Standout success for China and Japan at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025 showcases rich opportunities for discovery in both countries.

Two Chinese red wines from different regions won coveted Best in Show medals, marking China’s first appearance in DWWA’s Top 50 list since 2011. In a strong year for Asia, DWWA 2025 also saw eye-catching Gold medals for Chinese white wines and several top medals for Japan.

‘The 2025 results testify to significant leaps in quality in winemaking in both mainland China and Japan,’ said Dr Edward Ragg MW, judge at DWWA 2025 and Regional Chair for Asia at DWWA 2026 and co-founder of Dragon Phoenix.

‘Japan’s refinement of the Koshu variety is also compelling, with wines showing great purity of fruit, with or without lees influence.’ He noted the rise of ‘vibrant perfumed reds’, too.

DWWA’s rigorous judging process, underpinned by leading experts, offers a perfect route into these dynamic winemaking scenes.

See a selection of top DWWA 2025 medal winners below.

Best in Show

Changyu, Noble Dragon N188, Yantai, Shandong, China (mainland) 2022

Best in Show, 97 points
changyu.com.cn
This successful blend of 75% Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère) and 25% Cabernet Sauvignon is from the very particular coastal environment of the Shandong peninsula in eastern China. It confirms that China is capable of making not just fruity red wines (which many locations in the wine world do well), but structured reds in which rich tannins provide the bone structure that gives beguiling fruit flesh an inner seriousness of purpose. This is dark and searching, with plum-blackberry fruits. Depth and textural finesse on the palate are supported by tannins that play a key role in lending the fruit its dignity and gastronomic force. Alcohol 13.5%

Dongfang Yuxing, Geruihong Yeguangbei, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China 2022

Best in Show, 97 points
Though China is a relative newcomer to the world of wine, in many other respects its civilisation pre-dates that of Mediterranean Europe – and the Chinese made mixed alcoholic beverages even earlier than the Georgians made wine. This Ningxia wine is a cunning blend that few in Europe would have thought of: Cabernet Sauvignon with 9% of freshening Dornfelder and 6% of Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère). It works well. Fresh and alluring scents of blackcurrant and wild plum, then a seductive plunge of fruit and spice, settling on something more akin to dark chocolate but – and this is key – with the authority and detaining discipline only carefully extracted tannins can bring. It’s a revelation. Alc 15.6%

China (mainland)

Ningxia

Li’s Estate, Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East 2022

Platinum, 97 points
wineningxia.com
Aromas of blackberry compote and prunes, with touches of cedar, black pepper spice and herbs. Enveloping tannins and a lick of warming tar to finish. Alc 15.5%

Domaine Pu Shang, Marselan, Helan Mountain East 2022

Gold, 96 points
Waves of damson and blueberry fruit, earthy balsamic tones and an intoxicating violet fragrance. Bold and structured, with broad tannins and herbaceous acidity. Alc 15.5%

MountainWave Vinery, Mountain Wave Malbec, Helan Mountain East 2021

Gold, 96 points
Hugely concentrated damson florals, black cherry and plum with a bewitching clove and vanilla aspect. Stylish and plush, with silky tannins and a lofty, lingering acidity. Superb. Alc 14%

Dongfang Yuxing, Geruihong Marselan, Helan Mountain East 2024

Value Gold, 95 points
Deep and inky, cassis and peppery spice flowing from nose onto the palate. Juicy structure and silky tannins. A wine that shows both ageing potential and youthful appeal. Alc 13.2%

Pernod Ricard Ningxia, Helan Mountain Xiao Feng Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East 2020

Gold, 95 points
helanmountain.com
Morello cherry, blackcurrant and plum, framed by tightly packed tannins, elevating acidity and violet, enhanced by spicy toast characters from the oak. Alc 14.8%

Shandong

Mystic Island, Yihu Qiushan Reserve Chardonnay, Penglai 2022

Gold, 96 points
mysticwinery.hk
Floral charm of jasmine, white blossom and honeysuckle aromas leads into a mouthwatering lemony freshness, flowing with a wonderful smoky mineral quality. Alc 13%

Longting, Sea Breeze Reserve Chardonnay, Penglai 2020

Gold, 95 points
longtingvineyard.com
Beguiling white blossom, melon and peach perfumes brought together by invigorating citrus peel acidity and a mineral undertow, with an intriguing bitter almond twist at the end. Alc 12.5%

Japan

Chubu

Chateraise Belle Foret, Katsunuma Koshu, Yamanashi 2023

Gold, 95 points
koshuvalley.com
Layers of white peach, pear, cherry blossom and lemon zest with a stony mineral infusion. Crunchy and crisp with a playful minty green tea finish. Alc 12%

Shirayuri Winery, L’Orient Vigne de Nakagawa Koshu, Yamanashi 2024

Gold, 95 points
koshuvalley.com
Rose petal and lily scents, green apple and lime bring a sense of brightness and vitality. Lifted texture and a vibrant bite of acidity. Fresh and sustained. Alc 12%

Hokkaido

Grande Polaire, Zweigeltrebe, Yoichi 2022

Platinum, 97 points
sapporobeer.jp
Cherry, plum, prune and violet with a vibrant, minty undercurrent. Plush, velvety texture. Intense and engaging, with spicy interludes. Nicely rounded through to the finish. Alc 12.5%

Niki Hills, Chardonnay, Niki 2023

Gold, 96 points
Sublime yellow plum, pineapple and fresh flower aromas shot through with a subtle vein of vanilla oak. A crushed rock mineral character on the palate and a zesty finish. Alc 13%

Kyushu

Tsuno Wine, Makiuchi Private Reserve Koshu, Miyazaki 2024

Gold, 95 points
Pink-tinged and impeccably flavoured with rose petal florals, peach and pear fruits, and a sumptuous bite of almond nuttiness. Glowing with crisp apple acidity. Vivacious and pure. Alc 11%

DWWA 2026 results announced 17 June 2026.

Discover more at awards.decanter.com

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You’d be forgiven for not knowing that the world’s most valuable spirits brand is the Chinese baijiu producer Moutai. In fact, according to the Brand Finance report Alcoholic Drinks 2025, Moutai’s brand value is roughly equal to that of the top 10 spirits brands combined – a list that includes only four non-baijiu brands: Hennessy, Jack Daniel’s, Bacardi and Johnnie Walker.

In 2025, Moutai’s brand value alone was estimated at $58.4 billion, placing it 20th in the Global 500 rankings alongside companies such as Apple, Microsoft and Google, as listed in the Global 500 2025 report by Brand Finance.

Defined as a white spirit, baijiu is a category that remains remarkably underexamined and widely misunderstood. It is among the earliest distilled alcohols in the world, dating to the Ming Dynasty of 1368-1644; making China home to the world’s oldest continuously operating distillery – Luzhou Laojiao – founded in 1573. Yet despite these facts, baijiu remains little known outside China.

The baijiu champion

To understand why baijiu has remained so obscure internationally, it’s necessary to grasp the complexity of the category itself. Few people understand this better than Ben Salguero, a UK baijiu specialist and owner of Jaded Dragon bar in Bristol, home to Europe’s largest collection of baijiu.

Salguero has dedicated his career to bringing baijiu to Western consumers and educating them about the spirit, which he describes as ‘unlike anything else’ and predicts is ‘heading towards its heyday’, much as rum and tequila have over the past decade.

‘It’s bizarre that it’s 2026 and there’s this whole category of alcohol that is still unknown to most of the world,’ he says.

Understanding baijiu

Baijiu, commonly distilled from a cereal grain called sorghum, is the national drink of China and has 12 recognised styles, each distinct in production and character. The four principal ‘aroma’ categories are strong, light, rice and sauce.

Strong-aroma baijiu is associated with tropical fruit notes such as guava and pineapple, alongside unexpected flavours like bubble-gum. Sauce-aroma baijiu is deeply savoury and food-driven, with characteristics reminiscent of dark chocolate, Marmite and soy sauce.

Light-aroma baijiu commonly displays flavours of sesame, white chocolate, bell pepper and even Brussels sprouts. Rice-aroma baijiu, by contrast, can be likened to distilled sake, offering notes of seaweed, melon and gentle salinity.

For drinkers familiar with high-ester rum, baijiu can be understood through a similar lens. Rum contains a complex range of volatile compounds, with up to 184 distinct compounds identified. Sauce-aroma baijiu, by comparison, contains more than 500.

A matter of taste

‘That’s the intensity of flavour, the tasting is exciting. You’re tasting a memory, in a very romantic sense,’ says Salguero. ‘When we taste distilled alcohol – not whisky, where wood plays a role, but white spirits – we are tasting the esters carried through distillation,’ he explains.

‘Fundamentally, they come from fatty acids created during the fermentation of the original food source. Those acids themselves don’t have flavour, but when they hit your tongue, your brain recognises them. It recalls something you’ve tasted before. In that way, you are quite literally tasting memory at its core.’

Salguero says his customers’ reactions to baijiu have been largely positive, with the greatest resistance surprisingly coming from bartenders, many of whom express a ‘fear’ towards the category.

Meanwhile the general public are more open-minded. ‘Even if they decide they don’t like it, they’re still willing to try,’ says Salguero.

Brands and bottles

In the UK, more accessible baijiu brands include Ming River, known for its approachable and fruity profile, and Moutai, characterised by its intense savoury and nutty flavour. One persistent challenge, however, is labelling.

‘If you can’t read Chinese, you often don’t know what you’re buying,’ Salguero explains. ‘The bottles are very traditional. I’ll pick up a bottle I’ve never seen before and won’t know anything about it.’

This is why specialist bars such as Jaded Dragon play a crucial role. Traditionally, baijiu is drunk neat in small 15ml ganbei cups. However, Salguero believes cocktails are key to its Western adoption.

In this sense, baijiu occupies a unique position in the global spirits landscape. ‘It is simultaneously an ancient and a new spirit,’ says Salguero. Although obscure outside China, the category may now be entering a new phase of global recognition.

Results for Chinese wines at the DWWA continue to establish its reputation as a quality-led wine producing country.

At the 2025 competition, China has a strong year, receiving 181 medals. With two Best in Show, one Platinum and 10 Gold medals, China’s wine-producing reputation is continuing to go from strength to strength.

Two red wines from Ningxia and Shandong respectively have been awarded the top accolade, Best in Show, at the 2025 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) – marking a historic milestone for Chinese wine at the world’s biggest wine competition.

This is the first time Chinese wines achieved the Best in Show since its introduction in 2016, replacing the former top award, ‘International Trophy’. These two wines are also the only entries from Asia to reach the top 50 this year.

Scroll down to see award-winning Chinese wines from DWWA 2025

From Rkatsiteli or China’s ‘signature grape’, Marselan to Cabernet Sauvignon entries included a diverse array of styles, including sparkling and sweet wines.

To ring in the Chinese New Year on 17 February and highlight some producers to keep your eye on, we’ve selected 15 award-winning wines from the 2025 competition to try, each awarded 94+ points.

Whether familiar with Chinese wines or looking for where to start, discover benchmark examples of the quality wines China is becoming known for.

Chinese New Year: 15 award-winning wines to try

Best in Show

Changyu, Noble Dragon N188, Yantai, Shandong 2022

Best in Show, 97 points

Our second Chinese wine in this year’s Best in Show selection comes not from the inland, fiercely continental climate of Ningxia, but from the very different coastal environment of the Shandong Peninsula; it’s also a successful blend of 75% Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère) with 25% Cabernet Sauvignon. Despite very different growing conditions, the lesson is the same: China is capable of making not just fruity red wines (which many locations in the wine world do well), but structured red wines in which rich tannins provide the bone structure which gives beguiling fruit flesh an inner seriousness of purpose. This dark red-black wine is dark and searching, with plum-blackberry fruits. On the palate, those fruits show both depth and textural finesse, and the supporting tannins play a key role once again in lending that fruit its dignity and gastronomic force. These two wines constitute a remarkable debut for China in our Top 50. Alcohol 13.5%

Dongfang Yuxing Winery, Geruihong Yeguangbei, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2022

Best in Show, 97 points

China is a relative newcomer to the world of wine, though in other respects its civilisation pre-dates that of Mediterranean Europe (and the Chinese made mixed alcoholic beverages even earlier than the Georgians wines). Perhaps we shouldn’t be surprised, then, both at the speed at which its wine creators are learning, and the level of their accomplishments. Both were on show this year with not one but two Best in Show wines. This wine from Helan Mountain in Ningxia is a cunning blend which few in Europe would have thought of: Cabernet Sauvignon with 9% of freshening Dornfelder and 6% of Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère). It works well. The wine is a dark, opaque black-purple with fresh and alluring scents of blackcurrant and wild plum. The palate offers a seductive plunge of fruit and spice, settling on something more akin to dark chocolate but – and this is key – with the authority and detaining discipline only carefully extracted tannins can bring. It’s a revelation. Alc 15.6%

Sparkling

Devo Winery, MV03 Brut Nature, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia NV

Gold, 95 points

Captivating red apple, lemon peel and stone fruits persist over a bedrock of biscuits and toasted brioche and swirl across the delicate mousse. Long and impressive. Alc 12.5%

White

Mystic Island Winery, Yihu Qiushan Reserve Chardonnay, Penglai, Shandong 2022

Gold, 96 points

Dizzy with floral charm: jasmine, white blossom and honeysuckle aromas lead to a mouth-watering lemony freshness and wonderful smoky mineral quality which flows towards the finish. Alc 13%

Longting Vineyard, Reserve Sea Breeze Chardonnay, Penglai, Shandong 2022

Gold, 95 points

Beguiling white blossom, melon and peach perfume prevails over the invigorating citrus peel acidity and mineral undertow, with an intriguing bitter almond twist at the end. Alc 12.5%

Chateau Summer Land, Bo Series Malvasia, Wuwei, Gansu 2023

Silver, 94 points

Lovely nuances of lemon peel freshness with nettle and yellow peach aromas, hints of guavas and dry herbs. Silky texture. Alc 14.5%

Helanhong Winery, Helan Hong Jiangnan Reserva White, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2022

Silver, 94 points

Water chestnuts and melons with plenty of vanilla and buttery sweetness mixed with nectarines. Juicy, fresh and attractive. Stony finish. Alc 14.5%

Tinnyu Winery, Mono Chard, Yunnan 2023

Silver, 94 points

Toasty nuances, with notes of clove and vanilla, hints of smoke and flint, lemon and red apple. Racy acidity. Alc 14%

Red

Li’s Estate, Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2022

Platinum, 97 points

A tantalising complexity of blackberry fruit compote and succulent prunes garnished with cedar and black pepper spice and hints of green herbs. Rousing and rich with immersive tannins and a lick of warming tar on the finish. Alc 15.5%

Domaine Pushang, Marselan, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2022

Gold, 96 points

Dive deep into the waves of damson and blueberry fruit, earthy balsamic tones and intoxicating violet fragrance; bold and structured with broad tannins and herbaceous acidity. Alc 15.5%

MountainWave Vinery, Malbec, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2021

Gold, 96 points

Hugely concentrated damson florals, black cherries and plums with a bewitching clove and vanilla aspect. Stylish and plush with silky tannins and a lofty, lingering acidity. Superb! Alc 14%

Pernod Ricard Ningxia, Helan Mountain Xiao Feng Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2020

Gold, 95 points

Charismatic Morello cherry, blackcurrant and plum notes are framed by the tightly-packed violet tannins and elevating acidity, and fortified by the spicy toast characters from the oak. Alc 14.8%

Sweet

Hanxiang Liquor, Nabaifu Reserva Icewine Vidal, Huanren, Liaoning 2018

Gold 95 points

Luscious apricot, mango, pear and honeyed acacia sing across the exquisitely sweet palate which is enlivened by the satiating acidity and fascinating savoury twist at the end. Alc 11%

Sanhe, Cailonglin Jinding Icewine Vidal, Huanren, Liaoning 2020

Gold, 95 points

An explosion of apricots, peaches, mangoes and raisins coat the palate and are enriched by a vivid orange peel acidity to mystify and delight. Utterly delicious! Alc 12%

Tonghua Winery, Tonghua Glory Yasay Oak Aged Icewine Vidal, Tonghua, Jilin 2022

Silver, 94 points

The nose is pure and fruity with complex orange blossom, honey, ripe mango and pineapple. Intense on the palate, long and charming. Alc 11.5%

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The sommelier suggests… Shangri-La by Lu Yang MS

The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) returned to Singapore for its second year, welcoming wine lovers from far and wide. The stunning Shangri-La Singapore once again opened its doors, offering a luxurious setting for guests to explore and celebrate exceptional wines.

On Saturday 22 November almost 600 attendees flocked to the event, enjoying the elegant surroundings, from the grand ballroom to the beautifully curated masterclass room. Guests experienced wines from 52 world-class producers, including the delicate Koshu wines of Japan and the premium sake of Dassai. Masterclasses offered deep dives into iconic labels, from Henschke’s celebrated single-vineyard wines and Brunello di Montalcino, to the legendary Château Margaux.

A new highlight for this year was the Editors’ Lunch, giving guests an exclusive opportunity to connect with Decanter editors in an intimate setting – another memorable addition to a day celebrating the very best of fine wine.

Special thanks to all the producers and guests for another unforgettable day, and to our official DFWE sponsor Riedel.

Photo Credits: Colossal Productions

The Tower Ballroom awaits as anticipation builds in the empty corridors.

Decanting in progress for the day's Grand Tasting.

Devon Lochhead of Boschendal and Bellingham smiles as he sets up for the tasting ahead.

Glasses being prepared for the first masterclass of the day, Brunello di Montalcino.

The Grand Tasting in full swing.

Pouring this year’s DWWA winners at the dedicated tasting table.

A look at some of the wines being showcased by the Bodegas Muga team.

Decanter's Italy Editor James Button (left) and Gerald Lu, President of the Sommelier Association of Singapore (right), explore the wines of Brunello di Montalcino.

A guest taking a moment to enjoy the aromas of one of the wines.

A beautifully set table for the Editors' Lunch, where guests enjoyed welcome drinks before a three-course menu with wines chosen by Decanter editors.

A warm moment as Regional Editor Julie Sheppard speaks with guests before the lunch.

Guests enjoying a lighthearted moment at the producer's stand.

Leading the sold-out Château Margaux masterclass: Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos and Decanter's Georgie Hindle.

Engaged and smiling – an attendee taking in the masterclass experience.

A cheerful attendee enjoying the event.

Fabio Solenthaler of Château d'Esclans presenting Rock Angel.

Federica Mascheroni Stianti brings a taste of Tuscany to Singapore with Castello di Volpaia’s Coltassala Chianti Classico Gran Selezione 2017.

Curious moment of focus at the stand, with guests taking time to familiarise themselves with the wines on offer.

Johann Henschke takes guests through the family’s new-release 2021 Eden Valley single-vineyard wines.

Capturing the masterclass through a guest's lens.

Leaning in, a guest studies the wines side by side, tracing the subtle colour differences in the glass.

