Armenia

Interesting wine made from the Areni grape in Armenia.  Deep garnet in color, clear and bright.  The nose has rhubarb, cranberries, spice and coffee.  Medium to full bodied.  Good acidity.  Light tannins.  On the palate more like cherries with good acidity.  Some spice.  Good finish.  This is better with food.  It is clean and drinks somewhat like a combination of Gamay and Merlot.  It would work well with roasted foul.  drink over the next few years.

This is a collaboration with flying winemaker Paul Hobbs.  It is 100% Areni grapes.  Deep ruby in color, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cranberries, black cherries, spice and dust.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, this has some depth.  Light tannins.  Black cherry fruit with underlying spices.  Good acidity.  Short finish.  This is drinking well now and should continue to do so for five to seven years.  It will work well with roasted chicken or turkey.  

This is made from the Sireni grape in Armenia.  Purple in color, opaque and bright.  The nose is dusty with black cherries and spice.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is complex and layered.  Lots of black cherry fruit.  Medium tannins.  Ripe but not over done.  Good finish.  This seems about at peak but should  drink well for another 5 to seven more years.  This will work great with ribs of burgers off the grill.  

Made from the Sireni grape in Armenia.  Purple in color, mostly opaque and bright.  The nose is interesting with black cherries, spice and slight minerality.  Medium to full bodied.  On the palate, this is delicious with tart acidity.  Lots of black cherry fruit.  Complex and deep.  Medium tannins.  This may improve with further cellaring as it matures.  Drink over the next ten to twelve years.  It will work well with bigger foods such as Pork Chops.  

This is made from the Khndoghni grape, also known as Sireni in Armenia.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim, inky at the core.  The nose is nice with black cherry fruit, some spice.  Full bodied.  This is a rich, ripe wine without being over the  top.  On the palate, firm tannins.  Ripe black cherry fruit.  Deep.  This could use a couple years of cellar time or else a decant.  Drink over the next eight to ten years.  It will work well with meaty dishes such as beef stroganoff.  

This is a blend of 35% Syrah, 35% Cot (Malbec), 20% Cabernet Franc, and 10% Tannat.  This is a bit thinner and less ripe than the 2014 (a different blend).  Ruby in color, darker at the core, mostly clear and bright.  The nose has cherries with some pomegranate.  Medium bodied.  On the palate, cherries with some spice.  Good acidity.  The finish is a bit clipped.  Drink over the next three to five years.  This will work well with pasta with a red meat based sauce.  

This is a blend of 40% Montepulciano, 25% Cabernet Franc, 20% Syrah, and 15% Malbec.  The word Reserve implies a better blend then the regular release (and higher priced) although there is no official rule.  Purple in color, ruby at the rim.  The nose is earthy with cassis, tobacco and black cherries.  Medium bodied with bright acidity.  On the palate, nice cassis and black cherry fruit with underlying dry earthiness.  Nice finish.  Complex.  This seems like it is not a full maturity with light tannins remaining.  Drink over the next five to seven years.  It will work well with pork, meats

This is a blend of 40% Syrah, 18% Tannat, 15% Cabernet Franc, 14% Petit Verdot, 10% Montepulciano and 3% Khndoghni, made in Armenia.  Purple in color with ruby swirls.  The nose is dusty with cherries.  On the palate, this has nice black cherry fruit.  There is a nice complexity with a good finish.  This seems to be at prime or slightly past but drinking well.  Drink over the next couple of years.  It would work well with a burger or pizza.  It was around $14 on release so a great value.  

This is a white wine that is a blend of Voskeat and Garandmak grape,  two ancient Armenian varietals.  It is an outstanding wine.  Green/gold in color, clear and bright.  The nose is full of minerality with some white floral notes.  Medium bodied.  This is a vibrant wine.  On the palate, crisp acidity, with minerals and slight lime notes.  Long finish.  Delicious.  This drinks great on its own but will be better with cheese.  Salmon or tuna steaks would work well.  Drink over the next three to five years.  

This is a wine made from the Voskehat grape, that tasted blind, might easily be pegged for California Chardonnay.  Golden in color, clear and bright.  The nose has a nice minerality but also plenty of oak (Caucasian Oak) that gives is color and spice.  With air some peach comes out as well.  Medium bodied with a nice oily texture.  On the palate, there is some tangerine and an interesting wheat quality.  Some lemon on the finish that is slightly astringent.  This took about 30 minutes to open and then opened nicely.  It is a big wine with a fair amount of oak.  It drinks well on its own and