioxide additions were kept minimal, typically around 20 mg/L added the week before bottling. No temperature control was used. Margins produced roughly 2,800 cases annually at its peak across more than 20 wines. Bell announced the closure of Margins in February 2026 after a decade of operation based in Santa Cruz County.

Wine region

Santa Clara Valley, USA

The Santa Clara Valley AVA runs roughly north to south through Santa Clara County, flanked by the Santa Cruz Mountains to the west and the Diablo Range to the east. The AVA was officially designated in 1989 and is recognized as the oldest continuously cultivated wine region in Northern California, with viticultural roots dating to 1777. Production today is concentrated near Morgan Hill, Gilroy, and San Martin. The Sattler's Vineyard sits in the foothills at the southern end of the Santa Cruz Mountains, within the Santa Clara Valley AVA at 266 feet, below the elevation threshold for the Santa Cruz Mountains AVA.

The climate is warm Mediterranean: the Santa Cruz Mountains block direct Pacific influence, and the southern portions of the valley see summer highs frequently exceeding 95°F. Evening temperatures drop sharply due to a pronounced diurnal swing, which preserves acidity in the grapes even at full ripeness. Valley floor soils tend toward deep, fertile alluvial deposits; hillside and foothill sites like Sattler's carry sandy loam that drains well and limits vine vigor. Rhône varieties including Mourvèdre, Grenache, and Counoise, as well as Italian varieties such as Sangiovese and Barbera, have shown well in the warmer inland sections of the AVA.

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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