Koshu wines of Japan took centre stage, spanning three stands at the Grand Tasting.

Shared laugher captures the spirit of the event.

Meeting, greeting and sharing a passion for wine.

A moment of conversation and smiles after the Henschke masterclass.

Dassai makes its debut, offering premium sake, captivating attendees.

Family of Silver Oak: A snapshot with their special wine.

Keepsake – each Grand Tasting guest received a tasting glass to take home.

Glasses raised, spirits high – cheers to a memorable tasting.

The iconic Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) returned for its second edition at the luxurious Shangri-La Hotel in the heart of Southeast Asia in Singapore. The event welcomed hundreds of wine lovers and connoisseurs for a one-day celebration of the very best in fine wine.

At the Grand Tasting, attendees could explore an extraordinary array of wines from leading producers across the globe. For those wishing to delve even deeper, three insightful masterclasses were hosted, featuring exceptional wines from Henschke, Château Margaux and Brunello di Montalcino.

A crowd favourite, the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) Winners’ Table showcased over 35 wines awarded with Gold, Platinum and Best in Show medals. The selection featured a diverse range of styles and origins, including Spanish and Japanese sparkling wines, Italian whites, red wines from Australia and Armenia and a sweet wine from Greece.

Out of the Top 50 wines of the 2025 competition, four were presented at the table, including Soalheiro, Alvarinho, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2024 and Monemvasia Winery Tsimbidi, Vin Liastos, Monemvasia-Malvasia, Peloponnese, Greece 2012.

Five Platinum-awarded wines, each scoring 97-points, were also available to taste and many more Gold winners, including Lionel Gosseaume, Les Marcottes, Touraine, Loire, France 2023, one of the 30 Top Value Golds of the competition (wines under £15 a bottle at the time of judging).

Discover below the full line-up of DWWA 2025 awarded wines featured at the Winners’ Table in Singapore, and find more event highlights here.

Sparkling

• Ruggeri, Brut, Prosecco Valdobbiadene Superiore di Cartizze, Veneto, Italy 2023 | Platinum, 97 points
• Il Poggiolo, Metodo Classico Pinot Nero Blanc de Noir Pas Dosé, Vino Spumante di Qualità, Italy 2020 | Gold, 95 points 
• Hokkaido Wine, Traditional Method Hokkaido Type C Brut, Hokkaido, Japan NV | Gold, 96 points 
• Can Sala, Vinyes de Can Sala Brut Nature, Cava, Spain 2015 | Platinum, 97 points 
• Legras & Haas, Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru, Champagne, France 2018 | Gold, 95 points

Whites

• Soalheiro, Alvarinho, Monção e Melgaço, Vinho Verde, Portugal 2024 | Best in Show, 97 points 
• Zýmē di Celestino Gaspari, From Black to White, Veneto, Italy 2022 | Gold, 95 points 
• Jade Select, Parea 23 Tempranillo Blanco, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2017 | Silver, 92 points
• Ktima Gerovassiliou, Single Vineyard Malagousia, Epanomi, Macedonia, Greece 2024 | Best in Show, 97 points 
• Domaine de Métifiot, Les Baux-de-Provence, Provence, France 2023 | Platinum, 97 points 
• Ktima Biblia Chora, Ovilos, Pangeon, Macedonia, Greece 2024 | Gold, 96 points 
• Vignaioli Contra’ Soarda, Vignasilan, Breganze, Veneto, Italy 2017 | Gold, 95 points 
• Brokenwood, ILR Reserve Semillon, Hunter Valley, New South Wales, Australia 2019 | Platinum, 97 points
• Dandelion Vineyards, Enchanted Garden Riesling, Eden Valley, South Australia, Australia 2024 | Gold, 95 points 
• Ambar Estate, Lustral Chardonnay, Dundee Hills, Oregon, United States 2022 | Gold, 95 points 
• Wirra Wirra, The 12th Man Chardonnay, Adelaide Hills, South Australia, Australia 2024 | Best in Show, 97 points 

Reds

• Lionel Gosseaume, Les Marcottes, Touraine, Loire, France 2023 | Gold, 95 points
• Khachen Wines, Areni, Vayots Dzor, Armenia 2023 | Gold, 95 points 
• Erste + Neue, Puntay Classico Superiore, Caldaro / Kalterersee, Trentino-Alto Adige/Südtirol, Italy 2023 | Gold, 95 points 
• Guadianeja, Paraje Alto Hungrao Tempranillo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain 2023 | Gold, 95 points 
• Cellers Unió, Perlat Garnatxa, Montsant, Spain 2023 | Gold, 95 points 
• Vall Llach, Mas de la Rosa Gran Vinya Classificada, Priorat, Spain 2023 | Best in Show, 97 points 
• Trivento, Golden Reserve Malbec, Luján de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina 2023 | Gold, 95 points
• Castello di Meleto, Chianti Classico Gran Selezione, Tuscany, Italy 2020 | Platinum, 97 points
• Château de Parenchère, Esprit, Bordeaux Supérieur, Bordeaux, France 2022 | Gold, 95 points 
• Ernie Els, Proprietor’s Blend, Helderberg, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2022 | Gold, 96 points 
• Avinodos, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stags Leap District, California, United States 2019 | Gold, 95 points 
• Heirloom Vineyards, A’lambra, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia 2023 | Gold, 96 points 

Sweet

• Monemvasia Winery Tsimbidi, Vin Liastos, Monemvasia-Malvasia, Peloponnese, Greece 2012 | Best in Show, 97 points 

Search all DWWA 2025 award-winning wines 

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Held from 12–14 November at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC), ProWine Shanghai 2025 attracted 21,590 professional visitors. This year’s edition featured a more diversified buyer profile and increased cross-regional interaction, reflecting the fair’s growing influence in the Asian market.

At the Decanter stand, visitors explored a broad range of medal winners from Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025, representing different styles, origins and medal categories. The line-up featured wines from eight countries and 18 regions.

Wines from well-established regions such as Bordeaux and Barossa were especially popular among attendees, while discoveries from regions including Vaud in Switzerland and Southwest France also generated strong interest.

China achieved its best-ever results at DWWA 2025, securing two Best in Show, one Platinum and ten Gold medals. To celebrate this milestone, Decanter hosted a dedicated masterclass featuring 11 of these top-scoring wines, all of which were also displayed at the stand throughout the fair.

The masterclass was led by Professor Li Demei — DWWA judge, DecanterChina.com columnist and director of enology engineering at Beijing University of Agriculture. He began by introducing the DWWA judging process and scoring system before guiding participants through an in-depth tasting of the featured wines. The line-up comprised:

• Devo Winery, Mv03 Brut Nature, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China NV
  Gold 95
• Mystic Island Winery, Yihu Qiushan Reserve Chardonnay, Penglai, Shandong, China 2022
  Gold 96
• Longting Vineyard, Reserve Sea Breeze Chardonnay, Penglai, Shandong, China 2020
  Gold 95
• Changyu, Noble Dragon N188, Yantai, Shandong, China 2022
  Best in Show 97
• Domaine Pushang, Marselan, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China 2022
  Gold 96
• MountainWave Vinery, MountainWave Malbec, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China 2021
  Gold 96
• Dongfang Yuxing Winery, Geruihong Yeguangbei, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China 2022
  Best in Show 97
• Li’s Estate, Family Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China 2022
  Platinum 97
• Pernod Ricard Ningxia, Helan Mountain Xiao Feng Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China 2020
  Gold 95
• Hanxiang Liquor, Nabaifu Reserva Icewine Vidal, Huanren, Liaoning, China 2018
  Gold 95
• Sanhe, Cailonglin Jinding Icewine Vidal, Huanren, Liaoning, China 2018
  Gold 95

The masterclass also featured the first appearance of Edward Regg MW as the new Asia Regional Chair. He shared insights from his experience at the DWWA 2025 judging week and introduced the key features of the DWWA results website.

The masterclass and stand showcase together highlighted the depth, diversity and growing recognition of DWWA medal winners, while reflecting the increasing enthusiasm of the Chinese market for high-quality wines.

Search all DWWA 2025 results

See below the list of all non-Chinese DWWA 2025 medal winners featured at the Decanter stand during ProWine Shanghai 2025.

Sparkling

• Blasi Cantina, 1742 Metodo Classico Pas Dosé, Vino Spumante di Qualità, Italy NV
  Bronze 87

White

• Tenuta Viglione, Herba, Puglia, Italy 2024
  Bronze 88
• Waterkloof, Circle of Life Sauvignon Blanc-Chenin Blanc-Semillon, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2024
  Silver 91
• False Bay, Slow Chenin Blanc, Coastal Region, South Africa 2024
  Silver 90
• Sother, Château De Malessert 1er Grand Cru Chasselas, La Côte, Vaud, Switzerland 2023
  Silver 92
• Sother, Château De Malessert 1er Grand Cru Chasselas, La Côte, Vaud, Switzerland 2022
  Gold 95
• Plaimont, Yura, Jurançon Sec, Southwest France, France 2023
  Platinum 97

Rosé

• Domaine Alône, Sable, Vin de France, Provence, France 2023
  Silver 92

Red

• Sother, Domaine de Manoir Assemblage Rouge, Vaud, Switzerland 2023
  Bronze 89
• Cimicky, Grenache, Barossa, South Australia, Australia 2024
  Silver 92
• Cellers Unió, Perlat Garnatxa, Montsant, Spain 2023
  Gold 95
• La Magdalena, Ramblilla Old Vines Bobal, Ribera del Júcar, Spain 2021
  Silver 90
• Bodegas Teofilo Reyes, Tamiz, Ribera del Duero, Spain 2024
  Silver 90
• Don Sancho De Londoño, Real De A 8, Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2018
  Bronze 88
• Château de Parenchère, Bordeaux Supérieur, Bordeaux, France 2022
  Bronze 88
• Château Le Bon Pasteur, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France 2022
  Silver 92
• Château De Parenchère, Esprit, Bordeaux Supérieur, Bordeaux, France 2022
  Gold 95
• Ernie Els, Proprietor’s Blend, Helderberg, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2022
  Gold 96
• Cimicky, Shiraz, Barossa, South Australia, Australia 2023
  Bronze 86
• Plaimont, Néo Mad, Madiran, Southwest France, France 2023
  Gold 95

Sweet

• Plaimont, Saint Albert, Pacherenc du Vic-Bilh, Southwest France, France 2022
  Gold 95
• Weingut Korrell, Paradies Riesling, Auslese, Nahe, Germany 2023
  Gold 96
• Blasi Cantina, Mammamia Passito, Umbria, Umbria, Italy 2008
  Gold 95

Search all DWWA 2025 results

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Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) Singapore 2025, on Saturday 22 November, was an even greater success than its debut last year, the event now a fixture on every wine-lover’s calendar in this vibrant city-state.

And in an expanded programme of events, the inaugural Editors’ Lunch joined the trio of exclusive Masterclasses and the flagship Grand Tasting itself.

More than 580 guests made their way to Singapore’s luxury Shangri-La Hotel, where 52 wineries from 13 countries were waiting to pour their wines in the splendid setting of the Tower Ballroom. Wines were shown off at their best in pristine glassware from Riedel, kind sponsors of the event.

Grand Tasting

The centrepiece of any DFWE, the all-day tasting offered guests the chance to enjoy wines from top estates from around the world, poured and presented by the names behind the labels.

A walk around the Ballroom provided an exciting tour of the classic regions of France, Spain and Italy, exciting discoveries from China, Hungary and Switzerland, and powerhouses from Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and the US.

And there was particular excitement at the extensive range on show from Japan.

Dassai Sake from Yamaguchi poured three Junmai Daiginjo sakes, a Nigori Sparkling and a new environmentally responsible release called Future With Farmers, which utilises ungraded Yamadanishiki rice that would otherwise be discarded but which is polished to just 8%.

Next door, Koshu of Japan showcased 18 deliciously diverse wines from nine producers, including a red and rosé from international grapes amid the sparkling and still whites from the country’s main indigenous variety of Koshu.

Special wines

As with last year, each Grand Tasting producer was invited to bring a very special wine from their collection, straight from their cellar to Singapore.

These included show-stopping large-format bottles such as the five-litre jeroboam of the 2014 grand vin from Pauillac second-growth Château Pichon Baron, and double magnums (three litres) from a host of estates including Marchesi Frescobaldi (Tuscany), Arzuaga (Ribera del Duero) and Remírez de Ganuza (Rioja).

Other stands boasted rare older vintages, like the 2005s from St-Emilion grand cru classé estate La Tour Figeac and Ribera del Duero’s Félix Callejo (both in magnum) and a 2006 Marlborough Sauvignon Blanc from New Zealand’s Cloudy Bay.

Tuscany’s Tenute del Cabreo even poured its Cabreo Il Borgo 1998 from double magnum, as did Clos Apalta from Chile with its Apalta 2004.

Several winery principals had flown in especially for the event, and enjoyed pouring their wine personally for visitors.

These included Marielle Cazaux, managing director and winemaker at Château La Conseillante in Pomerol, José Ramón Urtasun, owner and winemaker at Rioja’s Remírez de Ganuza and Jake Krausz, estate director for Arkenstone Vineyards in Napa Valley.

Meanwhile, a dedicated Decanter World Wine Awards table presented 37 winners from this year’s competition, all scoring 95 points or higher.

It was a proudly eclectic and global mix, including top Cava and Prosecco alongside Japanese sparkling, and grapes as diverse as Armenian Areni Noir and Italian Vespaiola and Schiava Gentile.

Highlights were the five Best in Show winners: a Vinho Verde, Adelaide Hills Chardonnay and Greek Malagousia and a brace of Spanish reds from Priorat and Ribeira Sacra.

DFWE Singapore 2025 Masterclasses

In addition to the main tasting, guests could purchase tickets to a series of exclusive tutored sessions (individual, detailed masterclass reports to follow).

The first masterclass of the day, Montalcino across Time, was co-hosted by Decanter’s Italy Regional Editor, James Button, and Gerald Lu, president of the Sommelier Association of Singapore.

Across two key vintages, 2010 and 2020, they explored the wines of four celebrated producers – Il Marroneto, Biondi Santi, Giodo and Col d’Orcia.

In the second masterclass, which was oversubscribed by 50%, Alexis Leven-Mentzelopoulos, CEO and co-owner of Bordeaux first-growth Château Margaux was joined on stage by Decanter’s Bordeaux Regional Editor Georgie Hindle.

Together they presented four vintages of the grand vin across four decades – 2009, 1999, 1989 and 1985. The class also showed two vintages of the estate’s first white wine Pavillon Blanc (2018 and 1996) and the second red wine Pavillon Rouge 2009, as well as the 2018 Margaux du Château Margaux, the estate’s third wine.

The event’s final masterclass welcomed Johann Henschke, the sixth-generation winemaker and viticulturalist of his family’s Henschke winery in South Australia, and co-host Tina Gellie, Decanter’s Content Director.

Attendees were treated to mini verticals (2021, 2015 and 2005) of the iconic Shirazes Hill of Grace and Mount Edelstone, but also the 2021 vintages of the other new-release 2021 Eden Valley single-vineyard wines Cyril Henschke and The Wheelwright.

New: Editors’ Lunch

Finally, in an exclusive new addition to Decanter’s events programme, making its debut at DFWE Singapore 2025, was the Editors’ Lunch.

Offered to only 12 guests, this was a unique opportunity to join members of Decanter’s editorial team for a relaxed, convivial meal and engaging behind-the-scenes conversation.

Hosted by Tina Gellie, James Button and Julie Sheppard, Decanter’s Regional Editor for Australia, New Zealand and South Africa, the sell-out lunch at the Shangri-La’s Origin Grill, featured a curated selection of wines from eight of their favourite producers attending the event, paired with a three-course meal.

After a welcome aperitif from Champagne Taittinger, two whites and a rosé were poured for the starter course, courtesy of Mazzei (Tuscany), Cloudy Bay (New Zealand) and Château d’Esclans (Provence).

Three reds followed with the main course, kindly provided by Leyda (Chile), Château Bélair-Monange (St-Emilion) and Ovid (Napa Valley), finishing with a Sauternes from Château Suduiraut.

Our table was a melting pot of cultures, spanning India, Malaysia, Australia, Russia, Poland, Britain and of course Singapore.

Some were starting their journey in wine, others had more expertise, but all were enthusiasts, eager to find out more about the stories behind the bottles being poured, as well as the editors who chose them.

It was a memorable experience for all involved and we look forward to meeting more passionate, curious wine lovers next year.

Look out for our photo highlights from DFWE Singapore 2025 shortly – if you attended, keep an eye out as you may be featured.

The next DFWE in our international programme will be New York on 6 June 2026. Look out for more information on this, as well as the announcement of our London and Singapore dates, on our Events page.

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Wine-grower Nicolas Joly, dubbed the ‘godfather of biodynamics’ and lauded for his work at La Coulée de Serrant in the Loire Valley, is the recipient of Decanter’s Hall of Fame award for 2025. 

Each year, the prize recognises an individual’s outstanding contribution to the world of wine, with Argentina’s Susana Balbo joining the star-studded list in 2024.

This year’s award highlights the pioneering work of Nicolas Joly, now aged 80, who has spent decades at the forefront of the biodynamic movement and is a staunch proponent of terroir. 

‘Leading by example, he has encouraged winemakers the world over to focus on the health and sustainability of their vineyards and to produce wines with a genuine sense of place,’ writes Beverley Blanning MW in a special feature and exclusive interview in Decanter magazine’s October 2025 issue.

‘Joly was a man well ahead of his time,’ writes Blanning. ‘When he started his wine-growing journey, few people were talking about organic viticulture and biodynamics was virtually unheard of.’

Having initially worked in finance, Joly returned to the family vineyard domaine in the 1970s and, after studying oenology at the University of Bordeaux, set out on a new path as a vigneron. 

Joly’s parents had relocated to Savennières from Angers in the early 1960s, to a property that included La Coulée de Serrant, a prestigious single-vineyard appellation in continuous production back to the 12th century.

After reading about the biodynamic principles previously espoused by philosopher Rudolf Steiner, Joly embraced an alternative approach to wine-growing at a time when use of agro-chemicals was widespread. 

‘We were treated like a sect,’ he recalls to Blanning in the Hall of Fame award feature. 

Leading wine-growers from across France soon took notice, however. Lalou Bize-Leroy, co-manager of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti at the time, was an early visitor to Joly, writes Blanning.

Alongside returning La Coulée de Serrant to its former glory, Joly founded ‘Renaissance des Appellations’ at the turn of the century. 

His daughter, Virginie, now helps to oversee day-to-day running of the organisation, which has more than 230 wineries worldwide as members, but Nicolas remains its leader. 

Olivier Humbrecht MW, an early member and owner of biodynamic Domaine Zind-Humbrecht in Alsace, said, ‘Nicolas was the first person who knew how to speak about biodynamics and make it fun and interesting.’ 

Ronan Sayburn MS, Co-Chair at the Decanter World Wine Awards, said, ‘He’s fascinating to listen to, and because he is such an extreme personality, he drives things no one else would.

