2017 Warner Glen Red/White - Sam Vinciullo

Wild raspberry, green bell pepper, almost-ripe cranberry. Ruby grapefruit, wet leaves, fresh lemon peel. White pepper and celery salt, mint leaf and green chilis. Tart red currant, dirty cherry, and green apple flesh lead a spunky, spicy, and downright sour attack flush with a plethora of green pyrazines and a bright whiff of barnyardy funk. Intriguing citrus-driven tartness emerges when initial bursts of red fruits fade leaving an unconventionally crisp and playful bite. Light in body, low in alcohol, and displaying almost zero tannin while backed prominently by piercingly high acidity and pronounced youthful vigor. Eccentric, whimsical, and cheerfully weird; simultaneously simple yet thought provoking. This 2017 Warner Glen Red/White by Sam Vinciullo is an atypical yet attractive natural wine creation from Western Australia's Margaret River.

While the modern wine industry largely abides by a set of almost universally practiced norms there are a few avant-garde producers out there doing things that completely break the mold. This bottling, crafted by Sam Vinciullo using a blend of 55% Merlot and 45% Semillion sourced from biodynamic vineyards within Margaret River, takes the concepts of a wine being either red or white and completely flips it on its head. This contains the bright and chillable crunch of a conventional white wine mixed cohesively with the vibrant fruit profile of a leaner red, and somehow manages to exude undeniable charm despite its surprisingly unconventionality. This wine can easily be enjoyed both chilled or at cellar temperature and at only 11.2% ABV is a viable choice no matter the season of the year or time of day. An 'out there' and delightfully adventurous wine we discovered thanks to our friends at Rae Vino.