Decanter World Wine AwardsChinese wine wins top honour at Decanter World Wine Awards
- Thursday 8 September 2011
Winery He Lan Qing Xue’s Jia Bei Lan 2009 Cabernet blend has won the Red Bordeaux Varietal Over £10 International Trophy.
The award was given out at the Decanter World Wine Awards presentation dinner at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden last night.
Judges said the wine was ‘supple, graceful and ripe but not flashy’ and praised its ‘excellent length and four-square tannins’.
Only 25 International trophies are awarded at the Decanter World Wine Awards, chosen out of more than 12,000 wines entered. In the final judging category, He Lan Qing Xue was tasted against Regional trophy winners including St Emilion Grand Cru Chateau Boutisse and Catena Zapata’s Appellation Cabernet Franc, and wines from Australia, South Africa, California and other premium regions specialising in Bordeaux blends.
Jia Bei Lan is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Gernicht – which is believed to be related to Cabernet Franc or Carmenere – is sold only in China at present, retailing for around £13.
It is produced in Ningxia province in Northern China, in quantities of about 20,000 bottles.
In common with other wine-producing regions of China the climate is extreme, with very hot dry summers and bitterly cold winters, the temperature sometimes falling to -25C, meaning the vines have to be buried in order to keep them alive.
Winemaker Li Demei,who has consulted at the winery since 2006, trained in Bordeaux and did an internship at Chateau Palmer.
He Lan Qing Xue also won a Silver for its 2008 Cabernet Sauvignon, while another Chinese winery, Domaine Helan Mountain in Xinjiang Uygur, won Silver for its Classic Chardonnay 2008 and Bronze for its Premium Collection Riesling.
As panel chair Ch’ng Poh Tiong said ‘The Decanter World Wine Awards 2011 was a golden harvest for Middle East, Far East and Asia.
Not only did China pick up medals but Japan, India and Thailand won Silvers and Golds.
‘India and China remain winemaking countries with their doors and windows completely wide open to all sorts of competing ideas – both outside and inside the country.’
See the full DWWA 2011 results
Have your say!
Fabien
March 31 07:02
Hi! The Wine Republic is the only distributor of Jia Bei Lan in China. You can't find it in any shops.
Contact me if you wish to know more about it!
fabien@thewinerepublic.com
uzo
February 01 11:53
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Siwei
December 30 08:00
There is a mistake in this article.
Domaine Helan Mountain is also a winery in Ningxia Province. It's not in Xinjiang Uygur. Pernod Ricard became the largest shareholder of Domaine Helan Mountain in June 2010.
Tom C
November 08 01:53
We tried to buy this wine directly from He Lan Qing Xue, to retail in Hong Kong, and were told that it is 'all allocated for government officials' and 'none is available for retail or wholesale trade.' I think what they meant to say was 'the tasting sample of Lafite 2001 that we bottled with our Chinese label was quite expensive and we don't have any more'...