‘As a sommelier, I always wanted to recommend Coulée de Serrant because when it’s great, it’s magnificent.’

Read Master of Wine Beverley Blanning’s full article on Hall of Fame 2025 award winner Nicolas Joly 

Wu Xiuyong: Decanter’s Rising Star for 2025

Decanter has also announced that this year’s Rising Star award goes to Wu Xiuyong, who has forged a formidable winemaking career in China’s Ningxia region while also championing rural education for women and girls.

She is the fifth recipient of the award, following on from sommelier Pascaline Lepeltier in 2024.

As head winemaker at Dongfang Yuxing in Hongsipu, Ningxia, Wu is the driving force behind one of two Chinese wines that won coveted Best in Show medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) 2025.

Combining 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Dornfelder and 6% Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenère), the winery’s Geruihong Yeguangbei 2022 was described as ‘a revelation’ by DWWA judges. 

It represents a milestone for this Ningxia sub-region, but it also reflects Wu’s skill, grit and determination.

Wu grew up in a family of modest means in rural China, and her father passed away when she was just 13 years old, writes Sylvia Wu, Decanter’s Regional Editor for Asia in an exclusive feature in the magazine’s October 2025 issue. 

Yet, the family believed strongly in education. Wu built on a long-standing interest in plants and the natural world by studying horticulture at Ningxia University, which counts many of China’s leading winemakers among its alumni. 

Wu’s early career included a first job at Xixia King, the first winery established in Ningxia, and later the establishment of her own winery, Yunkou, in 2008.

After several years of developing her skills and understanding via hands-on experience, as well as learning from leading wine world stars in China and beyond, Wu received an invitation from Liu Quanzu, owner of Dongfang Yuxing in Hongsipu.

Despite the winery only being half-built when she arrived, Wu decided to stay – a decision that has turned into a decade-long commitment. 

Today, alongside scouring Hongsipu for the best sites and fruit, Wu lectures at Ningxia University. In 2023, she received a National Labour Day Women Pacesetter award, which recognises outstanding women across a wide range of professions in China.

‘All the pride, sense of accomplishment and joy I find in life are linked to wine,’ she said. 

Professor Li Demei, DWWA judge and a leading Beijing-based wine consultant, said, ‘Wu Xiuyong’s passion, curiosity and drive have earned her wide respect in Ningxia’s wine scene. 

‘Despite the remote and demanding conditions of Hongsipu, she has persevered and emerged as a rising star.’

This article follows the Chinese convention of placing the surname first.

Read the full article on Wu Xiuyong in Decanter magazine’s October 2024 issue

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Peking duck: what’s the authentic way to enjoy it?

As one of the best-known Chinese dishes, Peking duck was once an imperial cuisine dating back to the Ming Dynasty (1368–1644).

Roasted duck, with its crispy, golden-brown skin and rich fat, is the heart and soul of this iconic dish. It is commonly served with wafer-thin pancakes, shredded cucumber and green onions. For condiments, hoisin sauce and, indeed, sugar.

If you are enjoying Peking duck in an authentic Chinese restaurant, the chef will skillfully slice the piping hot duck in front of you – giving you ample time for photos – and place the well-browned skins and juicy meat, sometimes separately (and arranged meticulously) in a single layer on a plate.

The traditional way is to dip the golden, fatty skin in sugar and enjoy the sweet and crunchy texture on its own first. Once happy with that, take a few slices of the skin, meat and vegetables (but not too much), add a dab of hoisin sauce, wrap them up with the pancake, and now – take a generous bite.

The succulent flavours of the juicy duck, the sweet and umami-rich sauce, and the freshness from the greens are gift-wrapped in a thin layer of dough – a satisfying mouthful guaranteed.

Is Pinot Noir the only answer for pairing?

If you ask a wine professional what to pair with Peking duck, Pinot Noir is almost always the default answer – for its delicate fruit, fine tannins, and medium body.

Indeed, if we were pairing wines with roasted duck alone, the task would be relatively straightforward. A Burgundian Pinot Noir, a peppery Syrah, a rosé Champagne or an oaked Chardonnay, all with fresh acidity to balance the richness and cut through the grease, would work beautifully.

Also read: Non-vintage rosé Champagne – Panel tasting results

However, with Peking duck, the equation changes. If you were to set aside the hoisin sauce and sugar, these classic choices are still perfectly valid. But once the condiments come into play, a more nuanced approach is needed.

‘Despite its popularity, I don’t believe in pairing Pinot Noir with Peking duck,’ says Jennifer Docherty MW, the first ethnically Chinese and Mandarin speaking MW.

The Hong Kong-based expert added that Pinot Noir is quite linear and thus doesn’t necessarily hold up to the greasy and rich mouthfeel.

Spätlese Riesling, instead, is Docherty’s top choice. ‘Nice acidity with more residual sugar should go perfectly with the duck and the sauce.’

In the realm of red wines, Docherty suggests a ripe Clare Valley Shiraz or a ‘nicely balanced’ Crozes-Hermitage Syrah – fine tannins and non-assertive acidity are key.

How about Chinese wines?

A sweet, juicy Chinese Merlot, Syrah/Shiraz, or Malbec (avoiding the more robust, oaky, and tannic options) from sun-baked wine regions such as Ningxia and Xinjiang could pair nicely with the plummy hoisin sauce.

Marselan is a rather topical option if it’s on the wine list – the French crossing of Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache is considered by many to be the next ‘signature’ grape of Chinese wines. Again, opt for the less oaky, more fruity bottles.

If you’re feeling adventurous, try a bottle of Chinese icewine – especially those from Huanren in Liaoning province, Northeast China.

Produced in considerable quantities but rarely exported, these precious nectars tend to have a complex, rich flavour profile and brilliant elegance. When properly chilled, they’ll melt the greasiness and elevate the entire experience.

*Read more about Chinese wines in Decanter’s 2024 China supplement.

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Two of the headline lots featuring The Macallan whisky failed to sell in Bonhams’ online auction in Hong Kong, with Japanese whiskies instead tempting buyers.

Neither The Red Collection nor The Reach found new homes during the sale, which began on 15 November and ended on St Andrew’s Day, the national holiday commemorating Scotland’s patron saint, on 30 November.

The Red Collection featured 40, 50, 60, 71, 74, 77 and 78-year-old whiskies, and marked the first time that the seven-bottle set had gone on sale through Bonhams.

The collection carried a pre-sale estimate of between HK$5,000,000 (£503,000) and HK$7,500,000 (£755,000).

The Reach, Macallan’s second-oldest release, was distilled in 1940 and bottled when it was 81 years old.

The three hands that form its stand – which was created by Scottish sculptor Saskia Robinson – represent current master whisky maker Kirsteen Campbell, former Macallan chairman Allan Shiach, and distillery workers from the 1940s.

Its pre-sale estimate stood at between HK$1,300,000 (£131,000) and HK$1,800,000 (£181,000).

Mark Littler, an independent whisky broker and consultant, said: ‘Sadly I’m not surprised these lots didn’t sell.

‘When The Red Collection launched in 2020, the market was strong, but the near impossibility of acquiring key age statements like the 60 year old made completing a full set challenging, leading to waning interest.

‘Subsequent re-releases of age statements, such as the 40 year old, have contributed to the perception of the series as open ended, reducing its appeal to collectors.’

He added: ‘The Reach debuted at the height of the market in 2022 but has since seen prices fall dramatically – from nearly £400,000 early in 2023 to £130,000 by year-end.

‘Much of the earlier value growth in modern whisky – post 2015 – was driven by speculative buying.

‘Following the market correction, collectors now focus on truly rare bottles.

‘While this presents excellent opportunities for informed buyers, many still lack the confidence to navigate the current landscape.’

Other Macallan lots did find buyers, with a Lalique 60 year old selling for HK$450,000 (£45,300), a Lalique 57 year old fetching HK$375,000 (£37,800), and Lalique 55 year old also going under the hammer for HK$375,000 (£37,800).

A bottle of 48-year-old Johnnie Walker Masters of Flavour blended Scotch whisky also changed hands for HK$150,000 (£15,100).

The sale marked the opening of Bonhams’ Asia head office. While the two star Macallan lots floundered, Japanese whiskies proved popular during the online Hong Kong auction.

The Hibiki 40 Year Old, the oldest blended whisky made by spirits giant Suntory, sold for HK$425,000 (£42,800), towards the upper end of its HK$340,000 (£34,200) to HK$500,000 (£50,300) valuation.

The blend drew on whiskies from each of Suntory’s Japanese distilleries – Chita, Hakushu, and Yamazaki.

Eighteen lots featuring Hanyu’s playing card series – which the auction house described as ‘one of Japan’s most coveted whisky series’ – also went under the hammer.

A spokeswoman for Bonhams told Decanter: ‘The top two Macallan lots were not sold; however, we saw notable results for Japanese whiskies in this auction, including the Hibiki 40 Year Old, which sold for HK$425,000.

‘Additionally, all 18 bottles of the Hanyu Ichiro cards offered were sold, with a combined price above estimate.

‘In particular, Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt – King of Diamonds – first edition sold for HK$525,000, and Hanyu Ichiro’s Malt – Ace of Spades – first edition sold for HK$325,000, both exceeding their high estimates.’

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ProWine Shanghai, a leading event for the wine and spirits industry in mainland China, took place from 12 to 14 November at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC). Attracting 20,860 trade visitors, including importers, distributors, and HoReCa professionals, the event served as a dynamic platform for showcasing excellence in the global wine industry.

Decanter took part with a display of over 30 award-winning wines from the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), including hosting an exclusive masterclass highlighting the remarkable diversity of Chinese wine regions and styles.

At the Decanter stand, attendees explored more than 20 awarded wines from 9 countries and 15 regions, with 80% of the featured wines receiving an impressive 95 points or higher.

The line-up showcased standout wines from renowned export markets like Australia and Chile, featuring highlights such as the Platinum-winning House of Arras Grand Vintage 2015 from Tasmania, Australia and the Best in Show Santa Carolina Herencia Carmenère 2020 from Los Lingues, Colchagua, Chile.

Expanding beyond these established regions, Decanter also introduced attendees to exceptional wines less commonly seen in China. Among these was the Platinum-winning Domaine Histoire D’Enfer L’Enfer Du Calcaire Pinot Noir 2019 from Valais, Switzerland, capturing the attention of attendees for its elegance and unique provenance.

Following the publication of the first China supplement in Decanter‘s October issue, Decanter hosted an in-depth masterclass led by Professor Li Demei, DWWA judge and one of China’s foremost wine experts.

The masterclass introduced the DWWA scoring system, discussed the current state of Chinese winemaking and featured a guided tasting of 12 DWWA 2024 medal-winning wines from five major Chinese wine regions. The wines showcased a range of styles, highlighting the diversity and potential of Chinese viticulture, including:

• Devo Winery, MV02 Brut Nature, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia NV
  Silver, 91 points
• Silk Road Vineyards, Harvest Riesling, Yili, Xinjiang 2023
  Bronze, 89 points
• Silver Heights Vineyard, Reserve Chardonnay, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2021
  Gold,95 points
• Tiansai Vineyards, T20 Chardonnay, Yanqi, Xinjiang 2021
  Silver, 90 points
• Xige Estate, Jade Dove Single Vineyard Cabernet Gernischt, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2020
  Silver, 90 points
• Helan Qingxue Vineyard, Jia Bei Lan Baby Feet Marselan, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2019
  Bronze, 88 points
• Chateau Copower Jade, Fei Tswei Reserve Syrah, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2021
  Silver, 92 points
• Grace Vineyard, Deep Blue, Cross-Regional Blend 2020
  Silver, 90 points
• Lansai Winery, Xiao Moli Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia 2020
  Bronze, 86 points
• Chateau Changyu Tinlot, Yantai, Shandong 2016
  Gold, 96 points
• Changyu Golden Icewine Valley, Golden Diamond Icewine Vidal, Huanren, Liaoning 2021
  Silver, 92 points
• Sanhe, Cailonglin Jinding Icewine Vidal, Huanren, Liaoning 2021
  Gold, 95 points

Search all DWWA 2024 results

See below for the DWWA 2024 awarded wines showcased on Decanter’s stand at ProWine Shanghai 2024.

Sparkling

• Perleo, Brut Zero, Vino Spumante di Qualità, Italy 2016
  Gold, 95 points
• House of Arras, Grand Vintage, Tasmania, Australia 2015
  Platinum, 97 points
• Domaine Serene, Evenstad Reserve Brut, Dundee Hills, Oregon, United States NV
  Gold, 96 points

White

• Domaine Perraud, Viré-Clessé, Burgundy, France 2022
  Platinum, 97 points
• San Pedro, 1865 Selected Vineyards Chardonnay, Limarí Valley, Chile 2022
  Gold, 95 points

Red

• Domaine De Colonat, Les Grenèriers, Moulin-à-Vent, Beaujolais, France 2023
  Best in Show, 97 points
• Domaine De Colonat, Les Charmes, Morgon, Beaujolais, France 2023
  Best in Show, 97 points
• Domaine Histoire D’Enfer, L’enfer Du Calcaire Pinot Noir, Salquenen, Valais, Switzerland 2019
  Platinum, 97 points
• Herència Altés, La Pilosa, Terra Alta, Spain 2022
  Gold, 95 points
• Bodegas Olarra, Cerro Añón, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2020
  Gold, 96 points
• Bodegas Olarra, Reciente, Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2019
  Gold, 95 points
• Bodegas Frontaura, Aponte Plus Tempranillo, Toro, Spain 2018
  Best in Show, 97 points
• Celler Pasanau, Finca La Planeta, Priorat, Spain 2020
  Gold, 96 points
• Tura Estate Winery, Mountain Peak, NA, Judean Hills, Israel 2018
  Gold, 95 points (DWWA 2023)
• Ernie Els, Major Series Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2022
  Gold, 95 points
• Santa Carolina, Herencia Carmenère, Los Lingues, Colchagua, Chile 2020
  Best in Show, 97 points
• Marie Maria, Novel Tannat, Madiran, Southwest France, France 2020
  Gold, 95 points
• Marie Maria, Greviere, Madiran, Southwest France, France 2020
  Silver, 93 points
• Plaimont, Château Arricau-Bordes, Madiran, Southwest France, France 2019
  Silver, 90 points
• Plaimont, Reserve Des Tuguets Tannat-Cabernet Sauvignon, Madiran, Southwest France, France 2019
  Bronze, 86 points

Search all DWWA 2024 results

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Catherine Yen, a wine educator based in Hong Kong, is a judge at the Decanter World Wine Awards.

Catherine Yen

Catherine Yen is a WSET diploma holder and won the McNie Tasting Trophy in 2013. Also a WSET wine educator, Catherine is qualified to teach up to Level 3. Catherine is a qualified wine expert in Japan and is a member of the Japan Sommelier Association.

Catherine is a Vinitaly International Academy Ambassador for Italian wines. Previously a Decanter Asia Wine Awards, Catherine joined the DWWA judging panel in 2024.

See more judges for the 2025 DWWA

A single bottle of Château Latour 1865 sold for HK$812,500 (£80,500), including buyer’s premium, at the Christie’s Hong Kong auction on 30 October – well above its pre-sale high estimate of HK220,000.

Bottles of Bouchard Père & Fils Burgundy wines dating back to the 1860s also featured in the sale, which showcased rarities sourced direct from estates owned by Artémis Domaines.

Christie’s said all lots found buyers with total sales having reached HK$26m.

Napoleon III was emperor of France and the Eiffel Tower did not yet exist when grapes for Bordeaux’s well-regarded 1865 vintage were harvested. 

Christie’s said the bottle of Latour 1865 sold in Hong Kong was reconditioned in 1990, with a new label and capsule.  

It was joint-top lot at the auction alongside a five-litre jeroboam of the legendary Latour 1961, also sold for HK$812,500 (high estimate: HK$650,000).

Nineteenth century red and white Burgundy from historic producer and merchant house Bouchard & Père & Fils also went under the hammer in Hong Kong.

A bottle Bouchard Père & Fils’ Chambertin 1865 sold for HK$625,000 (high e: HK$300,000), and a bottle of the group’s Montrachet 1864 fetched HK$437,500 (HK$150,000). 

Artémis acquired Bouchard Père & Fils in 2022, after taking a controlling stake in a merger deal with the Henriot family’s wine business.

Frédéric Engerer, CEO of Artémis Domaines, said: ‘This sale shows that collectors attribute great importance to the provenance and storage conditions of the proposed lots, as well as the estates’ complete transparency when it comes to reconditioned bottles and the traceability features on each lot.’

‘This sale is further proof that old and rare wines, especially those from the great vintages of the nineteenth century, form a unique heritage.

‘Made from pre-phylloxera vines, these wines give rise to exceptional tasting experiences, though the number of bottles looked after with meticulous care in our cellars is slowly dwindling.’

Other highlights included Bordeaux and Burgundy wines from the celebrated 1945 vintage.

Three bottles of Bouchard Père & Fils, Musigny Grand Cru 1945 sold for HK$475,000, including buyer’s premium, more than double a pre-sale high estimate of HK$190,000. 

Three single-bottle lots of Latour 1945 each fetched HK$87,500 in the sale, which was held at Christie’s’ new headquarters in Asia Pacific, The Henderson.

Other Artémis Domaines’ wines in the sale included a nine-litre Salmanazar bottle of Eisele Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon 2013 from Napa Valley. It fetched HK$27,500 (high e: HK$24,000).

Christie’s said that one in four new buyers in the auction were millennials, highlighting interest from a younger generation of bidders.

Adam Bilbey, Christie’s global head of wine and spirits, said: ‘We are pleased to achieve a 100% sell-through rate and hammering well over the high [estimate]. This once again proves the importance of quality and provenance in the fine wine market.’

He added that strong interest from bidders worldwide also reflected the reputation of Artémis Domaines’ wines.

Prices on some blue-chip fine wines have fallen in the past couple of years, following a period of strong gains in some cases. Yet auction houses have repeatedly asserted that rarely seen wines with pristine provenance have continued to prove alluring to bidders.

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From the 2010 Shanghai World Expo and 2016 G20 Hangzhou Summit to the recent 2023 Hangzhou Asian Games, Afip wines are said to have been served on 55 occasions to domestic and international dignitaries, including former US President Barack Obama and former British Prime Minister David Cameron.

Completed in 2007, the Afip estate was built next to the Miyun Reservoir. Besides the grand hillside château, which includes a museum and an underground cellar, the surrounding Afip Town is built to resemble a French village. Thanks to its proximity to Beijing, it is a prime tourist destination, open for conferences, dining and accommodation throughout the year.

Afip cultivates 73 hectares of 20-year-old vines, encompassing 15 plots mainly on south-facing slopes and gentle hills. Calcareous gravel soils ensure good drainage, while the continental monsoon climate brings wide diurnal temperature variations, which are beneficial for maintaining elegance during the hot summers.

