Tarllc

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Country of Origin: Armenia
Location: Aghavnadzor
People: Maral & Aaron Aslanian-Rawlins, Owners & Winemakers

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Aaron Sedrick Rawlins left his home in the U.S. at the age of eighteen to pursue a career as a chef in Paris. Since then, his life has taken a series of twists and turns, ultimately leading him to where he is today: making wine in the mountains of Armenia. Aaron started Tarllc on his own but has worked alongside his wife, Maral, since their marriage in 2020.

Aaron and Maral’s vineyards are located around the village of Aghavnadzor in Vayots Dzor province. This southeastern region of Armenia is sparsely populated and known for its wine production, mineral water, and cattle farming. It is also the home of the Areni-1 winery, the oldest discovered winery, dating back 6,100 years, found in the Areni-1 cave complex.

Their estate comprises roughly 3 hectares of ungrafted vineyards, with old, gnarled vines up to 150 years old. Aaron and Maral farm organically, harvest by hand, and work exclusively with local grape varieties. The vineyards are planted in volcanic soil and range from 1300m to 1600m in elevation, with dry farming practices and no tillage or mowing. Organic treatments are used sparingly, no more than once or twice a year, and they prune or manage the canopy only when necessary to mitigate disease.

Because portions of Tarllc’s vineyard land were previously abandoned or conventionally farmed, transitioning to their organic and low-impact style has been an evolving process, varying by site. Aaron and Maral approach their work thoughtfully and with “an uncompromising respect for nature’s voice.” They explain, “Through our work in the vineyards, we hope to not only live in a healthy environment but also to learn from it and contribute to its continued preservation. We are firmly convinced that healthy vineyards are the foundation of authentic terroir character.”

Tarllc’s wines are fermented and aged naturally in fiberglass tanks without fining, filtration, or other cellar manipulations. Made without added yeast or sulfites, the wines reflect Aaron and Maral’s philosophy: “Our work in the cellar is limited to intentional restraint, seeking only to channel the unadulterated essence of the terroir, from site into bottle. With neither frills nor dogma, we produce expressive wines from healthy grapes shaped by the distinctive terroir.”