This is an interesting wine, the brainchild of an Italian-based Armenian, Zorik Gharibian. After extensive research he purchased some land in Vayotz Dzor, which is historically the key Armenian wine region. With help from wnemaker Alberto Antonini and viticulturist Stefano Bartolomei, he has developed a wine that spans the traditional and modern very successfully.
15 hectares of vineyards have been planted here at 1400 m altitude. Soils are rocky and limestone-rich, and because there is no phylloxera in the region the vines are non-grafted. Grapes were hand-harvested, destemmed and lightly crushed, before fermentation in tank for 10 days. A post-ferment maceration of 24 days was followed by malo in barrel. Ageing? 20% in French oak, 10% in Armenian oak, 40% in stainless steel and 30% in 130 litre Armenian amphorae.
The resulting wine, from young vines (5 years old) is full of interest, but is a little overpriced. As the vines age it may well put on the complexity and intensity of flavour you’d expect for this money. It will be fascinating to follow this project as it develops.
Zorah Karasí 2010 Armenia
A varietal Areni Noir, 13.5% alcohol. Supple, fresh, pure and quite elegant with attractive mid-weight cherry and plum fruit, backed up by some grippy tannins. Very natural tasting and not at all spoofy, yet modern and fruit driven at the same time. There’s an attractive sappy green edge with some grip on the finish, and I find it like a cross between ripe Pinot Noir and a fresh Grenache, with some subtle peppery notes. Very interesting wine and beautifully packaged, but possibly a bit over-priced: while it’s delicious, it is not massively fine or complex. 90/100 (c £22 UK agent Liberty Wines)
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9 Comments on Zorah Karasi, an interesting wine from Armenia
Being of Armenian descent and having visited wineries in Armenia, I’m excited to see vitis vinifera coming to America from Armenia. Though Areni makes an interesting varietal, I always thought the Armenian wine community should invest in Bordeaux varieties.
I couldn’t disagree more. Bordeaux varieties belong in Bordeaux and certainly not in Armenia. Whatever happened to authenticity of origin? Armenia has a treasure trove of original yet overlooked grape varieties waiting to be discovered and a wine history that dates 6000 years. This wine has generated a great deal of interest and there is a reason for that; the wine world does not need globalization but diverse, unfamiliar and authentic wines with a strong sense of place. I take my hat off to those who have the vision to sail these uncharted terroirs and dare to bring us something that goes beyond the mainstream!
I guess that the wine industry that is slightly growing in Armenia must change the global strategy of development. Being originally from Armenia and having an opportunity to study wine science in Bordeaux I think that the question in this case is not the choice of variety. For example if you can penetrate the market with wine made from Cabernet Sauvignon or Merlot, making consumers more familiar with Armenian wine and later introduce local varieties to the global market, you probably should do that. We have relatively wide range of different terroirs that can produce totally different styles of wine using many varieties, so what we surely must do is the creation and development of the system of protection of quality and origins (system of appellations), that will regulate the production of wine including the control of viticulture practices, oenological processes, label development and the marketing strategies. We should first understand our wine to be able to introduce it to somebody else
Having recently visited Armenia, I was happily surprised at the development in the wine industry. Alongside the typical “homemade wines”, I saw some serious wineries springing up, including: Domaine Avetissyan, Maran, Karas, and Zorah. The trick now is to get these wines over to the West. Most are still only available in Armenia itself.
Being of Armenian origin but never had been to Armenia, my pilgrimage trip to Armenia was very special. I can’t wait to go back. I was very surprised and excited to find the Ararat 20 year Nairi Cognac and the Zorah Karasi Areni Noir wine. Both of these can compete against any other spirits at much higher prices. For the price, the wine was fantastic. Though I would like to be selfish and keep this new find to myself, this wine is too good to be kept a secret. I have ordered the wine to be served in my restaurant in Houston.
Masraff’s Restaurant. Wine Spectator 2014 “one of most outstanding restaurant wine lists in the world”
I bought the first bottle in Houston. I wanted celebrate a culture and appreciate this wonderful effort. I gave a bottle to Phonecia on Westheimer. The nice people there introduced me to a part of my culture that was not shared with my generation. It is my birthday tomorrow and I saved drinking the first bottle until then.
I just came back from Armenia. We visited seven different wineries. I personally met with Zorik and discussed his wine making process and his commitment to bottling and selling high quality wines. He is starting slow to make sure it is right. The potential is very exciting and he is already put out some very good wines. Zorah Karasi is best out there right now from this region but competition will make all of them better. Fun to see the rebirth of an industry.
Steve, in case you read This, could you tell us a bit more about the vineyards you visited.
Im in armenia now so of anyone Can recommend some wineries other than Karas and Zorah, id be happy to hear about it. Want to visit the Wine region
Yeraz Tomassian, I agree with some of your statements, yes purity is key to keep globalisation away, however what you call Bordeaux varieties, are really from Bordeaux? Don’t the Romans should have something to say about it? And what about the evolution of each one of the varieties and their clones? Have you ever thought that for example Shiraz/Syrah is the name of a city in Iran which is the route that wine export took quite a few thousand years ago? Doens’t that tell you anything?
Yes I do want my wines to be authentic, but I even better want my wines to be as good as possible. Be it in Bordeaux or in Japan.