Cabernet Sauvignon and Chardonnay are the key varieties for the estate and French oak plays an important role across its entire range. At the 2021 Decanter World Wine Awards, for example, judges praised the Platinum- winning A8 Chardonnay for its ‘eloquent and elegant’ character and skilful use of oak.

Chateau Changyu, Afip A8 Chardonnay, Miyun, Beijing 2019

The 2018 vintage won 2021 DWWA Platinum – 97pts

CH’NG Poh Tiong: Aromas of vanilla and toasty oak, reinforced by lemon-lime fruit on the medium-bodied palate; fresh and vibrant. Grape: Chardonnay 100%. Alc: 12.5%

Trade contact: +86 010 89089999

Read more about Changyu: China’s century-old wine legend

Read more about the wines of China:

China: Around the regions

Savour the diversity of Chinese wines

History was made on Saturday, 26 October, as the Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) debuted in Singapore, offering an unforgettable day of wine and whisky tasting. Fifty-four renowned producers from 13 countries joined us to showcase their finest wines, giving our passionate attendees the chance to taste over 200 exceptional bottles. Guests also enjoyed three remarkable masterclasses, including our first ever whisky session featuring Japan’s esteemed Nikka distillery.

Explore the highlights from this extraordinary day below.

A heartfelt thank you to all the producers and guests who made our Singapore debut so memorable, to Colossal Productions for capturing these special moments, and to our official DFWE sponsor, Riedel.

The Grand Tasting is officially open! More than 550 guests made their way to the Singapore’s luxury Shangri-La Hotel.

Guests had the opportunity to taste wines from top producers from around the world at the all-day Grand Tasting.

The Decanter World Wine Award Winners Table is ready! Featuring 45 top scoring wines from the 2024 competition.

François Labet, Proprietor of Château de la Tour (left) and Charles Curtis MW (right), carefully taste wines from Clos de Vougeot, setting the tone for the day’s first masterclass.

The pouring team prepares tasting glasses.

Engaged and enthralled – masterclass guests fully immersed in the experience, enjoying each taste and insight shared.

A lasting memory – a guest takes a candid shot of fellow attendees, capturing the excitement of the masterclass.

Meet & greet – a thrilled guest poses with Charles Curtis MW – a sought-after moment as fans eagerly lined up to meet him.

Shared joy- happy attendees share a laugh, capturing the lively spirit of the event.

Spoilt for choice! A delighted guest explores the range at the Precision wine stand, sharing a smile as she decides on her next pour.

From London to NYC and now Singapore, the DWWA table continues to be a favourite stop for enthusiasts, proving its appeal in every city.

At the Marchesi Di Barolo stand, guests explore the diversity of Barolo wines as the exhibitor enthusiastically shares the stories behind each bottle.

Second masterclass of the day- Saskia de Rothschild of Château Lafite offered an exclusive tasting of Lafite wines alongside vintages from their Chinese venture, Long Dai.

A full house for Château Lafite Rothschild – eager attendees gathered to experience this legendary masterclass.

Refined focus – a masterclass guest holds their glass to the light, examining the wine’s colour and clarity with thoughtful attention.

Learning in action – a guest takes detailed notes, capturing the depth of knowledge shared during the masterclass.

Guests enjoyed the rare 2016 Château Pichon Baron in a double magnum – a vintage that scored a perfect 100 points in the Decanter Panel tasting.

We managed to pull Edouard Moueix, grandson of the legendary Jean-Pierre Moueix, aside for a quick interview.

Capturing memories – a guest snaps a photo of a favourite bottle, to revisit long after the event is over.

A historic first – our very first whisky masterclass with Nikka Whisky, led by Diego Araud, Marketing Director at La Maison du Whisky (right) and co-host CH’NG Poh Tiong (left), offered an unforgettable journey through Japanese whisky.

The whisky line-up featured an exclusive release – an extra special surprise that wrapped up our final masterclass of the day.

A special thanks to CH’NG Poh Tiong who was a co-host for two masterclasses Château Lafite and Nikka Whisky.

Five of China’s top estates, including Canaan Winery and Domaine Franco Chinois from Hebei, showcased their award-winning wines

Our gift to you - all our attendees who purchased a Grand Tasting ticket, received a complimentary Riedel wine glass as a keepsake.

Cheers! Thank you all for making our first event unforgettable. Next stop: London, Saturday 16 November—see you there!

Decanter staged a triumphant entry on to the Singapore wine scene on Saturday, when it hosted its first ever Fine Wine Encounter in the country – and the first to be held in Asia since Decanter’s Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) in Shanghai five years ago.

More than 550 guests made their way to Singapore’s luxury Shangri-La Hotel, where 54 wineries from 13 countries were waiting to pour their wines in the splendid setting of the Tower Ballroom. Wines were shown off at their best in pristine glassware from Riedel, kind sponsors of the event.

Grand Tasting

The all-day tasting offered guests the chance to enjoy wines from top estates from around the world, poured and presented by the names behind the labels. A walk around the Ballroom provided an exciting tour of classic Old World regions in France, Spain, Italy, Croatia and Switzerland; as well as the New World strongholds of Argentina, Chile, Australia, New Zealand, California, Oregon and South Africa.

China also fielded an impressive contingent of five leading estates from the regions of Shandong, Yunnan, Ningxia and Hebei, offering a rare insight into the dynamic Chinese wine scene. All of the Chinese estates present have won medals at the Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA) and exhibited styles as diverse as a Petit Manseng dry white (Longting Vineyard), Marselan and Tempranillo reds (Canaan), Chardonnays, and Malbec (Xige), alongside the Bordeaux red blends that have made the country famous, from estates such as LVMH-owned Ao Yun, and Mystic Island.

Show-stopping large-format bottles were on display at tables around the room, including Pichon-Baron from Pauillac in Bordeaux, and Remírez de Ganuza in Rioja, which both poured older vintages from double magnum – Pichon’s 2016 vintage and Remirez de Ganuza’s 2012 Reserva. But an even bigger draw were the winery principals who had flown in especially for the event, and enjoyed pouring their wine personally for visitors.

These included Philippe Chandon-Moët, co-owner of Bordeaux’s Château de Ferrand; Edouard Moueix from Bordeaux’s Jean-Pierre Moueix; Marielle Cazaux, managing director and winemaker at Château La Conseillante in Pomerol; José Ramón Urtasun, owner and winemaker at Rioja’s Remírez de Ganuza; and Giovanni Frascolla of Tuscany’s Tua Rita estate. From the New World, Travis and Elisabeth Wray flew in to present wines from their House of Cards estate in Australia’s Margaret River; Eddie McDougall, The Flying Winemaker, poured his wines from regions across Australia; and Helen McCarthy, Hardy’s first ever female chief winemaker, poured vintages of Eileen Hardy Chardonnay and Shiraz, Thomas Hardy Cabernet Sauvignon and Heritage Reserve wines.

Meanwhile, a selection of 45 award-winning wines from this year’s DWWA were poured at a dedicated DWWA table. With all wines shown scoring 95 points or higher, this was a chance to taste an eclectic line-up spanning styles that ranged from English sparkling wines and top Brut Nature Cava, through whites from Valle d’Aosta, Friuli and Sardinia in Italy, rosé from Moldova and a Platinum-winning aged rosé Rioja, plus reds from Switzerland, Mallorca and northern Greece, as well as more classic regions. Two Spanish fortified wines – an Amontillado Sherry and a Verdejo from Rueda – rounded off the voyage of discovery.

In the foyer, DWWA Regional Chair for Asia Ch’ng Poh Tiong, who lives in Singapore, signed copies of his new book ‘A Primer on Pairing’, and chatted to guests. A fascinating source of knowledge on Chinese cuisine and ideal wine pairings, he includes in the book his pick of the world’s top 30 Chinese restaurants, a draw for any globe-trotting food and wine lover.

Masterclasses

In addition to the main tasting, guests could purchase tickets to a series of exclusive tutored sessions (individual, detailed masterclass reports to follow).

In the first masterclass of the day, Decanter’s Burgundy expert Charles Curtis MW took attendees through a dozen wines, in ‘Clos de Vougeot: An exploration of terroir’, focused on the famed Burgundy grand cru. He was joined in the class by co-host François Labet, owner of Château de la Tour, Clos de Vougeot; other wines poured included Domaine de la Vougeraie, Domaine Anne Gros, Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair and Domaine Jean Grivot.

In the second, sellout masterclass, Saskia de Rothschild, executive chairwoman at Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite, presented a unique tasting which brought together the wines of first growth Château Lafite with wines from its Chinese venture Long Dai. Titled ‘East meets West: A Lafite story from Pauillac to Shandong’, the tasting provided the inside story on Lafite and its Chinese winemaking project, with four vintages of Long Dai poured alongside four wines from the Pauillac estate: vintages 2018, 2008 and 1988 of Lafite’s grand vin, poured from magnum; and the 2018 vintage of the second wine Carruades de Lafite, also poured from magnum.

The last masterclass of the day saw ‘Nikka Whisky celebrating 90 years of Japanese craftsmanship’. Decanter’s first ever whisky masterclass was presented by Diego Araud, marketing director for La Maison du Whisky Asia Pacific, and Ch’ng Poh Tiong. Guests enjoyed a range of single malts, a pure malt and a Coffey malt whisky, before Nikka’s flagship From the Barrel whisky, a blend of Coffey grain and malts from Yoichi and Miyagikyo distilleries. The tasting concluded with a surprise pour, a commemorative whisky made in tiny quantities to mark the 90th anniversary.

Look out for a set of pictorial highlights from the event shortly – if you attended, keep an eye out for our photo gallery as you may be featured. Back in Europe, our next DFWE takes place at The Landmark London on 16 November, showcasing more top names from around the world. Or for those based in the USA, we host our next annual New York DFWE in June 2025. For more information, visit our Events page.

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Until this date, Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) has only taken place in London, New York, and Shanghai.

The event’s Singapore debut marks a significant milestone for the country, now recognised as an influential global wine hub.

As part of the inaugural DFWE Singapore, taking place on 26 October 2024, Decanter will host a Grand Tasting.

Decanter’s trust in our “Little Red Dot” is echoed by the excitement of 57 exhibitors from around the world, with their pedigree, provenance, terroir, expertise, history, award-winning wines set to be a delight to taste at the event.

DFWE Singapore will spoil guests for choice. The abundance includes some precious gems waiting to be discovered, including:

Kabola Winery Unica 2019

Having finally visited Croatia last July (a belated trip originally thwarted by the Covid pandemic), I was immensely impressed with that country’s indigenous Posip and Malvasia white wines. The latter is more well-known from neighbouring Italy but Croatian Malvazija also rocks. Istria’s Kabola Winery shines a light.

Cloudy Bay Te Koko 2015

Having visited Cloudy Bay twice – the first time about 10 years ago – the world’s most famous Sauvignon Blanc outside Sancerre and Pouilly-Fume always thrills and tantalises. Can’t wait to discover how its prestige Te Koko 2015 evolves nearly a decade later.

Terrazas de los Andes Parcel Los Cerezos 2017

Argentina has carved out a unique niche with Malbec even if the varietal had once been more associated with Bordeaux. The reason the South American region has been able to achieve this is by delivering world-class quality. Un-grafted and first planted almost a century ago in 1929, Parcel Los Cerezos is very rare indeed.

Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon 2020

Vasse Felix’s most complex Bordeaux blend is aptly named for Tom Cullity, the man who established the winery in 1967. The vinous visionary who put Margaret River on the wine map was also a surgeon, performing the first cardiac catheterisation at the Royal Perth Hospital in the 1950s.

Scroll down for scores and tasting notes of these wines

Viñedos Familia Chadwick Seña 2017 (Magnum)

The New World can sometimes turn the old one on its head. Chile’s Chadwick family of Errazuriz fame does a one-up on France with their most sought-after wine Sena by recruiting five of Bordeaux’s permitted varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Malbec, Cabernet Franc, and Petit Verdot. Seña is not just an accomplished red, it is a blending masterclass in a glass.

Ao Yun 2020

Moët-Hennessy, arguably the world’s number one wine and spirit powerhouse, is founder proprietor of Ao Yun in a mountainous, remote, Himalayan region of Yunnan in south-west China. Their winemaker hails from Saint-Emilion and the blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot contains 6% Syrah in 2020.

Chateau Pichon Baron 2016

There is consensus – amongst Bordeaux aficionados, even other Bordeaux classified growths – that if two or three wines were to be promoted to First Growth, Pichon Baron would be in that circle. Already one of the greatest vintages in the last 50 years, the Pauillac Super Second Growth produced one of the very best 2016s of that exceptional harvest!

Tua Rita Redigaffi 2021

Tuscany is the spiritual home of Sangiovese. And arguably the best region for Bordeaux red varieties in the whole of Italy. Already impressive for Cabernet Sauvignon, Tuscany triumphs over all other New World regions producing world class Cabernet by being the most impressive terroir outside Pomerol producing exceptional pure Merlot.

Bodegas Remírez de Ganuza Remírez de Ganuza Reserva 2012 (Double Magnum)

First produced in 1992, Bodegas Remirez puts a new spin on Tempranillo by ageing the Spanish red in mostly new 225-litre Bordeaux barriques. The blend includes a dash, 5% each of the white Graciano and Viura grapes. Their 2012 Reserva will be poured from a double magnum! A die-die must-try at this year’s inaugural Singapore Encounter.

OVID Napa Valley 2021

Napa Valley is the Médoc of California. Nowhere outside France has more consistently fine Bordeaux red blends been produced than in Napa Valley. Below Napa’s established radar, for the moment anyway, is an outlier named OVID. Nestled at 410 metres on a secluded mountainous area, the iron-rich volcanic soils and abundant sunshine produce wines of commanding presence. 

Buy tickets

Essential information

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter Singapore

Date: Saturday 26 October 2024 from 11am to 5:30pm

Location: 22 Orange Grove Road 258350 Singapore 

Price: Grand Tasting tickets SGD 165 | Masterclass tickets SGD 167 – SGD 600

All prices are subject to 9% government tax.

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Eldric Ko fled Singapore in May 2011 shortly before the authorities launched an investigation into his investment firm, Premium Liquid Assets.

He spent 13 years on the run, but he was arrested in May and charged with cheating offences after returning to Singapore.

Ko, the former chief executive of Premium Liquid Assets, has now been hit with a further 13 charges.

They include eight counts of conspiracy to cheat investors, three counts of engaging in a conspiracy to commit criminal breach of trust, and four counts of benefiting from criminal conduct.

In a press release, the police said that Premium Liquid Assets had offered to sell investors en primeur wine between February 2007 and June 2011.

The company pledged to store the wine on the investors’ behalf, and it promised to eventually transfer the wines to them.

However, Ko allegedly conspired with another executive, Koo Han Jet, to transfer the funds to an overseas bank account owned by a company called Grand Millesimes.

He then allegedly transferred the money, totalling S$12.7m (£7.5m), to two Singapore bank accounts under his control.

Investors grew uneasy after they were repeatedly told to wait after asking about the status of their wines, and they eventually reported the company to the police.

The authorities estimate that up to 400 investors were duped. Court documents show that one victim was tricked into paying S$52,440 (£31,000) for 36 bottles of wine that never materialised.

Ko’s case was adjourned until 6 September. Those found guilty of cheating can be jailed for up to 10 years and fined, according to The Straits Times.

The publication also reported that breach of criminal trust offences can lead to seven-year jail terms, and those guilty of benefiting from their own criminal conduct can be jailed for up to 10 years and/or fined up to S$500,000 (£296,000).

The police have not yet provided any information about the case against Koo, the alleged co-conspirator.

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Landing in Yinchuan in central-north China back in May, five years after my last visit in 2019, I arrived at an opportune moment, just after the drama series The Homeland of Stars had premiered on national television.

The wildly popular show, named for Ningxia’s renowned clear night skies, is based on a historical reality – one that’s familiar to many of us in the wine world, but which was life-changing for the pioneers who first planted vines on the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain.

The first time Ningxia truly left an impression in the world of wine was in 2011 – in the Decanter World Wine Awards Bordeaux blend category, an obscure producer named Helan Qingxue won the International Trophy (equivalent to today’s Best in Show) with its Jia Bei Lan Grand Reserve 2009.

Scroll down to see notes and scores for six striking wines from Ningxia

Vineyard on the Silk Road

‘At that time, Ningxia wasn’t even listed as a wine region on the Awards’ entry form,’ recalled Professor Li Demei, wine consultant behind the award-winning wine (people’s names are written in the Chinese format with surnames first throughout).

There is documented evidence of vines being grown in this area 2,000 years ago, during the time of Zhang Qian’s diplomatic expedition to the West – a mission that first opened up the Silk Road. Yet in the modern context, Ningxia is a young wine region.

In the 1990s, nationwide viticultural research led to efforts to improve the desert-encircled region’s saline-alkaline soils. As a result, in 1998, 3,000ha (45,000 mu) of wine grapes were planted along a strip of barren wasteland between Helan Mountain and the alluvial plain of the Yellow River.

But it was Jia Bei Lan’s win in 2011 that really put the wind beneath the wings of the new region – the unprecedented award at the world’s largest wine competition brought instant attention, domestic and international, to Ningxia’s potential for producing world-class wines.

The following year, Ningxia established its own provincial wine bureau, then in 2013 created its own wine classification system, following the Bordeaux model.

Favourable agricultural and land-use policies combined with immense investments led to large-scale vine planting and ambitious construction projects, making the region what it is today at a jaw-dropping speed.

Ningxia Helan Mountain East – at a glance

Total plantings: 41,000ha *

Main sub-regions: N-S: Shizuishan, Helan, Yinchuan, Yongning, Qingtongxia, Hongsipu

Soils: Gravels closer to the hillside, sandy clay in regions closer to the Yellow River

Altitude: Vineyards are above 1,000m up to about 1,200m

Climate: Continental

Total production: 105m litres *

Key grapes: Red Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Marselan, Cabernet Gernischt, Pinot Noir, Malbec, Syrah. White Chardonnay, Viognier, Welschriesling, Riesling, Petit Manseng

[*Source: Ningxia Wine Bureau]

Between mountain ridge and river

Shielded from Gobi desert sandstorms by the Helan Mountain range, which stretches more than 200km from north to south, Ningxia enjoys 3,100 hours of sunshine per year, while receiving less than 200mm of rain, according to official data.

Diurnal temperature variations of up to 15°C help to preserve grape acidity, although many producers still find it necessary to add a touch of acid for freshness. Drip irrigation is encouraged to conserve water, though flood irrigation is welcomed where possible, as it enriches the infertile soils and washes away salt.

Southern sub-regions, such as Hongsipu and Qingtongxia (see map), are cooler than the northerly areas because of their proximity to the Helan Mountain foothills, where cooling air from the desert whistles through. Cooler sandy clay soils (as opposed to the gravelly soils found in the north) also have an impact.

‘By looking at the effective accumulated temperature during the growing season and the annual sunshine hours, you might assume Ningxia to be a warm wine region,’ observes Professor Li, who is involved in winemaking projects in several Chinese wine regions.

