Sébastien Riffault Saulétas Sancerre 2016, a natural white wine from Loire Valley, France, made from Sauvignon Blanc grapes
Sébastien Riffault
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Sébastien Riffault Saulétas Sancerre 2016

$46.00
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Tasting notes

Saulétas is Sauvignon Blanc stripped of everything that makes the grape predictable — late harvest and partial botrytis give it a golden color, almond and apricot depth, and a saline, peppery finish that lingers long after the glass is empty. It reads nothing like a standard Sancerre, yet every bit of its complexity traces back to that one limestone hectare in Verdigny.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
AlmondApricotSalineWhite Pepper
Dry/Sweet:Dry
Wine Type:White Wine
Wine Style:Medium Body
Grapes:Sauvignon Blanc
Farming:Organic and Biodynamic
Vintage:2016
Alcohol:13%
Country:France
Region:Loire Valley
Appellation:Sancerre AOC
Bottle Size:750ml
Sugar Level:Zero Added Sugar
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Important information

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. Shipping to PO Boxes is not allowed.

Ship to a FedEx Store

If nobody can be at your address to sign for the package, you can have your order sent to a FedEx store instead. Enter your preferred FedEx store as the shipping address at checkout and we'll ship your order there. Once it arrives, you have 5 business days to pick it up, and you'll need to show your ID.

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, at a cost, but even so, we can't be held liable if it's 104 where you are and corks pop. 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

Sébastien Riffault

Sébastien Riffault is the son of Etienne Riffault and took over vineyard management at age 21. He launched his own label in 2002, starting from a small 2-acre plot, at a time when organic or biodynamic farming was rare in Sancerre. The family estate, Domaine Etienne et Sébastien Riffault, is based in Sury-en-Vaux and now covers 12 hectares spread across the communes of Sancerre, Verdigny, and Sury-en-Vaux. The estate has been certified organic since 2007 and practices biodynamics following Demeter guidelines since 2004.

In the vineyard, Riffault uses two horses to plow 4 of his 12 hectares — the blocks planted with vines between 35 and 70 years old — to avoid compaction from tractor passes. No chemical pesticides, herbicides, or synthetic fertilizers are used. Cover crops of grass, flowers, and plants grow between vine rows to support biodiversity and beneficial insect populations. Riffault is a member of the Association des Vins Naturels and the Renaissance des Appellations.

Riffault harvests significantly later than his neighbors in Sancerre, aiming for full physiological ripeness and accepting that a portion of grapes will be affected by botrytis. All wines except Les Quarterons are fermented with indigenous yeasts in old barrels, undergo complete malolactic fermentation, and age on their lees. The wines are never chaptalized or acidified. Bottling is done by gravity. No fining, no filtration, and no added SO2 across the lineup — the only exception being a minimal sulfur addition to Les Quarterons at bottling. Each cuvée name in the lineup comes from Lithuanian and references a specific soil type or characteristic: Saulétas (sunny), Skeveldra (stone fragment), Akmèniné (made of stones), and Auksinis (golden).

Wine region

Loire Valley, France

Sancerre sits on the left bank of the Loire River in the eastern Loire Valley, roughly 200 kilometers south of Paris and closer geographically to Chablis and Champagne than to the Atlantic coast. The appellation covers approximately 2,800 hectares across 14 communes in the Cher département, including Sancerre, Verdigny, Sury-en-Vaux, Bué, and Saint-Satur. Vineyards are planted on hillsides at altitudes between 200 and 400 meters, most with south-facing aspects. The climate is semi-continental — hot, short summers and cold winters — with springtime frost a consistent viticultural risk. The Loire River provides some temperature moderation through the growing season.

Three distinct soil types define Sancerre's terroir: terres blanches (Kimmeridgian clay-limestone, similar to that found in Chablis), caillottes (stony, chalky limestone pebbles), and silex (flint). Terres blanches produce wines with more body and structure; caillottes yield lighter, more aromatic styles; silex contributes the smoky, gunflint minerality associated with the most age-worthy examples. The Sancerre AOC was granted status for white wines in 1936 and for reds in 1959. White wine, made exclusively from Sauvignon Blanc, accounts for around 80% of production. Red and rosé Sancerre are produced from Pinot Noir. Pouilly-Fumé, on the opposite right bank of the Loire, is the appellation's closest neighbor and counterpart.

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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