December is the time of year to look back and celebrate outstanding achievements in Armenian wine in the last 12 months. This is our first attempt at such a list, and because there were so many great bottles produced in 2017, we decided to highlight 10 wines from 10 different wineries. These are not the 10 highest rated wines we tasted in 2017, but each bottle is special in its own way:
- Zorah Voski 2015: Zorah makes 3 very good wines, the Karasi Red, the luxury cuvee Yeraz and a white wine; Voski. While in Armenia we found many exciting red wines, but very few comparable whites. Voski was the best. It is a perfectly balanced, complex white wine with round lemon, pear and kiwi fruit flavors.
- Trinity Canyon 6100 Rosé 2015: We don’t know who gets the credit for creating Rosé from Areni grapes, but the Trinity Canyon 6100 is a perfect example of what makes it so delicious – especially as the sun goes down on a hot summer day in Yerevan. This wine is far from complex, but it is pretty, well balanced, fruity and crisp when chilled.
- Armas Kharmrahyut 2014: Great with Armenian BBQ or other spicy food, ArmAs Kharmrahyut is packed with flavor. ArmAs makes a Reserve version which smooths out some of the rough edges, but we recommend you start with the regular bottle.
- Karas Reserve Red 2013: A famous Bordeaux wine-maker once said “It’s easy to make a single barrel of great wine – the challenge is to make 1,000 barrels of great wine”. Karas has done that with its Reserve Red. 2013 is still the most recent vintage in the marketplace, so grab some and enjoy! (Available in the USA)
- Van Ardi Reserve Syrah 2015: We like Van Ardi’s line from top to bottom. The Syrah is one of the few Armenian wines made from a single European grape variety. It’s packed with juicy Syrah fruit with a nice touch of vanilla oak. (Available in the USA)
- Kataro Khndoghni Reserve 2014: If you like California Cabernet, try Kataro’s Reserve. Deep red and black fruit wrapped in spicy Artsakh oak. Great stuff.
- Tigranakert Khndoghni 2015: This Khndoghni is packed with dark red fruit and should improve with some bottle age. A great first start for this new Artsahk winery and we hope a sign of more to come.
- Hin Areni Reserve Areni 2015: All the Hin Areni wines are well made, but the Areni Reserve is a revelation. Pomegranate and cherry fruit nicely framed by Artsakh oak – enjoy now or cellar for a few years.
- Voskevaz Karasi Collection Areni “Old Vines” 2015: All of Voskevaz’s Karasi wines are special, but the Areni is our favorite. While not as deep and concentrated as the 2014, the 2015 is an expression of pure Areni fruit in a beautifully balanced wine.
- Yacoubian-Hobbs Sarpina 2014: From the initial announcement of this joint venture, so much anticipation surrounded the first vintage of Yacubuan-Hobbs wines. The Sarpina did not disappoint. A big wine that needs time to open up, it’s full of flavor now and should continue to develop. (Available in the USA)