‘However, it’s also very continental – temperatures rise and fall quickly in spring and autumn. Therefore, you may find early-ripening varieties such as Pinot Noir and Chardonnay, even Riesling, showing warm-climate characters, while late-ripening Cabernet Sauvignon exhibits cool-climate flavours.’

Many producers loosely practise organic farming in this arid region, although late spring frost is a constant threat, especially for vineyards with cooler soils, at lower elevations and further from the mountain, where cold air remains static.

To help their vines survive harsh winters during which temperatures can drop below -20°C, growers go through an arduous process of burying their vines and then digging them out each spring, which ups production costs by 30%.

Five Ningxia producers to know

Changyu Longyu Estate

Owned by the winemaking giant Changyu, the Longyu estate (marketed as Changyu Moser XV in Western markets) planted its first vines in Ningxia 17 years ago and now sources grapes from 373ha of vineyards across several sub-regions.

In collaboration with renowned Austrian consultant Lenz Moser, the estate is widely known for its grand Byzantine-style estate and Cabernet Sauvignon-driven portfolio.

Helan Qingxue

Founded by Rong Jian, Wang Fengyu and winemaker Zhang Jing, this pioneering boutique winery in Yinchuan sub-region will celebrate its 20th anniversary next year.

Besides its Bordeaux-variety range, including the famous Jia Bei Lan, its portfolio now includes a Chardonnay, a Malbec and an exceptional Pinot Noir.

The flagship reds are only released after ageing for five years in bottle.

Lansai Winery

This boutique winery is constructed in the traditional and memorable Jin style of Chinese architecture, and is located just a 30-minute drive from Yinchuan. Owner Yu Xiaojia launched the project with her brother in 2009, the first vintage being produced in 2015.

Burgundy-trained wine consultant Deng Zhongxiang adopts a ‘reserved and balanced’ philosophy, which is especially evident in his elegant and classy Pinot Noir and Chardonnay.

Silver Heights

Demeter-certified winery established by Gao Lin in 2007, now managed by his daughter Emma Gao. Trained as a winemaker in Bordeaux, Emma is committed to biodynamic farming on Silver Heights’ 70ha of vineyards, which are planted across two single plots in the Helan sub-region.

Her Cabernet Sauvignon-driven reds and Chardonnay show ripe concentration while maintaining good natural acidity; also try the orange wine made in Chinese amphorae.

Xige Estate

Trained in Bordeaux and already a successful wine merchant, Zhang Yanzhi founded this estate in the Qingtongxia sub-region in 2017 after purchasing 1,000ha of vines planted in the 1990s.

Now operating with more than 2,000ha, plus a 28,000m² estate (with 20 guest rooms), this is one of the most commercially successful wineries in Ningxia. It produces wines of diverse varieties and price points, with Cabernet Gernischt its speciality.

Learning curve

Thanks to improved vineyard management and sorting of fruit in the winery, and the use of the latest winemaking equipment, the ‘jammy-and-green’ characteristics in Ningxia reds are much less common than I experienced five years ago.

The young region’s reputation for high alcohol, heavy extraction and excessive use of oak is likely to change next, as there is a general move towards more gentle winemaking and less use of new oak.

Situated at 1,200m altitude in the south, the cooler Hongsipu sub-region may hold the answer in the region’s quest for finesse and natural elegance.

Winemaker Li Cai of Huida Sunshine shared with me his inaugural 2013 vintage of Qianhongyu Cabernet Sauvignon, whose combination of captivating natural acidity, vibrant wild berries and refined tannins was stunning.

Ningxia recent vintage ratings, by Professor Li Demei

2023: 5/5

Hazard-free with ample sunshine, an arid vintage. Good quality, large crop.

2022: 4/5

Plenty of heat throughout the growing season, especially during summer. Early-ripening varieties suffered with exceptions in cooler subregions

2021: 4/5

Sufficient heat with limited rainfall. Overall a good vintage though quality varies between subregions

2020: 3/5

Severe spring frost and cool temperatures. Late-harvest varieties performed better. Low yields with polarised quality

2019: 5/5

Splendid across the whole region. No widespread natural disasters, low rainfall with plenty of sunshine

Want more? Click here to see another four Ningxia recommendations alongside Sylvia Wu’s six highlights featured below

For the potential red ‘poster grape’ Marselan, producer Huahao prides itself on its robust, oak-infused style, while Chateau Chanson and Silver Heights adopt a less extractive approach for greater purity and more delicate aromas.

Domaine Pushang sits in between, producing expressions with notes of coconut and spiced dark fruits dipped in chocolate.

Pinot Noir shines in the hands of producers with patience and a gentle touch, such as Helan Qingxue and Lansai. Heat-tolerant Rhône varieties, namely Viognier and Syrah, have started to show potential, too, with charming examples crafted by Copower Jade and Mihope.

Interestingly, Germany’s red Dornfelder is attracting attention for its fresh acidity and floral aromas; Pushang and Dongfang Yuxing both offer pretty entry-level examples.

Chateau Lion has even succeeded in nurturing red and white hybrid varieties – called Prince and Princess, respectively – that do not need to be buried to survive winter.

The challenges and the future

To the disappointment of many, the domestic market didn’t rebound immediately after China abolished travel restrictions at the end of 2022. ‘Diversity’ therefore became the keyword, as producers paid much more attention to consumer demands.

One example is sparkling producer Chandon (lvmh.com) – it developed a highly popular, tangerine peel-flavoured Spritz while working on its first Blanc de Blancs NV for the premium market.

For Dongfang Yuxing, winemaker Wu Xiuyong created an impressive fortified wine based on Cabernet Gernischt (a red grape of European origin with a strong genetic link to Carmenère), to appeal to China’s huge spirits-drinking audience.

Meanwhile, post-Covid, foreign consultants are less active on-site – partially due to international travel bans during lockdowns – while local winemaking talents, many of whom have studied abroad, are gaining confidence both in the vineyard and in the cellar.

Next-generation owners and young winemakers in their 20s and 30s are getting more involved, bringing fresh ideas to digital marketing and espousing winemaking philosophies that are more in line with the international market.

Pricing, however, remains a hurdle to competing in export markets. Matthew Horsley, buyer at The Wine Society in the UK, believes that there is demand for Chinese wines priced under £20.

Yet many entry-level wines from Ningxia already exceed this threshold in their domestic market due to the costs associated with vine burying and high-end equipment.

Silver Heights CEO Marco Milani asserts that it’s through on-trade channels that wines from Ningxia have the best opportunity to be ‘judged without bias’ in the premium sector.

Changyu has a long-established presence in the Western market, and coming up are Copower Jade, Devo, Kanaan, Silver Heights and Xige, to name a few, which have already secured some initial success.

Just 13 years since it first hit the headlines, the fine wine region deep in the heart of north China has come a long way. Now, after an initial surge of investment and planting of classic varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, savvy local producers are rapidly shifting their focus towards more diverse styles and varieties.

Will the ‘Homeland of Stars’ nurture a new constellation? Don’t look away.

How to get there: Fly in to Beijing and transit to Yinchuan. You can hire a local guide (see wineningxia.com), or you can hop on bus tours to take you around the wineries.

A taste of Helan Mountain East: six of the best from Ningxia

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The world-renowned Decanter Fine Wine Encounter (DFWE) makes its spectacular debut in Singapore this October.

On Saturday, 26 October 2024, the prestigious Shangri-La Hotel will transform into a lavish haven for wine enthusiasts and connoisseurs, marking an historic first for this illustrious event in the heart of Southeast Asia.

This exclusive one-day event promises an extraordinary experience that will captivate the senses and deepen the appreciation of fine wines and whiskies.

Wine lovers can look forward to exploring a stunning showcase featuring 60 of the world’s premier wine producers in a walk-around Grand Tasting, which invites attendees to indulge in five exceptional wines from each producer.

As an added bonus, all exhibiting producers will bring an exclusive special wine from their collection. Iconic labels such as Penfolds, Château D’Esclans, Tenuta Sette Ponti, Laurent-Perrier and Domaine Franco Chinois Vineyards are just some of the names gracing the event with their finest vintages.

A grand tasting ticket will also give exclusive access to the Decanter World Wine Awards Winners’ Table, where attendees will be the first to sample Gold, Platinum and Best in Show wines from this year’s competition.

In addition, as our gift to you, all attendees who purchase a grand tasting ticket will receive a complimentary Riedel wine glass as a keepsake, adding a touch of luxury to your tasting experience.

Beyond the Grand Tasting, DFWE Singapore will feature trio of exceptional masterclasses.

Guided by world-renowned experts from Burgundy’s Clos de Vougeot, Château Lafite Rothschild and Japanese distillery Nikka Whisky, these sessions will provide invaluable insights and unforgettable tasting experiences, delving deeper into the world of fine beverages.

Masterclass Wine List

Clos de Vougeot

• Château de la Tour, Cuvée Classique, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2019
• Maison Edouard Delaunay, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2019
• Domaine de la Vougeraie, Clos de Vougeot, Burgundy, France 2019
• Domaine d’Eugénie, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2016
• Domaine Anne Gros, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2022
• Domaine Joseph Drouhin, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2015
• Château de la Tour, Vieilles Vignes, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2019
• Domaine Henri Rebourseau, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Vielles Vignes Burgundy, France 2019
• Domaine Thibault Liger-Belair, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2019 (magnum)
• Domaine Jean Grivot, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2017
• Domaine Faiveley, Clos Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2009
• Château de la Tour, Hommage à Jean Morin, Clos de Vougeot Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2019

Château Lafite Rothschild

• Domaine de Long Dai, Long Dai, Qiu Shan Valley, Shandong, China 2022
• Domaine de Long Dai, Long Dai, Qiu Shan Valley, Shandong, China 2021
• Domaine de Long Dai, Hu Yue, Qiu Shan Valley, Shandong, China 2021
• Domaine de Long Dai, Long Dai, Qiu Shan Valley, Shandong, China 2018 (magnum)
• Château Lafite Rothschild, Carruades de Lafite, Pauillac, Bordeaux, France 2018 (magnum)
• Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France 2018 (magnum)
• Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux France 2008 (magnum)
• Château Lafite Rothschild, Pauillac, 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, France 1988 (magnum)

Whisky Expressions

Nikka Whisky

• Nikka Whisky From The Barrel
• Nikka Coffey Malt Whisky
• Nikka Whisky Single Malt Yoichi
• Nikka Whisky Single Malt Miyagikyo
• Nikka Whisky Taketsuru Pure Malt
• A surprise

Spaces are limited, so wine and whisky enthusiasts are encouraged to secure their places now for these extraordinary masterclasses.

Access sale

The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter’s first appearance in Singapore is not just an event but a milestone in the city-state’s cultural calendar, promising an unforgettable day of unmatched luxury and elegance.

Essential information

Decanter Fine Wine Encounter Singapore

Date: Saturday 26 October 2024 from 11am to 5:30pm

Location: 22 Orange Grove Road 258350 Singapore 

Price: Grand Tasting tickets SGD 165 | Masterclass tickets SGD 167 – SGD 600

All prices are subject to 9% government tax.

Save the Date: DFWE London 2024!

Join us this autumn for the return of the world-famous Decanter Fine Wine Encounter London 2024.

Saturday 16 November at The Landmark London

Tickets are always in high demand, so make sure you sign up for ticket alerts.

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• Photo highlights: Decanter Fine Wine Encounter NYC 2024
• Decanter World Wine Awards 2024 results revealed

Inside the August 2024 issue of Decanter magazine:

FEATURES

• China: Ningxia Sylvia Wu visits northerly Helan Mountain East and finds a region on the up
• India: Sula Vineyards A huge presence in Indian wine, and its founder, profiled by John Stimpfig
• Discover Turkish wine A guide to the key grapes, producers and regions, by Feride Yalav-Heckeroth
• Greek rosé It’s a category that’s becoming easier to find – happily for us drinkers, as the wines are delicious, enthuses Olly Smith
• Sustainability Natalie Earl explains why it now matters so much in wine, and highlights some industry heroes leading the way
• Vintage report: Margaret River – Cabernet Sauvignon 2021, Chardonnay 2022 The lowdown on two contrasting years, with 40 top buys, from Cassandra Charlick
• Interview: Alex Gambal Charles Curtis MW chats to the American about his experience as a négociant and vineyard owner in Burgundy
• California Chardonnay Today’s varied styles point to a fresh new way ahead, says Clive Pursehouse

LEARNING

• Wine wisdom Expert tips to help you on your journey through wine

SPIRITS

• Distilled Spirits, cocktails – plus five of the best gins for summer
• NoLo 2.0 Neil Ridley on the fascinating evolution of the no/low alcohol categories

Volcanic wines of Hungary

A sponsored supplement

Discover the country’s volcanic regions, unmissable sights and standout wines

GOOD LIVING

• Perfect pairing: Sea bream crudo Fresh, vibrant flavours in this dish from Mediterra by Ben Tish are paired with zesty, summery whites
• Travel: Thailand for wine lovers Wineries to visit in this tropical destination, plus Bangkok’s wine highlights, by Tristan Rutherford

BUYING GUIDE

• Editors’ picks Tasting highlights
• Panel tasting: Spanish rosado & clarete 118 characterful rosé wines from around Spain tasted and rated, with 2 Outstanding
• Panel tasting: English & Welsh still wines 64 wines, in a category on the rise; 1 rated Outstanding
• Expert’s choice: Vinho Verde Decanter’s Portugal editor Ines Salpico picks 18 great bottles
• Weekday wines 25 top wines under £20, chosen by the Decanter team
• Weekend wines Priced £20-£50, seven standout buys to impress

COLLECTORS

• Marketwatch investment news Auction news & Burgundy focus

REGULARS

• Meet the experts Decanter’s authors
• Uncorked News, views & more
• Andrew Jefford’s column Get into the vines to understand the wines
• Hugh Johnson’s column At a memorable Burgundy dinner
• Guest column Robert Joseph makes the case for NV still wines
• DWWA 2024 highlights Investment wines from Spain
• Wine to 5: Manuel Moraga Journalist & radio host

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Wine with Chinese food: Five styles to consider

• Aromatic whites: Riesling (dry, off-dry), Gewürztraminer and Asti Spumante
• Chardonnay-based sparkling wines: Champagne and English sparkling wines
• Fruit-forward reds: New World Pinot Noir, Gamay, and Barbera
• Off-dry, easy-quaffer white blends and rosé

Pairing ideas for a full-on feast

If you are after a full-on, authentic Chinese feast experience, forget about the one-wine-to-each-dish pairing routine, as dishes of diverse ingredients and clashing flavours are bound to be served together.

What you need is an all-rounder that works with the whole feast. Refreshing sparkling wines are the obvious choice. The abundance choice of Champagne, English fizz, Cava and well-chilled Prosecco works perfectly as palate-cleansers. If the dishes are red meat-heavy or with a strong seasoning, a sparkling red such as Lambrusco will do the trick.

Aromatic whites with a touch of residual sugar (such as Kabinett Riesling and Gewürztraminer) tend to work in synergy with steamed fish and dishes with strong scents of herbal spices. For the young drinkers in China, the white blossom fragrance and friendly sweetness of Asti, nicknamed the ‘little sweet drink’, is always a welcomed easy-quaffer at Hot Pot parties.

Fruit-forward, ripe and supple red wines such as a New World Pinot Noir or Southern Italian reds such as Nerello Mascalese also have a place on the table, especially when your dishes are heavy on red-braised seasoning (which usually involves soy sauce and sugar). Barbera with its soft-boned tannins and fresh acidity is another reliable candidate.

I would avoid muscular reds with robust tannin when pairing with a complex feast. If you see multiple sweet-and-sour dishes on the table, avoid zero-dosage fizzes and bone-dry whites with austere acidity.

Common takeaways

Chinese takeaways provide a simpler, Westernised approach to the vast possibilities of the country’s diverse cuisines. You’ll find familiar options and popular single dishes available almost everywhere, making specific wine pairing an easier task. Below are some suggestions for pairing wine with Chinese food commonly found in the UK and US.

Wine with dim sum

Among the eight great Chinese regional cuisines, Cantonese food is arguably the most widely found in Western countries.

Cantonese Dim Sum offers a huge variety of food in relatively small portions. The most commonly found varieties outside its home country include steamed dumplings, spring rolls, and soy-seasoned meats.

The fresh material, relatively mild, savoury flavours combined with tender textures call for Chardonnay-based still and sparkling wines. Opt for Blanc de Blancs Champagne for the autolytic creaminess and decent freshness for Shumai, and try a mineral, saline Manzanilla for prawn dumplings.

Spring rolls with crispy skin and mild vegetable fillings could benefit from a fresh and clean white. A youthful Gruner Veltliner or green apple-tinged Picpoul de Pinet would fit the bill perfectly.

For steamed barbecued pork buns (Cha Siu Bao), the salty-sweet, rich fillings would pair nicely with a refreshing off-dry Riesling or a chilled Moscato d’Asti.

Light-hearted, ripe and easy-drinking reds, such as warmer-climate Pinot Noir also work with Cha Siu (braised pork bellies). But tannins and high acid may not get along with the mildly sweet dough.

When pairing wine with dumplings and pan-stickers, heavy, tannic reds should also be avoided.

Wine with chow mein (fried noodles) and fried rice

Fresh ingredients are tossed into sizzling oil and fried in giant woks over blazing flames, with soy sauce, oyster sauce, spices and (optional) spring onions added, and you have it – carbohydrates, proteins and vegetables – everything you need is packed in one hearty dish.

As much as they are satisfying, these greasy dishes cry for acidity to refresh your palate.

A German Riesling or an English Blanc de Blancs with razor-sharp acidity are their natural pairing partners, although we wouldn’t say no to a linear, mineral Chablis.

Find more tips on pairing wines with fried rice here.

Wine with crispy duck and pancakes

This beloved duck dish bears some resemblances to the famous Peking duck, although it’s generally deep-fried rather than roasted.

Hoisin sauce is a must, and the authentic experience is completed with shredded cucumber and spring onion wrapped in thin pancakes.

Pinot Noir is usually the go-to partner for the combination of hoisin and duck. But if you don’t want the obvious answer, a youthful Gamay with its bright red fruits also does the job nicely.

Spätlese Riesling, with a touch of sugar to round off the crisp green fruits, is a good option if you prefer whites.

Wine with sweet and sour dishes

As a matter of fact, General Tso’s Chicken has nothing to do with the real General Tso, and orange chicken hardly resembles its ‘origin’ – tangerine chicken of Hunan province. That said, there’s nothing stopping us from enjoying these richly sweet and sour dishes.

The interplay of sugar and acidity in these dishes, however, poses some challenges to wine pairing.

Residual sugar is the key here – and aromatic whites such as Gewürztraminer and Torrontes, with their distinctive aroma profile, can add an extra layer of flavour to these fruity dishes.

