Armenia: A rising Caucasus star?

By Justin Keay

Published: 25 October, 2024

This mountainous former Soviet republic in the south Caucasus has long traditions of Christianity and hospitality, and an ancient wine culture that dates back Millenia. It also has outstanding territorial issues and has recently endured conflict and has a large neighbour with whom it has a history of bad relations. The country is modernising but also grappling with corruption, bureaucracy and cronyism. Its shrinking population is mitigated to some degree by returning former emigres, who are active in a revitalising a wine industry where traditions and indigenous grape varieties are being rediscovered, with winemakers aiming for wines that appeal to a modern palate rather than a typical Russian one.

If you think this is Georgia, you get half a star, because it does all hold true. However, I’m actually describing its landlocked neighbour, Armenia (problematic neighbour Turkey, as opposed to Russia for Georgia). October saw a series of events in the UK aimed at raising the profile of its wines, which despite advances – many driven by returning emigres, notably at the two best known producers in the UK trade, Zorah and ArmAs (imported by Liberty Wines and Hallgarten Wines respectively) – remain largely off radar here, despite specialist importers such as GinVino also looking to raise Armenia’s profile.

This is a shame, because as regional specialist Caroline Gilby MW demonstrated during a masterclass highlighting some of Armenia’s 350 native varieties (55 cultivated, in five wine regions totalling 13,000 hectares), the country is now producing highly distinctive wines, many from phylloxera-free, high altitude old vines.

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“Wine-making traditions go back 6,100 years and were highly organised – as excavations near the village of Areni 13 years ago proved,” said Gilbey, adding that Noah was supposed to have planted vines on the slopes of Mount Ararat after the flood. She admitted that the industry went through a dark phase during the 70 years of Soviet rule, when most grapes went to brandy (Armenia made 25% of the USSR’s ‘cognac’), but adds that this in now changing.

“Today is a really exciting time, with producers taking advantage of the elevation: 90% of the country is above 1,000m and vineyards are typically located 850m above sea level.”

The most planted varieties are red Areni Noir and white Voskehat (very different from Georgia’s signature varieties Saperavi and Rkatsiteli, which became ubiquitous there because of their reliability and high-yielding capacity).

Areni is medium-to-full bodied, with medium acidity and tannins, perhaps comparable to a Nebbiolo or Corvina, whilst Voskehat, which translates as ‘golden berries’, tends to produce well-balanced, lightly floral wines, not unlike Chenin Blanc.

Both are ancient and high quality varieties, but this being the former USSR they co-exist alongside a range of hybrids and crossings: say hello to Tigrani (a 1951 cross between Saperavi and Areni), Kangun (a 1979 crossing between Chardonnay and Rkatsiteli) and Hakghtanak, or Victory (a 1977 crossing between Alicante Bouschet, Saperavi and Kopchak, a Moldovan variety – which produces very intense, full bodied wine because it is a teinturier variety, with both skin and juice being dark).

Gilby said the last 10-15 years represent a new era for Armenian wine, with the industry one of country’s fastest growing: today’s 150 wineries compare to just 25 in 2018. And that number stands despite the loss of the Artsakh region (aka Nagorno Karabakh) taken back by Azerbaijan last September after Baku’s lightning strike on the disputed territory, which had its own distinctive wine culture.

Tasting through some of the 55 wines shown at that tasting, the quality was high, perhaps surprisingly so. An equivalent random tasting of Georgian wines would, in my experience, yield a much higher proportion of faulty wines, probably reflecting Georgia’s stronger focus on natural and amber wines (which tend to have a higher fault ratio), but also the even faster explosion of its wine industry (around 2,400 producers today against just 80 back in 2006). Armenian prices can be high but this reflects the high transport costs – given the closed border with Turkey, producers must export via the Georgian ports of Poti or Batumi, also requiring a slow overland journey first. Plus the fact that many producers do not enjoy economies of scale, making typically under 10,000 bottles a year (although four big four including ArMas produce much more).

Amongst whites, I enjoyed The Beauty 2022 from Alluria Wines in Vayots Dvor, and the Voskevaz Wine Cellar, Karasi Collection 2018 (GinVino), two very different takes on Armenia’s champion white grape. The former showed remarkable golden colour and delicious freshness, reflecting stainless steel ageing. The latter offered lovely lime blossom and melon on the nose and palate, and great length. This was made from 100-year-old vines at 1,100m, aged in local oak and Karas, traditional clay amphora not unlike a Georgian qvevri (but because of scarcity and stricter rules, not used as extensively).

Unsurprisingly, Areni was the star red grape. Zorah’s Karasi Areni 2021 (Liberty Wines) is a wonderful example of the grape, matured in karas and grown on high altitude vines, giving the variety an almost ethereal quality. GinVino has contrasting examples in the Van Ardi Estate Blend from Aragatsotn 2019, a medium bodied blend of Areni with Hakghtanak and Kakhet (another local variety, being quite nuanced and textured), and Tor-Tori, a juicy fruit driven blend of 90% Areni and 10% Syrah. At the premium end, it would be hard to beat the Voskevaz Karasi Collection Areni Noir 2019, made from 120-year-old vines in a vineyard 1,600m above sea level in the Vayots Dzor region, close to where Armenia’s wine story started all those years ago. Aged in 100-year-old karasi and American oak, this is balanced and velvety, very age-worthy and best decanted.

Impressive, well-made and distinctive, these examples are like many of the wines Armenia is producing today.

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