Zorah, “Karasì” Areni Noir
Other, Armenia 2017 (750mL)
Regular price$42.00
/
Your cart is empty.
- In stock, ready to ship
- Inventory on the way
Zorah, “Karasì” Areni Noir
If you missed the previous vintage of Zorah “Karasì” last year, I have to assume you weren’t a subscriber at the time: We simply weren’t prepared for the mass pandemonium it caused. Outside of “the usual suspects” (Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne, Napa), it was by far one of the most successful offers we’ve ever rolled out. For many, it was your first taste of Armenian wine, so we were beyond thrilled that you rolled the proverbial dice.
But then again, the story behind Zorah and the Areni Noir grape is impossible to ignore: When factoring in this ancient indigenous grape, the monastic, ungrafted vineyard perched under the watchful eye of Mount Ararat, and the discovery of what is considered the world’s earliest-known winery, Zorah’s “Karasì” is among the most historic and enchanting bottles of red you’ll ever taste. And trust us when we say the limited 2017 release is a whole new breed with its spellbinding purity, explosive aromatics, and endlessly textured fruit that pulls from the best of Rhône, Burgundy, and Italy. So, bring over all the wine connoisseurs, history buffs, and geography geeks you know and serve them a glass of this unforgettable treasure. What’s more special than a wine serving as an homage to what could very well be the origin of winemaking itself?
But then again, the story behind Zorah and the Areni Noir grape is impossible to ignore: When factoring in this ancient indigenous grape, the monastic, ungrafted vineyard perched under the watchful eye of Mount Ararat, and the discovery of what is considered the world’s earliest-known winery, Zorah’s “Karasì” is among the most historic and enchanting bottles of red you’ll ever taste. And trust us when we say the limited 2017 release is a whole new breed with its spellbinding purity, explosive aromatics, and endlessly textured fruit that pulls from the best of Rhône, Burgundy, and Italy. So, bring over all the wine connoisseurs, history buffs, and geography geeks you know and serve them a glass of this unforgettable treasure. What’s more special than a wine serving as an homage to what could very well be the origin of winemaking itself?
Zorah was founded in the 2000s by Zorik Gharibian, an Italian-Armenian who left a lucrative fashion career in Milan to return to his roots. With Mount Ararat looming in the backdrop, Zorik was immediately drawn to the high-altitude, volcanic soils of Vayots Dzor, so he began building a winery in the rural town of Rind and planting various grapes at elevations of 4,600 feet. After years of experimentation, he found that an indigenous grape known as Areni Noir performed best in this terroir, so he began channeling his energy towards it with the assistance of one of Italy’s most prominent winemaking consultants: Alberto Antonini. As fate would have it, a literal next-door discovery revolutionized everything just a few years later.
In the late 2000s, a UCLA research team went deep into the highlands of Armenia’s Vayots Dzor and discovered the remains of a 6,100-year-old winery, the world’s earliest known wine production site. They found rudimentary wine presses and crumbling fermentation jars, all of which were covered in brittle grape stems/seeds/pips that were traced to, of course, Areni Noir. Zorik had not only built his winery across the way from the world’s oldest winery, but he was also planting and bottling the very grape they were producing all those millennia ago!
All of Zorah’s vines have been selected from the cuttings of an unused vineyard located next to a local 13th-century monastery. Since these vines are buried in sandy soils and are perched at such a high altitude (around 5,000 feet), all of them are ungrafted, as phylloxera cannot survive in these conditions. After hand-harvesting the Areni Noir into small baskets, the grapes were de-stemmed and sent to ferment naturally in epoxy-free concrete tanks. The wine is then aged 12 months in amphorae, or karas (Karasì = “from amphorae”). These karas are wax-sealed and buried underground to ensure a steady temperature during maturation. Afterward, the wine was blended together and bottled, where it aged an additional six months before leaving the winery.
Zorah’s 100% Areni Noir is an enchanting red with a dizzying number of exotic layers that seem to pull characteristics from several of the world’s greatest wine regions. But make no mistake: This is a truly singular wine! Today’s 2017 splashes into the glass with purple-ruby hues and only needs about 15 minutes before it unleashes a nonstop rush of incredibly lifted perfumes. You can expect wild bramble fruits, redcurrant, black cherry, red licorice, black raspberry, huckleberry, Damson plum, fresh mountain herbs, purple flowers, fired clay, wet stones, cracked pepper, and a touch of exotic spice. As this medium-bodied, ultra-fresh wine opens up, it generously bestows even more vibrant fruit that practically dances across the palate. There’s a reason they were using Areni Nori 6,100 years ago, and there’s a reason it's still in use today: The wine created from it is like no other!