Wine with Sichuan-style spices

A cold sparkling wine can do wonders to cleanse the burn of Sichuan-style spices – be it Prosecco, Asti or Brut Champagne.

Again, aromatic white wines pair well with complex aromas from various spices.

You could go for sweetness, too. An Auslese Riesling or even a lighter style of Sauternes or Tokaji Aszú can work hand-in-hand with the spicy sensation.

Rosés rich in ripe berry fruits and off-dry Rieslings can be salivating soothers. Juicy reds, such as youthful Gamay or Pinot Noir, are also solid pairing partners that counter the rich flavours and cleanse the palate.

It’s worth avoiding powerful tannins and high alcohol, as they tend to enhance the heat and the burning sensation.

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DECANTER FINE WINE ENCOUNTER SINGAPORE 2025

The world-famous Decanter Fine Wine Encounter returns to Singapore on

Saturday, 22 November at the prestigious Shangri-La Hotel.

Taste, savour and enjoy outstanding fine wines from around the world, in an all day walk-around Grand Tasting featuring highly prestigious producers. You can also learn from three remarkable Masterclasses, featuring wines from Henschke, Château Margaux, and Brunello di Montalcino. Sample a selection of Decanter Award Winning Wines and be part of an exclusive crowd of the most prominent wine lovers in the heart of Southeast Asia.

The Decanter Fine Wine Encounter Singapore is not just an event, it's fast becoming a landmark in the city-state's cultural calendar, promising a day of unrivalled luxury and elegance.

Top Burgundy and mature Bordeaux have been among the highlights at recent Hong Kong-based auctions by Sotheby’s and Christie’s.

In April, a Sotheby’s auction featuring ‘a remarkable Burgundy cellar’ saw a six-bottle lot of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti, Romanée-Conti Grand Cru 1978 sell for HK$562,500 (£56,600), including buyer’s premium – albeit below the pre-sale high estimate of HK$800,000.

White Burgundies were also prominent in the auction. A 12-bottle collection of Domaine d’Auvenay’s En La Richarde, Puligny-Montrachet 1999 in its original wooden case (OWC) fetched HK$500,000 (high estimate: HK$550,000). Only 1,224 bottles of the wine were produced, said Sotheby’s. Domaine Ramonet, Montrachet 1995 (12x75cl, OWC) sold for HK$300,000 (high estimate: HK$320,000).

Bordeaux’s vaunted 1961 vintage again demonstrated its enduring appeal, with three magnums of Petrus 1961 selling for HK$400,000 (high estimate: HK$400,000).

Fellow auction house Christie’s ran a Hong Kong-based online auction, ending 8 April, and highlights included 12 bottles of Henri Jayer’s Cros Parantoux, Vosne-Romanée 2000, with consecutive bottle numbers. Six two-bottle lots achieved prices ranging from HK$175,000 to HK$200,000, including buyer’s premium (high estimate per lot: HK$220,000).

From Bordeaux, Château d’Yquem, Sauternes 1990 (12x75cl) sold for HK$30,000 (high estimate: HK$30,000). Two 12-bottle lots of Lynch-Bages, Pauillac 5CC 1961 fetched HK$40,000 and HK$32,500 (high estimate per lot: HK$40,000).

Harlan’s Promontory shows big gains

A key index of fine wine secondary market performance, the Liv-ex 100, has increased in value for the first time in 12 months.

Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, said in April that the index crept up by 0.4% in March, although it was still down 14% over 12 months. Meanwhile, the broader Liv-ex 1000 index continued to fall, dipping 0.6% in March.

Promontory 2018, a Napa Cabernet Sauvignon made by the Harlan family, was the Liv-ex 100’s best performer in March. Its ‘mid-price’, defined as the mid-point between the highest live bid and lowest live offer on Liv-ex, rose nearly 16%, versus February, to £7,600 (for 12x75cl in bond).

Promontory’s 2019 vintage (Decanter 99pts) was one of several wines recently released internationally via La Place de Bordeaux. UK merchant Lay & Wheeler offered it at £840 (1x75cl in bond).

Market for Bordeaux sluggish

Bordeaux has edged towards this year’s spring en primeur release season against a backdrop of quiet trading and declining fine wine prices on the secondary market.

Buyers still turned up for the recent release of Château Latour, Pauillac 2017. Sales were similar in quantity to Latour 2015, which debuted last year, said Joss Fowler, UK sales director at merchant Farr Vintners. Yet, Fowler added: ‘Demand for young Bordeaux is soft, as it is for wines from all regions.’

Trading on Bordeaux wines has been ‘extremely quiet’, said Matthew O’Connell, CEO of Bordeaux Index’s LiveTrade online trading platform. Bordeaux has lagged the price performance of other key regions in recent years, LiveTrade data shows. ‘We think [Bordeaux] is undervalued,’ said O’Connell, though he added it’s currently difficult to see a catalyst for growth.

Meanwhile at Liv-ex, a global marketplace for the trade, the bid-to offer ratio for Bordeaux wines was 0.4, close to a tenth of its peak level two years ago, said chief commercial officer Anthony Maxwell. Liv-ex’s Fine Wine 50 index, which tracks first growths, was down by 2.7% in value over five years, while the broad-based Liv-ex 1000 index was up 12.3%.

En primeur prices to fall?

There was speculation in April that release prices will fall for Bordeaux 2023 en primeur wines, although each château has its own strategy and market context.

A report by analyst group Wine Lister said Bordeaux 2022 wines, released last year at ‘record high prices’ in some cases, have ‘so far remained stagnant on the secondary market, despite the noise around the high quality of the vintage’.

Farr Vintners’ Fowler told Decanter, ‘It’s a buyer’s market and the 2023 en primeur campaign will only be successful if it offers the consumer excellent value for money with prices below those of all physically available vintages in the market today.’

Liv-ex’s Maxwell said there was no shortage of quality wine available to buyers from recent vintages in Bordeaux and other regions. Nevertheless, Bordeaux’s en primeur campaign for the 2023 vintage could help to energise the market if release prices are deemed sufficiently attractive, he added.

The Bordeaux Index view

Fine wine & spirits specialist Bordeaux Index kindly sponsors this section of Decanter, and provides its view on the market here every issue. It can be found at bordeauxindex.com.

Headlines on Bordeaux in the last two to three years have tended to relate to En Primeur pricing rather than strong market price performance, which has been associated more with Burgundy and Champagne.

Bordeaux Index believes that Bordeaux is substantially undervalued, especially post the 2023 market price drift. The key wines are central pillars of the global fine wine market and the underperformance vs other regions seems significantly overdone.

However, elevated En Primeur pricing cannot lead the market higher – and indeed we have observed previously that it can have the opposite effect by muting engagement with the wines already in the market.

There would be great benefit to Bordeaux demand and secondary market prices from an En Primeur campaign which seeks to re-engage buyers. While that will not be made easier by the prevailing environment, we believe it is nevertheless possible given the right release pricing.

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Officials in China have hinted that EU wines and other goods could be hit with punitive import tariffs, pending the result of several European Commission investigations into possible Chinese state subsidies in other business sectors.

A warning on a Chinese social media account with close links to state media included a legal expert naming wine and dairy as two agricultural sectors that could be targeted, according to Bloomberg.

This warning was also reported by the China Chamber of Commerce to the EU on X, formerly Twitter. 

In a press statement on 18 May, the Chamber said it had been informed that China has ’sufficient countermeasures at its disposal’, should the EU continue with its actions. 

It’s a sign of strained trade relations between the two sides, and comes as the EU is expected to conclude an investigation into possible Chinese state subsidies for the electric vehicle sector.

Earlier this year, China announced a formal anti-dumping probe into brandy imported from the EU. 

Top Cognac and Lafite uncorked for Xi Jinping in France

Cognac producers count China as a major market and the probe may have been discussed when Chinese president Xi Jinping visited French counterpart Emmanuel Macron in early May. 

Macron held a state dinner at the Elysée Palace in Xi’s honour.

Drinks served included Hennessy XO and Martell Cordon Bleu XO Cognacs, as well as Château Lafite Rothschild 2007 and Maison Edouard Delaunay’s Corton-Charlemagne Grand Cru 2020, said the Vitisphere publication.

China was the third biggest market for French wine and spirits exports by value in 2023, behind the US and UK.

French wine and spirits export agency FEVS said shipments to China reached almost €1.2bn last year, albeit down 6.2% versus 2022.

Wine a target in past trade disputes

It’s only a couple of months since China announced it would end additional tariffs on imports of Australian bottled wines.

Tariffs were more than 200% in some cases, and the policy effectively locked Australian wineries out of the Chinese market. 

Before that, some European wines were targeted with higher tariffs by the US, in a long-running tussle over subsidies paid to European aerospace group Airbus.

Wine industry bodies have repeatedly argued that producers and consumers should not be penalised as part of trade disputes in other sectors.

European industry group CEEV released a manifesto for the future of the European wine sector this week. It highlighted geopolitical disputes as a factor contributing to uncertainty in world wine trade. 

It also said EU wine exports hit €17.9bn globally in 2022-2023, up from €3.9bn in 2004-2005. 

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The collection of rare Japanese whiskies had been assigned an estimate of HK$300,000 to HK$500,000, but that target was exceeded at the Bonhams Hong Kong auction.

Kenichi Hashimoto – the owner and chef of the renowned Ryozanpaku restaurant in Kyoto – is renowned for pioneering the art of ‘Whisky Kaiseki’, which essentially involves pairing high-end Japanese cuisine with Japanese whisky.

Seiichi Koshimizu, the former chief blender at Suntory, which owns Yamazaki, introduced Hashimoto to the manifold wonders of Japanese whisky many years ago. The two men built up a close friendship.

As he was approaching retirement, Koshimizu decided to create a unique Japanese whisky collection for Hashimoto, named Yamazaki Hitomi. The collaboration between the two friends culminated in the creation of Genmu Premium Red Edition in 2012.

Four bottles went under the hammer at Bonhams in Hong Kong: Yamazaki-Green Hitomi, Yamazaki 1991 Black Hitomi Cask #1S70427, Yamazaki-Genmu and Yamazaki-Genmu Premium Red Edition.

Amayès Aouli, global head of wine and spirits at Bonhams, called the collection ‘an epitome of culinary and whisky craftsmanship’.

He added: ‘They are not only masterworks by two connoisseurs of taste, but also an embodiment of a close bond and admiration between Hashimoto and Koshimizu.’

They formed part of the auction house’s Finest and Rarest Whisky sale, which also featured Yamazaki 1984 The Peninsula, Yamazaki The Owner’s Cask 1990 and various other rare Japanese whiskies.

Bonhams Hong Kong also held an auction named Wine Treasures of Pristine Provenance on the same day.

Highlights of the sale included verticals from Petrus, Château Lafleur, Château Cheval Blanc, Château Ausone, Château Mouton, Vega Sicilia’s Unico and Dominio de Pingus, plus wines from Le Pin, DRC, Etienne Guigal, Sassicaia, Solaia and Ridge.

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Qi Moudao was also fined 250,000 yuan (£27,500) after he admitted to illegally bottling fake wines from prestigious Bordeaux châteaux.

During the raid, police confiscated hundreds of bottles of branded wine, along with empty bottles, aluminium caps and bottling machines.

Officers found that 33 of the counterfeit bottles were labelled as either Petrus, Château Lafite Rothschild or Pomerol.

Another 29 bottles were branded as Carruades de Lafite 2017, which is the second wine of the famous First Growth estate in Pauillac.

The authorities carried out authenticity checks and quickly confirmed that they were fake wines. Investigators found that Qi had collaborated with two other fraudsters, Zhou Moubin and Qi Mouxi, to set up the counterfeit scam between March 2020 and November 2021.

The Tongzhou District People’s Court of Beijing ruled that his actions constituted a severe case of trademark infringement and sentenced him to five years in prison. Qi did not appeal the decision.

The court decided to release details of the case to mark National Intellectual Property Week in China. It hopes to raise consumer awareness about the dangers of buying prestigious wines from unverified sources.

Officials revealed that the cost of producing the counterfeit wines was low. A bottle of Petrus sells for more than 50,000 yuan (£5,500) in Mainland China, so there is a clear financial incentive for fraudsters to perpetrate these scams.

The criminals try to sell these wines at slightly lower prices than licensed, reputable retailers, claiming that they are legit, but that they have been smuggled.

In 2020, Bordeaux’s wine council claimed a landmark victory in its battle against counterfeits in China, with the help of local authorities.

Chinese law enforcement agencies have ramped up their efforts to combat counterfeit wines since then, with several high-profile busts in the past few years.

In January 2023, a raid in Fujian province uncovered 40,000 fake bottles of wine, including Lafite and Penfolds, with a ‘street value’ of more than £120m.

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Australian prime minister Anthony Albanese revealed that China’s 218% tariffs on Australian wine would end on Friday, 29 March.

‘We welcome this outcome, which comes at a critical time for the Australian wine industry,’ said the Australian government in a statement. ‘The re-entry of Australian bottled wine into the Chinese market will benefit both Australian producers and Chinese consumers.’

China was the largest market for Australian wine in 2020, accounting for 40% of the country’s exports. However, the Chinese government then imposed punitive tariffs on Australian wine, along with barley, timber, coal, cotton and other goods after a diplomatic spat.

Beijing was already upset by the decision to exclude Chinese firm Huawei from taking part in the rollout of next-gen phone networks in Australia.

Canberra then called for an international inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan, which proved to be the final straw for the Chinese Communist Party.

By the end of 2021, Australian wine exports to China had fallen by 97%, and Wine Australia closed its Shanghai office.

The Australian government said the tariffs had ‘effectively made it unviable for Australian producers to export bottled wine to that market’. However, tensions between Canberra and Beijing have eased in recent months.

In October 2023, Australia agreed to suspend a complaint about the wine tariffs at the World Trade Organization. That move was followed by positive talks between Albanese and Chinese President Xi Jinping.

The Chinese Ministry of Commerce has now agreed to lift the heavy tariffs on Australian wine.

‘This outcome affirms the calm and consistent approach taken by the Labor Government and follows the success of the similar approach taken to remove duties on Australian barley,’ said Albanese, foreign minister Penny Wong and trade minister Don Farrell in a joint statement. ‘We acknowledge and thank Australian grape growers and wine producers for their fortitude and support during a challenging period.’

It has certainly been a challenging few years for Australian producers. Exports have also fallen in key markets such as the USA and the UK amid inflationary pressures, and growers have been forced to destroy millions of vines in response to an intensifying oversupply crisis.

Good news has been in short supply, so winemakers are celebrating the Chinese government’s decision to scrap the tariffs.

Treasury Wine Estates CEO Tim Ford said: ‘The removal of tariffs on Australian wine exports to China is terrific news and is cause for celebration across the Australian wine industry and with our partners and consumers in China.

‘We’re thankful to the governments in Australia and China for working tirelessly to stabilise relations between both countries, with this work ongoing as we continue to foster our local winemaking ties in China.

‘This announcement signals the start of our ramp up to re-establish our Australian luxury and premium wine distribution in China, and it shouldn’t be too long before local Chinese consumers have more access to our great wines.’

Robert Foye, CEO at Accolade Wines, said the company does not anticipate an immediate return to 2020 trading levels, but added that ‘we are excited about the long-term potential this market brings’.

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What do Baron Eric de Rothschild, Angelo Gaja and Michel Chapoutier all have in common – apart from being behind some of the world’s most influential wine estates?

They are all born in the Year of the Dragon – the symbol of the new year in the Chinese lunar calendar, which starts this weekend.

To celebrate the Chinese New Year 2024, we researched the birth years of some of the world’s well-known writers, critics, producers and sommeliers, including some of our Chairs in the 2024 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA), to find out where they sit in the Chinese zodiac.

It’s easy to see your animal sign in the Chinese zodiac. Just follow the chart below and find your birth year.

Data source: www.whats-your-sign.com

Then, look at the list below to see which wine world celebrity shares your Chinese zodiac sign.

Rat

Marquis Nicolò Incisa della Rocchetta, Sassicaia – 1936

Paul Draper, Ridge Vineyards – 1936

Brian Croser, Tapanappa – 1948

Aurelio Montes, Montes – 1948

Michael Brajkovich MW, Kumeu River – 1960

Olivier Bernard, Domaine de Chevalier – 1960

Rosa Kruger, Decanter 2022 Hall of Fame winner – 1960

Adi Badenhorst, A. A. Badenhorst Family Wines – 1972

Stefan Neumann MS, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Switzerland – 1984

Michaela Morris, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Piedmont – 1972

Ox

Bruno Ceretto, Ceretto – 1937

Danie de Wet, De Wetshof Estate – 1949

Kevin Judd, Greywacke – 1961

Richard Mayson, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Port & Madeira – 1961

Tim Atkin MW, Decanter contributing editor – 1961

Tiger

James Halliday, Australian wine writer/critic – 1938

Piero Antinori, Antinori – 1938

Jean-François Coche-Dury, Domaine Coche-Dury – 1950

Stephen Henschke, Henschke – 1950

Anthony Hamilton-Russell, Hamilton Russell Vineyards – 1962

Dominique Vrigneau, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Beaujolais, Southwest and Rest of France – 1962

Amanda Barnes, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Chile – 1986

Rabbit

Hugh Johnson OBE, Decanter wine writer – 1939

Nicolás Catena Zapata, Bodega Catena Zapata – 1939

Bruce Tyrrell, Tyrrell’s – 1951

Robert Hill-Smith, Yalumba – 1951

Olivier Humbrecht, Domaine Zind-Humbrecht – 1963

Charles Curtis MW, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Burgundy & Champagne – 1963

Dragon

Angelo Gaja, Gaja – 1940

Baron Eric de Rothschild, Château Lafite Rothschild – 1940

Denis Horgan, Leeuwin Estate – 1940

Michel Chapoutier, M Chapoutier – 1964

Dirk Niepoort, Niepoort – 1964

Peter Richards MW, Wine writer and broadcaster – 1976

Michael Garner, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Northern Italy – 1952

Richard Baudains, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Veneto – 1952

Snake

Miguel A. Torres, Torres – 1941

Corinne Mentzelopoulos, Château Margaux – 1953

Didier Cuvelier, Château Léoville Poyferré – 1953

Matt Walls, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for the Rhône – 1977

Horse

Leonardo Frescobaldi, Marchesi Frescobaldi – 1942

Huon Hooke, DWWA 2024 Regional Co-Chair for Australia – 1954

Jean-Michel Deiss, Domaine Marcel Deiss – 1954

Michael Hill Smith AM MW, DWWA 2024 Co-Chair – 1954

Cameron Douglas MS, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for New Zealand – 1966

Justin Howard-Sneyd MW, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Languedoc-Roussillon – 1966

Sarah Ahmed, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Portugal – 1966

Simon Field MW, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for UK – 1966

Sheep

David Peppercorn MW, Wine critic – 1931

Christophe Salin, Domaines Barons de Rothschild – 1955

Doug Shafer, Shafer Vineyards – 1955

Iain Riggs, director/consultant of Brokenwood – 1955

Matthew Jukes, writer – 1967

Fiona McDonald, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for South Africa – 1967

Chng Poh Tiong, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Asia – 1955

Monkey

Lalou Bize-Leroy, Domaine Leroy – 1932

Daniel Cathiard, Château Smith-Haut Lafitte – 1944

Andrew Jefford, Decanter contributing editor – 1956

Hubert de Boüard de Laforest, Château Angélus – 1956

Susana Balbo, Susana Balbo Wines – 1956

Rod Smith MW, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Provence – 1968

Rooster

Peter Gago, Penfolds – 1957

Ronan Sayburn MS, DWWA 2024 Co-Chair – 1969

Ferran Centelles, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Spain – 1981

LU Yang MS, first Chinese Master Sommelier – 1981

Dog

Wolfgang Blass, Wolf Blass – 1934

Christophe Roumier, Domaine Georges Roumier – 1958

Professor Li Demei, Winemaker and consultant – 1970

Thierry Meyer, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Alsace – 1970

Pig

Jim Budd, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Loire – 1947

Michel Rolland, International wine consultant – 1947

Robert Parker, International wine critic – 1947

Stephen Brook, Decanter contributing editor – 1947

Eduardo Chadwick, Seña – 1959

Marc Kent, Boekenhoutskloof – 1971

Terry Kandylis, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Greece & Cyprus – 1983

Andy Howard, DWWA 2024 Regional Chair for Central Italy – 1959

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China isn’t the first place that springs to mind when talking about whisky. It’s not even the second, third or 33rd. But big changes are happening in China’s whiskey scene that could see it – one day – join the ranks of New World whiskey regions such as Taiwan, India and Japan.

