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Sam Vinciullo

Warner Glen Red/White 2017

Sale price: $32.95 Regular price:$42.95
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Tasting notes

Merlot and Semillon are almost never blended, and this wine makes clear why someone should try it — the Semillon's skin-contact tartness cuts straight through any softness the Merlot might offer, leaving a wine that is lean, tense, and genuinely refreshing at 11.2% ABV. The acidity is electric and the structure is closer to a high-acid white than any conventional red.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Taste profile
RaspberryCranberryLemon PeelWhite Pepper
  • Style: Dry, light-bodied red-white blend; organically grown Merlot and Semillon; piercing acidity; 11.2% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 55% Merlot, 45% Semillon; organic; Warner Glen vineyard, southern Margaret River; gravelly loam, north-facing slopes, 6km from Southern Ocean
  • Winemaking: Merlot de-stemmed and basket-pressed; Semillon macerated on skins; co-fermented; no pumps, no oak, no fining, no filtration, no added SO2; bottled on lees with trapped CO2
  • Serving: Serve at 55-58F; no decant needed; consume soon for freshness
  • Pairing: Grilled salmon, sardines, soft washed-rind cheese, charcuterie, lentil salad
  • Similar To: For fans of skin-contact whites and light Loire reds who want something genuinely unusual

This wine is a co-fermentation of 55% Merlot and 45% Semillon sourced from the Warner Glen vineyard in the southern reaches of Margaret River, Western Australia. The Merlot was de-stemmed and basket-pressed while the Semillon was macerated on its skins, then the two were brought together to finish fermentation. Grapes were organically grown on gravelly loam soils with north-facing slopes, situated just 6 kilometres from the Southern Ocean and 4 kilometres from the Indian Ocean.

Sam Vinciullo made this wine without pumps, temperature control, oak, fining, filtration, or added sulfites of any kind. All movement in the cellar was done by gravity or bucket. The wine was bottled directly from the lees with trapped CO2 to preserve freshness, a technique Vinciullo picked up working on Mount Etna.

The result is a wine that behaves more like a white in structure — light body, piercing acidity, minimal tannin — while expressing red fruit character from the Merlot. At 11.2% ABV it sits well below the regional norm. This was one of Sam's early purchased-fruit vintages, before he acquired his own estate in Cowaramup.

The high acidity and light body make this a strong match for oily fish like grilled salmon or sardines. It also works with charcuterie, soft washed-rind cheeses, and lightly dressed lentil or grain salads. Serve with a slight chill — around 55-58F — to bring out the wine's freshness.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Light Body
Grapes:, Merlot, Semillon
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2017
Alcohol:, 11.2%
Country:, Australia
Region:, Margaret River
Appellation:, Margaret River GI
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

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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

Sam Vinciullo

Sam Vinciullo completed his winemaking studies in Adelaide in 2005 and spent the following years working in cellars across Australia and Europe. In 2010 he arrived at Mount Etna in Sicily, where he worked alongside Frank Cornelissen. That time shaped his entire approach to farming and winemaking. In 2013 he attempted to start his own label in Sicily under the name SRC, but the venture collapsed when his financial partner withdrew. He returned to Australia in 2015 and launched his eponymous label in Margaret River, based in the small town of Cowaramup.

For his first three vintages, including 2017, Vinciullo purchased fruit from organically farmed vineyards whose growers shared his farming philosophy. In 2017 he also acquired his own vineyard, which he farms without herbicides, pesticides, or systemic chemicals. His estate vines are dry-farmed and own-rooted, planted on sandy soils. He handles all vineyard work himself.

Vinciullo's winemaking protocol is consistent across all wines: grapes are de-stemmed and transferred to open-top plastic fermenters using gravity or buckets — no pumps. Reds macerate for up to two weeks; whites spend around a week on skins. After pressing with a basket press, wines are not moved and are bottled directly from the lees. No oak, no fining, no filtration, no temperature control, and no added sulfites at any stage. Wines are bottled with trapped CO2 to maintain freshness.

Wine region

Margaret River, Australia

Margaret River sits in the southwestern corner of Western Australia, roughly 270 kilometres south of Perth, on a narrow peninsula surrounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west and the Southern Ocean to the south. Its climate is Mediterranean with a stronger maritime influence than any other major Australian wine region — the annual temperature range is just 7.6°C — and only about 200 millimetres of its 1,160 millimetres of annual rainfall falls during the October to April growing season. Afternoon sea breezes moderate summer heat and extend the ripening season considerably.

The region's soils are among the oldest on earth, predominantly deep, well-drained gravelly loams derived from granite and gneiss bedrock aged between 150 million and 1.6 billion years old, with ironstone gravel (called Forest Grove soils locally) covering the majority of vineyards on the Leeuwin Complex ridge. These nutrient-poor soils restrict vine vigour and concentrate flavour. Margaret River is phylloxera-free and nearly all vines are grown on their own roots. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Sauvignon Blanc, and Semillon are the dominant varieties. The region has no official sub-regions, though six informal areas — Yallingup, Carbunup, Wilyabrup, Treeton, Wallcliffe, and Karridale — are recognized based on soil and climate differences.

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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