Dear Wine Geometrists,
This week I have decided to take you on a journey to a New World country for wine: China!
European specialists have long said that China wines don't match the quality that Europeans can provide (even though many European winemakers have been buying land in China for the last 30 years!). Most wineries there still have defaults, and are rarely presentable to export, neither are they acceptable at a Wine contest.
That was then. This is now. Let's learn about the rising region for wine in China, which is where I got tonight's wine from.
About the Ningxia Wine Region
Ningxia is one of eight major wine regions in China, and is probably more suited to winegrowing than some of the other regions primarily due to its terroir. It is located in the center of China, and the vineyards are situated at the foot of the Helan Mountains at an elevation of 1200 meters. The vineyard soil is alluvial, washed down from the mountains to the foothills and plains. It consists of sand, schist, and small pebbles.
The climate is Continental, but dry with very little humidity compared to other Chinese wine growing regions. It is hot in the summer with average temperatures of 29 C during the day, but cooling down at night to 17 C, which helps to preserve grape flavors. Winters are cold (2 C daily average and -10C at night) with some snow, so the vines must be buried, which is a very labor intensive process. Water is abundant with the Yellow (Yangtze) River running through the area and many lakes, so irrigation is not an issue.
The first vineyards were planted in the 1970’s, so it is a relatively new area. Currently there are 30,000 hectares planted with Cabernet Sauvignon being the most widely planted red grape, followed by merlot and cabernet franc. In terms of white varietals, Muscat is most predominant followed by Riesling.
Ningxia now has 38 wineries with approved plans to increase to 70 in the next few years.
Now about the wine itself: Moser XV Changyu Ningxia 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon
I was curious about this young wine, which presented rather strong features (14% ABV).
And it didn't disappoint me: great dark colors. a nice robe with astonishingly a lot of sugar tricking down from the glass for such a strong wine. The smell is quite heavy, like mustard coming in your nose, with hints of yeast which are not as pleasant as the left-bank Bordeaux reds. The taste is slightly sour and quite long, with hints of black pepper, cloves, and mushroom. We tried it with a shrimp dish and shitake mushrooms, it paired nicely. Meaty and spicy, it fit perfectly with italian sausages I tried at the second essay.
Strictly to ban with dessert, which annihilates the flavours. I would position it somewhere between a Bordeaux and a light porto wine, but drinkable at any dinner with a red piece of meat or medium to strong cheeses.
It is a great value for money! I strongly recommend you to dare this Chinese wine which is modest but definitely has potential. I would drink it after a long day of work, or in a cooler temperature, since it smoothly warms your body.
Matches perfectly with an evening song such as:
- The Blackbird song by Lee DeWyze
- Waves by St Paul and The Broken Bones
- 3, 6, 9 (you drink wine) by Cat Power
It's great to drink while watching TV series like Suits, which is what I'm doing right now :)
Global grade: 15/20
No default: 4/5
Smell: 3/5
Balance: 4/5
Length: 4/5
Depth: 4/5
Trading by Ang Leong Huat Pte Ltd at 24$ a bottle, click here to give it a try!