Has it got what it takes? Two of the world’s biggest drinks producers think so. Diageo and Pernod Ricard – the makers of Johnnie Walker and Chivas Regal respectively – have spent millions building distilleries in China. Construction of Diageo’s Eryuan distillery, in Yunnan, commenced in November 2021 and is now in trial production. While Pernod released its first single malt, The Chuan, from its Sichuan distillery, in November 2023 (currently only available in China).

In the same month, Camus Holdings, French owners of Camus Cognac, also began construction of its Guqi Distillery. The new US$30m facility in Bozhou, Anhui province, will produce single malts. It’s clear that producers see an opportunity in China…

Why bother with Chinese whiskey? Yes, it’s novel, but confidence is growing, both inside and outside of China. In 2023, The Whisky Exchange became the first UK retailer to stock Chinese whiskey, with a trio of malts from the Goalong Distillery in Hunan.

‘I don’t want to follow trends, I want to lead them,’ says Dawn Davies MW, spirits buyer at The Whisky Exchange. ‘Getting on board with China was a logical step – to be the first to bring those in. The [Goalong] liquid was a soft, easy drink, and that’s what I liked – its simplicity and approachability.’

Where does China make whiskey?

China is vast, but key regions include: Fujian in the southeast; south-central provinces such as Hunan; Shandong and Liaoning in the northeast; as well as Sichuan and Yunnan in the southwest. There are around 30 whiskey distilleries across China, many under construction.

‘Fifteen years ago when I arrived here, options were few and far between with local palates more inclined to local spirits and brandy,’ says Lucas Driggers, who runs whisky networking events in Wuhan. ‘Chinese whiskey was pretty much nonexistent. There have been some large volume local whiskeys over the last 10 years, but it’s been “knock off” brands.’

Over the course of a decade, the landscape has transformed, with many new distilleries springing up. ‘The younger generation is more inclined to try new things,’ adds Driggers. ‘Older generations are firmly married to baijiu, but there’s a strong cultural shift taking place, with whiskey gaining ground.’

Which distilleries are the ones to watch?

If you need reassurance that China is capable of turning its hand to a non-traditional beverage and competing with the world’s best, you need only look to Grace Vineyard in Ningxia, which has blazed a trail for Chinese fine wine since its founding in 1997. Now, its president Judy Chan is turning her attention to whiskey, having bought the Dexi Distillery in Fujian in 2019. She plans to produce one million bottles of single malt a year, with the team’s first liquid barrelled in March 2023.

‘The rise of Japanese whiskey and also Kavalan [in Taiwan] makes people feel like Asian whiskey has a market,’ says Chan. ‘If there is a market for Japanese and Taiwanese whisky, why not for China?’

Kavalan is known for its faster maturation period in a tropical climate. What might take 12 years in Scotland, could take just three in Taiwan, and, perhaps, in Fujian province. ‘Our location is very similar to Taiwan, and Kavalan usually ages for around three years, so we suspect a similar timeframe,’ explains Chan. ‘I’m sure with micro-climates and barrels there will be some differences, but I think that will give people an anchor point. We are excitedly waiting to see what the result is too.’

But the biggest operation will be Nine Rivers, a single malt distillery in Fujian funded by 200 whisky-lovers from around the world. Its large team of founders includes Driggers. First casks are expected to be filled in March 2024, with plans to produce 7.5m litres a year – around 10m bottles. CEO Jay Robertson says it’s a large-scale operation but with ‘a small batch craft mentality’.

Plans include a private cooperage where the company will make its own barrels from virgin timber, toasted then charred. ‘From our point of view, the quality of the wood only shines through when the cask hasn’t been used before,’ says Robertson. He also wants to break the ‘psychological attachment’ that people have to age statements, envisioning a minimum three year ageing period for Nine Rivers whiskeys.

‘Everybody thinks if it doesn’t have a 12-year-old age statement then it’s rubbish. But those big players are reusing casks so many times, often to a fourth fill – the wood is grey, like a park bench. They need the age statement because it’s the only way to get anything out of the wood,’ argues Robertson.

What can you expect from a Chinese malt?

Right now, Chinese whiskeys are typically light, fruit-driven and approachable. Cask finishing could add a Chinese stamp, perhaps with the use of ex-Ningxia wine casks. But climate is what will set Chinese whiskey apart. Many regions are humid and warm so maturation is faster, impacting flavour.

‘Those distilleries making whisky in more tropical areas of China will go after bigger, richer, fruit styles and there will be some lighter, cooler climate examples as well,’ explains Davies. ‘China’s climate is so varied. There’s going to be a whole lot of very different products and styles, and that’s going to be very exciting.’

Could China be the next big whiskey-making region, set to follow in Japan or Taiwan’s footsteps? It’s possible. The spark of ambition among young distillers has been lit and big producers have already bet big. China has proven it can make world class wine. Now it’s coming for whisky.

Chinese whiskeys to try

Goalong Blended Chinese Whisky

A soft and creamy blended spirit with aromas of hazelnut, toffee apple and vanilla. Notes of apple, honey and some sweet spice on the palate. Simple, smooth, approachable. Alcohol 40%

Goalong 5 Year Old Bourbon Cask Single Malt Chinese Whisky

Matured for five years in ex-bourbon casks. Bold aromas of honey, hazelnut and vanilla. Flavours of toffee apple and vanilla, with a subtle spice backbone. A wisp of smoke on the finish. Alc 40%

Goalong 5 Year Old Bourbon & Brandy Cask Single Malt Chinese Whisky

Matured in ex-bourbon and ex-brandy casks with distinctive floral aromas of jasmine and vanilla. Fig and orange peel on the palate with some sweet malt notes, dried fruits, apple skin and butterscotch, plus warming spice on the finish. Alc 48%

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ProWine Shanghai, the leading wine and spirits industry trade fair in the Chinese mainland, was held from 8-10 November at the Shanghai New International Expo Center (SNIEC). First launched as ProWine China in 2013, the event celebrated its 10th anniversary this year after a postponement due to the pandemic in 2022.

Decanter has exhibited with Decanter World Wine Awards medal winners at the trade fair since its first edition – this year seeing its biggest showcase to date with 41 award-winning wines showcased from the 2023 and 2022 competitions.

At the 2023 edition, over 660 exhibitors from 32 countries and regions participated in the three-day event, attracting a total of 27,363 trade attendees – an 81.7% growth from the previous edition.

The Decanter stand showcased 32 wines from eight countries: China, France, Italy, Spain, South Africa, Austria, Greece and Australia.

The line-up covered red and white wines of different styles to display the diversity and quality of wines recognised and endorsed by Decanter World Wine Awards in the 2022 and 2023 competitions, including two Best in Show, one Platinum, 10 Gold, 14 Silver and five Bronze medals.

Scroll down to see all DWWA-awarded wines showcased

Celebrating DWWA’s 20th anniversary, Decanter also teamed up with one of China’s leading wine experts Professor Li Demei, a DWWA judge, DecanterChina.com columnist and director of enology engineering at Beijing University of Agriculture, to present a masterclass which featured some of the top Asian wines from the 2023 competition.

Over 60 Chinese wine professionals joined the masterclass, which included a review of the history of the world’s largest wine competition and an introduction to the rules of entry and scoring system before Professor Li guided attendees through a tasting of nine award-winning wines from DWWA 2023, including:

Sula Vineyards, Brut, Nashik, Maharashtra, India NV

Bronze, 88 points

Domaine Xigu, Single Vineyard Pinot Noir, Tianshui, Gansu, China (Mainland) 2020

Silver, 91 points

Chateau Summer Land, Mourvedre, Wuwei, Gansu, China (Mainland) 2021

Silver, 94 points

Helan Qingxue Vineyard, Baby Feet Malbec, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2019

Silver, 93 points

Chateau Changyu Castel, Reserva Cabernet Gernischt, Yantai, Shandong, China (Mainland) 2019

Gold, 96 points

Puchang Vineyard, Viaseres Reserve Saperavi, Turpan, Xinjiang, China (Mainland) 2017

Gold, 96 points

Tiansai Vineyards, Skyline of Gobi Grand Reserve Marselan, Yanqi, Xinjiang, China (Mainland) 2017

Gold, 95 points

Chateau Lion, Lion Prince, Fangshan, Beijing, China (Mainland) 2019

Silver, 90 points

Tongtian Winery, Yalu Valley No.1 Icewine, Tonghua, Jilin, China (Mainland) 2019

Silver, 92 points

Decanter World Wine Awards also sponsored three Prosecco DOCG wines awarded medals at the launch ceremony of the Chinese edition of “The Power of Terroir: the Case Study of Prosecco Wine,” translated by Professor Li Demei.

With help from Consorzio Tutela del Vino Conegliano Valdobbiadene Prosecco, the awarded wines included:

Masottina, Contrada Granda Extra Dry, Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG NV

DWWA 2023 Bronze, 89 points

Ruggeri, Giustino B. Extra Dry, Prosecco di Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG 2021

DWWA 2023 Bronze, 89 points

Bellenda, San Fermo Brut, Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore DOCG 2020

DWWA 2021 Bronze, 89 points

ProWine Shanghai: DWWA 2022 & 2023 awarded wines showcased on the Decanter stand

Sparkling

Chandon, Brut, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) NV

DWWA 2022 Gold, 95 points

Masottina, Contrada Granda Extra Dry, Prosecco di Conegliano Valdobbiadene Superiore, Veneto, Italy NV

DWWA 2023 Bronze, 89 points

White

Weinkellerei Lenz Moser, Grüner Veltliner, Kremstal, Niederösterreich, Austria 2021

DWWA 2022 Silver, 92 points

Plaimont, Echo Indigo, IGP Côtes de Gascogne, Southwest France, France 2022

DWWA 2023 Gold, 95 points

Château St-Jacques D’albas, Albas, Minervois, Languedoc-Roussillon, France 2021

DWWA 2022 Silver, 91 points

Constantia Glen, Two Sauvignon Blanc-Semillon, Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa 2021

DWWA 2023 Silver, 93 points

Attis Bodega Y Viñedos, Nana, Rías Baixas, Spain 2021

DWWA 2023 Silver, 93 points

Attis, Nana Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain 2019

DWWA 2022 Gold, 96 points

Attis, Embaixador Albariño, Rías Baixas, Spain 2018

DWWA 2022 Platinum, 97 points

Attis Bodega Y Viñedos, Coribante, Rías Baixas, Spain 2018

DWWA 2023 Bronze, 88 points

Pernod Ricard Ningxia, Helan Mountain Premium Collection Chardonnay, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2017

DWWA 2022 Gold, 96 points

Gustave Lorentz, Vieilles Vignes Riesling, Grand Cru Altenberg-de-Bergheim, Alsace, France 2019

DWWA 2023 Best in Show, 97 points

Plaimont, Elia Colombard, IGP Côtes de Gascogne, Southwest France, France 2022

DWWA 2023 Bronze, 87 points

Red

Petit Mont, Dunkelfelder, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2020

DWWA 2022 Bronze, 86 points

Martinez Lacuesta, La Sucursal, Rioja, Spain 2020

DWWA 2022 Silver, 91 points

Martínez Lacuesta, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2012

DWWA 2022 Gold, 96 points

Martinez Lacuesta, Felix Martinez Lacuesta, Gran Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2015

DWWA 2022 Silver, 90 points

Alpha Estate, Single Vineyard Hedgehog Xinomavro, Amyndeon, Macedonia, Greece 2019

DWWA 2022 Gold, 95 points

Alpha Estate, Ecosystem Xinomavro Reserve Vieilles Vignes Single Block Barba Yannis, Amyndeon, Macedonia, Greece 2018

DWWA 2022 Silver, 90 points

Xige Estate, Jade Dove Single Vineyard Cabernet Gernischt, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2018

DWWA 2022 Silver, 90 points

Le Riche Wines, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2020

DWWA 2023 Best in Show, 97 points

Constantia Glen, Five, Constantia, Cape Town, South Africa 2020

DWWA 2023 Gold, 95 points

Chateau Mihope, Limited Release, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2019

DWWA 2022 Gold, 95 points

Howling Wolves, Howling Wolves Small Batch Cabernet Shiraz, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2018

DWWA 2022 Bronze, 88 points

Tiansai Vineyards, T50 Syrah, Yanqi, Xinjiang, China (Mainland) 2019

DWWA 2022 Silver, 91 points

Chateau Tigerose, Marselan, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2020

DWWA 2022 Gold, 96 points

Chateau Huahao, Family Collection Marselan, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2019

DWWA 2022 Silver, 91 points

Chateau Rong Yuanmei, Hongfangyin Malbec, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China (Mainland) 2019

DWWA 2022 Silver, 90 points

Tenute Cisa Asinari Dei Marchesi Di Gresy, Martinenga Gaiun, Barbaresco, Piedmont, Italy 2017

DWWA 2022 Silver, 92 points

Sordo, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy 2016

DWWA 2022 Silver, 91 points

Achille Viglione, Durè, Barolo Riserva, Piedmont, Italy 2017

DWWA 2023 Silver, 92 points

Sweet

Zangdong Treasure, Dameiyong Rose Honey, Tibet, China (Mainland) 2021

DWWA 2022 Silver, 90 points

See all DWWA 2023 results

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Last month, Beijing agreed to review the tariffs of up to 218% imposed on Australian wine.

Wine exporters hoping for a positive outcome were given a major boost this week after the countries’ leaders agreed to stabilise relations.

After the meeting, Albanese told reporters: ‘I noted very much unimpeded trade was in the interest of both countries, was good for Chinese consumers as well as Australian exporters. He certainly agreed that Australian wine is good.’

Albanese said they had ‘a bit of a debate about wine’ during his meeting with Xi. The Chinese leader said he had discovered the quality of the wine in New Zealand during a recent visit, but Albanese ‘asserted Australia’s pre-eminence when it comes to quality red wine’.

They also discussed the relative cuteness of Tasmanian devils and pandas. ‘That shows really just how warm the exchange was,’ said Albanese, describing the talks as ‘very positive’.

It is a far cry from 2020, when Canberra called for an international inquiry into the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic in Wuhan.

Beijing was already upset by the decision to exclude Chinese firm Huawei from taking part in the rollout of next-gen phone networks in Australia, and that proved to be the final straw.

The Chinese government responded by imposing an up to 218% tariff on wine imported from Australia, which caused sales to plummet.

At the time, China was the largest market for Australian wine, as exports had increased by 4% to $1.2 billion in the year to September 30, 2020.

By the end of 2021, sales in Mainland China had fallen by 97%, and Wine Australia closed its Shanghai office.

The industry is now facing an oversupply crisis, with enough wine in storage to fill 859 Olympic swimming pools, after total exports decreased by 33% over the past two years.

However, there is now light at the end of the tunnel for Australian producers, who expect the tariffs to be scrapped soon.

‘The China-Australia relationship has embarked on the right path of improvement and development,’ Xi said after his meeting with Albanese. ‘I’m heartened to see that.’

He added that Albanese’s visit was ‘highly significant, as it builds on the past and ushers in the future’.

Layla Wang, co-owner of Trio Wine Bar in Beijing, told Reuters that Chinese consumers would welcome the return of Australian wine.

‘We all think it’s a very good quality wine,’ she said. ‘For us, we’re definitely delighted as it signifies offering more choices to our customers. For consumers who haven’t had Australian wines for years, many will be eager to try them again.’

Campbell Thompson, CEO of Beijing-based wine importer and distributor The Wine Republic, added: ‘We are looking forward to the tariffs being removed. I think for Australia there is definitely an opportunity.’

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Chinese businessman Qu Naijie, founder of Dalian-based Haichang Group, has been summoned to appear at the tribunal correctionel in February 2024 alongside two other accused parties, confirmed a source at the French government’s financial prosecutor’s office (PNF) in Paris.

It’s a case that relates to the alleged misuse of Chinese state funds to purchase Bordeaux châteaux several years ago, according to French newspaper Sud-Ouest.

The PNF source told Decanter a decision to summon defendants to a criminal court hearing followed a preliminary investigation into suspected money laundering, embezzlement of public funds and aggravated tax fraud.

This was linked to the acquisition of Bordeaux vineyards, and it includes the suspected misuse of an estimated €30m in public funds. 

A court hearing, initially envisaged to take place in August 2023, is now set to run from 12 to 15 February 2024.

Maxime Delhomme, lawyer for Qu, said his client denies wrongdoing. ‘I confirm that Mr Qu is contesting the fraud [allegations] that the PNF is trying to formulate,’ he told Decanter. 

He said that news of a court hearing has put the case back in the spotlight. He described it as an old story, of which the origins ‘remain obscure’.

The specific vineyards related to the investigation have not been named, although it’s been widely reported that Qu and Haichang Group bought a series of properties in Bordeaux in the early 2010s.

In 2018, French authorities seized 10 Bordeaux wine properties in connection with an investigation into the vineyard acquisitions of Haichang Group, although day-to-day wine operations at the properties continued as normal, as reported by Decanter. 

In 2014, China’s National Audit Office named Dalian-based conglomerate Haichang Group and another Dalian-based company as having allegedly diverted CNY268m (£25m at the time) of government funds to purchase Bordeaux vineyards, according to a previous report by Decanter China. However, at the time, no charges were reported to have been brought.

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A celebration of 20 years and record results for Chinese wine producers, on 6th September more than 100 attendees gathered in Changsha, Hunan for a first-ever Decanter World Wine Awards award ceremony and medal-winning wine showcase in China.

