2017 Yacoubian-Hobbs Red Areni Armenia is sold out.

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A Wine Enthusiast Top 100 that will entice lovers of Nebbiolo and Sangiovese

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  • 92 pts Wine Enthusiast
    92 pts WE
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2017 Yacoubian-Hobbs Red Areni Armenia 750 ml

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  • Curated by unrivaled experts
  • Choose your delivery date
  • Temperature controlled shipping options
  • Get credited back if a wine fails to impress

A Wine Worthy of Olympus

Wine visionary Paul Hobbs, the man who helped Robert Mondavi establish Opus One, knew the stature that Armenia has in winemaking history. But only when he stepped foot on the rugged, high-elevation land in the Vayots Dzor region did the 100-point legend know he HAD to make wine there. 

The result is this 2017 Yacoubian-Hobbs Areni. A wine of tremendous structure and elegance, it boasts a sense of majesty that would have inspired Assyrian royals to stand in awe of the region’s vineyards and moved ancient Greek writers to associate Dionysus, the god of wine, with Armenia.

Grown at more than 4200 feet in elevation, this wine has the energy and savory complexity of Nebbiolo, plus silky, Pinot Noir–like red fruit and finely chiseled edges. Tart cherry, red plum, and dried citrus intertwine on a complex palate, riding tea-leaf tannins to a long, red-berry-inflected finish. It’s so velvety and full of elegant charm that it landed on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 list in 2021. 

Hobbs crafted this bottle entirely from the indigenous Areni grape, a thick-skinned, late-ripening variety that doesn’t grow anywhere but Armenia—and it thrives in Vayots Dzor. This region, just north of Azerbaijan and Iran, is a stone’s throw away from the archeological site of the world’s oldest known winery, and it hasn’t been marred by modern farming and industry. When he saw the land, Hobbs immediately knew that its extreme elevation, mineral-rich soils, and sunny mountainsides would be perfect for crafting elegant wines with exceptional terroir transparency. 

His 2017 Areni, aged entirely in stainless steel, is exactly that, and it shows why Armenia belongs at center stage in the wine world once again.