Zorah, Armenia.
Zorah was founded by Zorik Gharibian, an Armenian who studied in Venice and Milan before embarking on a successful fashion career built on the principles of tradition, innovation and excellence. In the 2000s he decided to pour his heart and soul in his real love: wine. For Gharibian the only path was to look to the land of his forefathers. He planted vineyards surrounded by dramatic snow-capped mountains, 1,400m above sea level in the small rural village of Rind in the heart of Yeghegnadzor, Armenia’s top grapegrowing region. It’s here that he set out to create wines that reflect his ethos: contemporary yet with profound traditional roots.
Zorah’s 40-hectare ungrafted vineyard sits on rocky, limestone-rich soils. It’s planted to carefully selected indigenous vines derived from the abandoned vineyards of a nearby 13th century monastery. The region enjoys long, dry summers, with remarkably vivid sunlight and high daytime temperatures contrasting with cool nights, giving a lengthy growing season that lasts to the end of October.
‘Yeraz’ Areni Noir 2018
This fabulous wine is the top cuvée from Zorah, Yeraz fittingly means "dream" in Armenian, as well as being the name of the wife of Zorah founder Zorik Gharibian. This wine represents the dream of reviving an ancient wine culture and rediscovering forgotten places and lost native grapes.
The pinnacle of high-altitude viticulture, the grapes for Yeraz come from semi-abandoned bush vineyards planted well over a hundred years ago at altitudes of 1600m above sea level. Raw and remote, these vines reflect the resilient and tenacious spirit of this land and its people.
Fermentation occurs in rough concrete tanks using only natural yeast. Drawing inspiration from ancient local traditions, Yeraz is then aged for a prolonged period in local amphorae of varying sizes, some of which are dug deep in the ground and sealed with wax to conserve the intense flavours and varietal purity of the wine. In addition to the amphorae, large untoasted casks are also used to soften the tannins. After very light filtration the wine spends a further year in bottle.
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