Robert Parker Wine Advocate’s China Wine Report 2020 Shines The Spotlight On Region’s Fine Wines And Innovative Winemaking

Over 100 wines including LVMH’s Ao Yun and Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)’s Long Dai are reviewed in RPWA’s first comprehensive report on Chinese wines

SINGAPORE – Media OutReach
– 17 December 2020 – In 20 years’ time, is it possible that the Grand Crus on
your table will comprise Ao Yun, Long Dai, Grace, Puchang and Silver Heights
wineries? China’s young wine industry is one to watch in the coming years as it
continues to push boundaries, attract talent from all over the world and adapt
to challenges in its path. Meanwhile, China remains an important wine market
even as its wines are entering the international market. For those looking to
understand Chinese wines in the coming decades, there is now a comprehensive
resource to refer to.

With two distinctive river banks at varying
altitudes, Ao Yun’s vineyards enjoy varied soil types, sun exposure and
microclimates

True to its core
mission of publishing regionally focused reports since it was founded in 1978,
Robert Parker Wine Advocate has released its long-awaited comprehensive China
Wine Report 2020, which joins the growing international coverage of wine regions
reported by the review team.

 

The Robert
Parker Wine Advocate report format includes an in-depth introduction and
vintage reports that are the reviewer’s expert opinions on the vintage, based
predominately on their tastings and taking into consideration their regional
visits and interviews with winemakers / viticulturalists. The China Report 2020
is helmed by China reviewer Edward Ragg, Master of Wine (MW), who has been
actively tasting Chinese wines since moving to Beijing in 2007 with his wife
Fongyee Walker MW.

China wine
trends to look out for

• More
  diversity in grape varieties, such as Marselan, Aglianico, Saperavi, Alibernet
• The most
  promising stars of the past few vintages
• Adventurous
  and new wine styles, such as organic, biodynamic and natural wines

 

Edward Ragg’s
introduction takes the opportunity to highlight the increasing variety of wine
grapes introduced to China, even as Cabernet Sauvignon remains the top planted
grape for wine production. He explains, “Grace Vineyard (Shanxi) was among the
first to go beyond the Bordelais approach, in recent years producing compelling
traditional method sparkling as well as wines from alternative varieties
including Aglianico and Marselan. Marselan is undoubtedly playing an
increased role across China as the fungally-resistant crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon
and Grenache that adds generous colour to Chinese reds and some much-needed fruitiness.
Chateau Nine Peaks in Shandong’s Qingdao is, similarly, experimenting more with
Petit Verdot and Alibernet: a crossing of Alicante Bouschet and Cabernet
Sauvignon which, similar to Marselan, adds fruit and colour to blends.”

 

For those who
want to know which quality names to collect, Ragg names a few: “From Ao Yun and
Long Dai to long-term veterans of the smaller family operations such as Grace,
Silver Heights and Puchang, Chinese fine wine will hopefully continue to be defined
by the drive for quality in the vineyard and cellar these producers
demonstrate.” Ragg has included vintage tasting notes for the debut 2017 and
2018 releases of Long Dai, and its second wine Hu Yue.

 

He is also
excited that the thirst for invention has extended to natural wines produced by
tiny producer Ian Dai in Ningxia; and sparkling and orange wines at Silver
Heights, which under winemaker Emma Gao is working on biodynamic wine methods.  

 

Ragg
concludes, “Whilst there are some inevitable exclusions to this first report,
I’ve tried to cover the country’s very best wines and those most likely to whet
the appetites of Robert Parker Wine Advocate subscribers. That said, I look
forward to covering an even wider range of Chinese fine wines in future.
Chinese wine is, indeed, just coming of age.”

 

The top 10
scoring wines from Robert Parker Wine Advocate’s China Wine Report 2020 are:

• 2014 Canaan Winery
  Reserve Merlot, Huailai, Hebei (RP 94 points)
  2014 年迦南酒庄珍藏梅洛，河北怀来 
• 2014 Domaine Franco
  Chinois Petit Manseng, Huailai, Hebei (RP 93 points)
  2014年中法庄园小忙森，河北怀来 
• 2015 Ao Yun, Di Qing,
  Yunnan (RP 94 points)
  2015年敖云，云南迪庆州 
• 2018 Domaine de Long
  Dai, Penglai, Shandong (RP 93 points)
  2018年珑岱，山东蓬莱 
• 2018 Chateau Nine
  Peaks Qi Chardonnay, Qingdao, Shandong (RP 94 points)
  2018年九顶庄园”气”霞多丽，山东青岛 
• 2015 Jade Vineyard Messenger
  Reserve, Helan Shan, Ningxia (RP 94 points)
  2015年嘉地信使珍藏，宁夏贺兰山 
• 2017 Silver
  Heights Emma’s Reserve, Helan Shan, Ningxia (RP 94 points)
  2017年银色高地爱玛私家收藏，宁夏贺兰山 
• 2017 Xige
  Estate First Label, Ningxia (RP 94 points)
  2017年西鸽酒庄正牌，宁夏 
• 2018 Grace Vineyard Interval (Syrah/Cabernet
  Sauvignon), Ningxia (RP 93 points)
  2018年怡园酒庄留白（西拉/赤霞珠），宁夏 
• 2014 Puchang Vineyard Reserve Saperavi,
  Turpan (RP 94 points)
  2014年蒲昌酒庄珍藏晚红蜜，吐鲁番 

The full report is available on https://bit.ly/RPWAChinaReport2020.