Our newsletter is about wine adventuring—taking you on journeys both far and wide to discover the world's most compelling bottles. We've explored remote hillsides in Sicily, scaled the steep terraces of the Mosel, and ventured into forgotten corners of France. But we have never gone so far (Down Under excepted)—and never gone so far back in time—as in today's story.

The 2019 Noa Vayots Dzor Areni Dry Red Wine comes from Armenia's Vayots Dzor region, home to the Areni-1 cave complex. In 2011, archaeologists made an extraordinary discovery inside this cave: the world's oldest winery, dating back to 4100 BC. Within the cave, they found a wine press, fermentation vats, storage vessels, and grape seeds—all more than 6,000 years old. Genetic analysis confirmed these ancient seeds were from the Areni grape, the very same variety in today’s wine. This isn't just old wine country—this is where wine itself may have been born.

The story of how this particular wine came to exist is itself an adventure. In 2012, Jakob Schuler, whose family has run Switzerland's esteemed Schuler Winery since 1694, set out on a quest to trace wine back to its origins in the Caucasus. His first stop was Georgia, but he found himself disappointed with the famous Saperavi grape. Someone mentioned Armenia, and during the last two days of what seemed like a fruitless trip, Schuler discovered the indigenous Areni and Voskehat varieties. He was amazed—he'd found what he'd been searching for. By 2017, Schuler had acquired vineyards in the villages of Rind and Aghavnadzor, among the best-managed vineyards in Armenia today.

The terroir here is as extreme as it is ancient. Vineyards sit at elevations between 1,400 and 1,500 meters (nearly 5,000 feet) on volcanic soils. The high altitude creates dramatic day-night temperature swings that give the Areni grape its characteristic intensity and freshness. Some vines in the region still grow on their original roots and are over 120 years old—no phylloxera has ever reached these remote heights.

Under winemaker Pavel Vartanyan's guidance, the 2019 Noa Areni is crafted with minimal intervention, using natural fermentation and aging 30% in French oak barriques and 70% in stainless steel. The result is a wine that wine lovers often compare to Pinot Noir or Sangiovese: elegant and silky with vibrant red cherry, raspberry, and blackcurrant flavors, subtle violet notes, a touch of spice, and remarkable length. It's a wine with moderate tannins, bright acidity, and that distinctive sense of place that comes from truly ancient terroir.

The quality hasn't gone unnoticed. In 2019, Noa's Classic Red won Gold at the Decanter World Wine Awards—the first gold medal ever awarded to an Armenian wine in that prestigious competition. 

At today's newsletter-only pricing, this is your chance to taste 6,000 years of winemaking culture—and to discover what captivated a Swiss master winemaker enough to start an entirely new chapter of his family's 325-year legacy.

Noa Vayots Dzor Areni Dry Red Wine 2019 - $35.99