In collaboration with Wine China, honourees from 44 wineries and 10 wine-producing areas in China were awarded a DWWA certificate to mark their top results from the competition, with Acting Regional Chair for Asia Peter Csizmadia-Honigh in attendance to congratulate winners.

Preceding the awards ceremony, the event opened with a forum to discuss the growth of DWWA, current Chinese wine industry and global trends.

Moderated by Ma Huiqin, a professor at China Agricultural University in Beijing, presentations were shared by Sun Zhijun, the editor-in-chief of winechina.com, DWWA judge Peter Csizmadia-Honigh and Ma Peixuan, head of the China Fine Wine Challenge (CFWC).

Commenting on global wine trends in relation to DWWA, Csizmadia-Honigh noted, ‘The past 15 years have seen a rapid rise in local grape varieties. The quest for product authenticity not only turns attention to lesser-known varieties, but also leads us to the discovery of small wine-producing regions or emerging winemaking countries that have entered the commercial stage.

‘Take a look at DWWA’s Asian wine categories: Chinese, Indian, Japanese, Thai and Indonesian. This used to be a very small category, lumped together with the Middle East in the early years. Now Asia is a separate judging panel and we taste close to 500 wines, categorised by country, from Asia each year.’

The event continued with a DWWA showcase of nearly one hundred award-winning Chinese wines, including Bronze, Silver and Gold medal winners from the 2019-2023 competitions for attendees to sample.

In the last decade, Chinese wine results have seen a visible uplift in average quality with DWWA 2023 being the country’s best performance to date. This year’s DWWA saw a total of 274 Chinese wines from 14 regions awarded a medal, a 17% increase from last year, and following a continuous upward trend since 2020.

Just five years ago less than half of Chinese wines were awarded a Bronze medal or above; this year 63% of wines entered were awarded a medal, nine of these Gold medals alongside a record 83 Silver and 182 Bronze.

Highlighting China’s varietal diversity, awarded wines from Petit Manseng, Riesling and Chardonnay to Syrah, Saperavi, Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec and Marselan were on display.

Including a second ceremony for the China Gold Medal Winery Awards, the first-of-its-kind event in the vibrant city of Changsha highlighted the rising quality of Chinese wines, and applaudable ambitions of producers to continue growing recognition of their wines on the world stage.

Search all DWWA 2023 results from China

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All members will enjoy ‘quintessential British luxury’ by joining The Residence, which is set to open by the end of the year.

Celebrity chef Gordon Ramsay will open his first Shanghai restaurant inside the club, exclusive to members of The Residence.

Ramsay, who has created multiple Michelin-star restaurants, pledged to offer elevated British dining inspired by the social nature of the club.

The Residence will also provide members with access to some of the world’s rarest and most exclusive spirits via a close partnership with Edrington Group.

It will feature a curated portfolio of spirits from the group, whose luxury brands include The Macallan, The Glenrothes and Highland Park.

Harrods has not yet finalised the wine list, but a spokesperson told decanter.com that it will offer an impressive and extensive selection of world-class, premium wines to accompany the exquisite food.

‘Membership is a unique proposition in Shanghai, offering not only world-class dining and spirits with a like-minded network, but also unlocking exclusive Harrods international lifestyle and concierge services to create unparalleled experiences for every member,’ said Harrods MD Michael Ward.

There will be three tiers of membership, starting at 150,000 RMB (£16,000) per year. Only 250 initial members will be accepted to join The Residence, and additional members will then be considered if they secure peer nominations.

Members will gain access to all of the club’s facilities, including the bar, a spacious lounge, private dining rooms and outdoor terraces, allowing them to host guests in a luxurious setting.

Ramsay, famed for his appearances on TV shows such as Hell’s Kitchen and Ramsay’s Kitchen Nightmares, said: ‘It has long been an ambition of mine to open a restaurant in Shanghai, and it was always about the perfect time and the perfect location.

‘I’m delighted to be partnering with Harrods on The Residence, a truly exclusive and exciting opportunity where we will be bringing a very special and thoughtfully curated menu of British cuisine to the members and their guests.’

Members will automatically be enrolled in the Black Tier of the Harrods Rewards scheme, which unlocks a wide range of benefits in London, including private shopping services at the iconic Knightsbridge department store.

There will also be educational events to help members learn more about collecting rare spirits, wines and artworks, along with ‘access to Harrods’ extensive and unmatched concierge connections and luxury brand partners’.

The Residence will occupy level two of Cha House, which also houses the Harrods Tea Room and Piano Bar. It was built by brothers Qiu Xinshan and Qiu Weiqing in 1920 and restored for a major reopening in 2017.

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The city’s social restrictions have now been lifted, so collectors were able to descend upon Alexandra House to bid in-person for the iconic wines.

Bidders from four continents also took part over the phone and online, helping the auction achieve a sales total of HK$30,274,000 (£3,145,756).

That was more than double the low estimate provided prior to the auction, titled Grands Crus Part III: Finest and Rarest Wines from the Cellar of Christen Sveaas.

The highlight was a lot featuring 12 bottles of Château Latour à Pomerol 1961, which fetched HK$1,062,500 (£110,404) – more than double the low estimate.

Another lot featuring eight bottles of Château Mouton-Rothschild 1945 fetched the same price, making them the joint-top lots of the auction.

Sveaas, a Norwegian businessman who owns the Kistefos AS investment firm, said: ‘This is the first time a selection of wine from my cherished collection has been presented at Christie’s in Asia, and it has been a pleasure to witness it be so well received.

‘I am heartened to know that these special bottles have found new homes, and my wish is that their owners take great joy in savouring and sharing them.’

Sveaas is a renowned art collector and wine connoisseur, who was at one point rumoured to own the world’s largest private wine cellar.

Some of the other highlights at the auction included 12 bottles of Château Palmer 1961, six bottles of Château Cheval-Blanc 1921, 12 bottles of Château Haut-Brion 1959, 12 bottles Château Latour 1949 and 12 bottles of Petrus 1982, all of which beat low estimates. A magnum of Château d’Yquem 1900 also earned more than double the low estimate.

Aside from the Bordeaux vintages, a lot comprising six bottles of Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle 1961 was sold for HK$600,000 (£62,346). Six bottles of Domaine de la Romanée-Conti Montrachet 2007 and 10 bottles of Dom Pérignon Rosé 1996 were also sold.

There was a lively atmosphere at Alexandra House for the auction. ‘It was an honour to commence Christie’s 2023 live wine auctions in Hong Kong with a selection from Mr Sveaas’s stunning cellar – and a joy to welcome so many spirited bidders in person to our saleroom once again,’ said Adam Bilbey, Christie’s global head of wine and spirits.

‘The iconic bottles received a tremendous response from bidders in Asia and beyond, achieving remarkable prices – a testament to both Mr Sveaas’s superb taste and the demand for fine wine across the region.

‘The results reaffirm Christie’s strength in presenting the world’s most important single-owner wine collections to the market.’

Michelle Chan, head of wine for Christie’s Asia Pacific, added that the event provided ‘an excellent base’ for its upcoming Hong Kong Spring Auctions, which are due to take place in May.

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Corinne Mui is a judge at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Corinne Mui

Corinne Mui is an award-winning wine & sake educator and writer based in Hong Kong, holding a WSET Level 4 Diploma. She has over 15 years wine teaching experience within 5 stars hotels, casinos, airlines and the wine trade. She is one of the WSET certified educator training programme assessors in Asia.

Corinne has been the Wine Ambassador for Wine Australia in Asia for over 10 years and the appointed speaker for masterclasses at Vinexpo and Prowine for Australian Pavilion each year. She has also led Wine Australia China roadshow masterclasses and events in Asia.

She has developed wine education programmes for Wine Australia, Wines of Chile, Wines of South Africa, Wines of Greece and Wines from Spain in Asia.

In 2018, she was the winner of “Wine Educator of the Year” from Wines of Germany. In the following year 2019, she was inducted as Sake Samurai and VDP Ambassador.

Corinne is a regular wine writer in publications across Asia.

She has judged at many wine shows in Australia, Europe, China and Hong Kong, including the Decanter Asia Wine Awards.

See more judges for the 2023 DWWA.

Ken Man is a judge at the 2023 Decanter World Wine Awards (DWWA).

Ken Man

Ken Man is the Fine Wine Specialist at Ginsberg+Chan, Hong Kong. On behalf of his clients, he sources rare, distinctive and mature fine wines from the classic regions, especially from Burgundy, Bordeaux, Champagne and Rhone.

He began his career in the UK at Majestic Wines, before becoming an on-trade specialist for Coe Vintners.

He relocated to Hong Kong in 2016 to work at a luxury fine wine and lifestyle magazine, organising major events for the publication before moving into his current role.

Ken was judge at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards 2019 and joined the Decanter World Wine Awards for the first time in 2022.

See more judges for the 2023 DWWA.

Dumplings and wine pairing – at a glance

• Champagne works particularly well with fried dumplings, or when serving with vinegar
• Think of ripe Chardonnays, or fruity rosés to go with your dumpling fillings
• The stronger the filling flavour, the harder to pair with a wine
• Avoid heavy, tannic reds

The history of ‘Jiaozi’

The history of the Chinese dumplings (or Jiaozi 饺子 in Chinese) can be traced back to the Eastern Han dynasty (25–220 AD) when legendary physician, the ‘Saint of Medicine’ Zhang Zhongjing treated his patients with lamb and warming herbs wrapped in a thin layer of dough, shaped like human ears.

Archaeologists even found some seriously old dumplings dated back to the Tang Dynasty over a thousand years ago in the Turpan Basin of Xinjiang, northwest China. They look almost exactly like the dumplings we enjoy today.

It’s a well-kept tradition, especially in Northern China, for families to gather and make dumplings on the eve of the Chinese New Year. The whole family, young or old, will work together while chatting, getting their hands dirty rolling out dough wrappers, mixing their home recipe of stuffings and carefully squeezing those little packages of flavours into the fat-bellied ear shape.

The classic flavours of dumplings

When speaking of dumplings (or in Chinese ‘Jiaozi’), it always encompasses a variety of fillings and flavours.

The possibility is literally endless; although the classic stuffings, which you tend to find in the frozen corner of Chinese supermarkets, usually involves meat (most commonly pork) or seafood with a range of vegetables, such as chives, fennel, Chinese cabbage or green onion.

For vegetarian choices, egg and chives are at the top of my list. The smart combinations of carrots, different mushrooms, leaf vegetables and tofu are also colourful and tasty.

Away from its home, there are also more localised, innovative dumplings that involve Miso, Kimchi, Hoisin duck, BBQ Beef or indeed, cheese in the filling – but why not?

Pairing dumplings with wine

‘If you want to pair your dumplings with wine, it’s better to choose light-flavoured fillings,’ said Jennifer Doherty MW, head of buying and education at Summergate Fine Wines & Spirits.

See also: Chinese food and wine pairing

See also: Peking duck and wine pairing – ask Decanter

‘The classic garlic, chive and pork dumplings, for example, are difficult to pair with wines due to their overpowering flavours,’ said the MW, who grew up in a traditional Chinese household in Canada. Other strong-taste dumplings may include beef and tomato or lamb and carrot.

Those with obvious spiciness or sweetness, meanwhile, can also be tricky to pair with wine, as they may enhance the alcohol burn or acidity.

‘Pork and cabbage, Sanxian (pork, prawn and eggs) and mushroom dumplings, on the other hand, are more delicate.’

The mild-flavoured chicken and mushroom dumplings or savoury vegetarian stuffings are also safe choices for wine.

‘I would pick a light and delicate white wine to go with something like pork and cabbage – I don’t think you want a red wine. Try a wine that’s got a little oak on it with good acidity – I’d go for a nice Bourgogne Chardonnay, maybe a Mâcon.’

‘Personally, I love Rieslings, so I’d try a Kabinett—with refreshing acidity and a little bit of residual sugar, to pair with it.’

What about the sauce?

Classic sauces to serve with dumplings can include a mixture of soy sauce, Jiaozi vinegar, sesame oil, garlic and spice.

‘This is the benefit of making your own sauce,’ said Doherty. ‘You can adjust the levels of salt, sourness, and give it a little bit of roundness to achieve a nice balance.

‘It shouldn’t be too difficult for you to find a pairing wine if you prefer a more savoury sauce.

‘But if you prefer only vinegar as the sauce, finding a wine match will be more difficult, so try something with high acidity; Champagne could be a good option here.’

How are your dumplings cooked?

You may be asked whether you’d like your dumpling fried or boiled in a Chinese restaurant (although you are more likely to find fried dumplings in Japanese restaurants). You can also have your dumplings steamed in a dim-sum style.

If your dumplings are steamed or boiled, the skin turns soft while retaining the clean, doughy mouthfeel. Flavours of the filling tend to drop a little if dumplings are boiled in water, so good wines to choose could be a creamy aged Champagne, a ripe New World Chardonnay or a fruit-forward Grenache or Zinfandel-based rosé , especially when the dish is served warm.

Fiona Beckett also recommends Blanc de Blancs Champagne or a fino Sherry with dim sum, in her guide to wine and Chinese food pairing. 

Avoid big, heavy red wines as they would most certainly overpower the flavours, and tannins don’t tend to work well with the soft and sticky doughy skin.

A touch of residual sugar in the wine, however, can work well, especially with a meaty filling and seasoned with savoury, umami-rich soy sauce and Shaoxing wine.

Fried dumplings tend to pair better with wine, as the skin gets crisper; a bit of burn on the bottom adds even more to the texture. If done properly, the filling should remain soft inside.

As fried dumplings absorb some oil in the cooking, a chilled bottle of NV Champagne or dry English sparkling make a good match with fried dumplings, served cold or hot.

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Hong Kong-based Ponti Wine Cellars provides customers with a comprehensive range of top-quality wines from all over the world.

To celebrate the New Year of 2023, Ponti Wine Cellars has selected some of its favourite medal winners from Decanter World Wine Awards 2022 and is offering customers a 13% discount on single bottles and 18% off on purchases with more than three bottles in its premium wine stores located in Causeway Bay, Central, Happy Valley, Tai Hang, Kennedy Town and Tsim Sha Tsui.

Scroll down to see the award-winning wines on offer

Established in 1988, Ponti Wine Cellars now operates six premium wine stores in Hong Kong and one showroom in Singapore.

Each store offers an extensive range of wines with 800 to over 2,000 fine wine selections sourced directly from key wine-producing countries such as the USA, Italy, France, Spain, Argentina and Chile.

Ponti Wine Cellars’ online wine shop is equally vast with more than 800 top-quality wines to choose from, including these DWWA 2022 award-winning wines…

Click here to shop now

Ponti Wine Cellars x DWWA 2022

Save 13% when you buy one award-winning wine and 18% when you buy three or more, now until 31 January 2023 (no promo code needed)

Albert Bichot, Domaine Long-Depaquit Les Preuses, Chablis Grand Cru, Burgundy, France 2020

Silver, 91 points

Weighty and substantial, slightly ponderous, with ripe apple and apricot, some toast, and matchstick. Still very youthful, but will develop nicely.

Grgich Hills Estate, Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California, United States 2019

Silver, 91 points

Orange blossom nose, ripe peach, pear and apricot. Tropical fruit on a broad, expansive palate. Rich, layered and a long, toasty finish.

Gerardo Cesari, Il Bosco, Amarone della Valpolicella Classico, Veneto, Italy 2016

Silver, 90 points

Dark cocoa, preserved cherries, and jammy black fruits are supported by peppery and meaty notes on an intense and grippy palate.

Rocche Costamagna, Rocche Dell’annunziata, Barolo, Piedmont, Italy 2017

Silver, 90 points

Ample cherry fruits with a dash of balsamic, some blueberry freshness, and a deep, chewy palate.

Napa Cellars, Chardonnay, Napa Valley, California, United States 2019

Silver, 90 points

Fresh aromas of blossom, yellow apple, toast and honeysuckle. Refreshing acidity. Subtle oak with lovely almond finish. Rich but elegant.

Joel Gott, 815 Cabernet Sauvignon, Not Applicable, California, United States 2019

Bronze, 86 points

Appealing, complex nose of black cherry, wood shavings. Full, rich palate with cassis and a touch of camphor. Nice elegant tannins.

Shop now

See more DWWA award-winning wine offers

About Ponti Wine Cellars

Website: pontiwinecellars.com.hk

Promotion period: 1-31 January 2023

Promotion details: 13% off one bottle; 18% off three or more bottles

Follow Ponti Wine Cellars

Facebook @PontiWineCellars

Instagram @pontiwinecellars

Australian wine exports dropped by 19% to A$2.08bn in the year to 30 June, said trade body Wine Australia this week.

While exports to some countries rose, notably the US, the group’s report for the 2021-22 financial year offered fresh insight into a slide in shipments to China.

Mainland China imposed varying import tariffs ranging from 116% to more than 200% on Australian bottled wines from late 2020 onwards.

Exports to China, including Hong Kong and Macau, dropped by 74% in the 12 months to 30 June 2022, to A$206m, said Wine Australia, which recently announced plans to close its physical office in Shanghai.

Shipments to mainland China totalled just A$25m for the year, and the number of companies exporting to the mainland fell to 143, compared to 1,508 in the previous year.

‘The loss in value of exports to mainland China, from its peak in [the year ended] October 2020 to the latest 12-month period, has been A$1.23bn,’ said Wine Australia’s latest export report.

‘In comparison, over the same time period, exports to the rest of the world have increased by $247 million,’ it said.

China’s Ministry of Commerce confirmed the import tariffs on Australian wine last year, citing an anti-dumping investigation.

They could be in place for five years, but Australia and China are currently engaged in a dispute process at the World Trade Organisation.

Australia’s new government recently took office and some reports have noted warmer rhetoric between the two nations, yet it’s early days.

Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) has said it remains committed to China. In May, it announced plans to release Penfolds wine made in China onto the domestic Chinese market in the second half of calendar 2022.

‘China is an emerging fine winemaking region and we’re confident we can produce a premium Chinese Penfolds that maintains the distinctive Penfolds house style,’ said TWE’s CEO, Tim Ford.

Produced in the Ningxia region, it’s part of a wider ‘multi-country of origin’ strategy for Penfolds, but tariffs were understood to have accelerated the China project.

TWE has also signed a long-term ‘strategic co-operation agreement’ with the China Alcoholic Drinks Association (CADA).

Australian wine in the rest of the world

Some countries showed stronger demand for Australian wine in the year to 30 June.

‘When mainland China is excluded from the data, exports increased by 5 per cent in value to A$2.06 billion,’ said Peter Bailey, Wine Australia manager, market insights.

‘The key contributors to the value growth included Singapore, the United States (US), Malaysia, Thailand, India and New Zealand.’

Exports to the US rose by 9% to A$436m, making it Australia’s most valuable wine export market. Shipments to Singapore jumped by 49% to $169m.

Australian wineries have turned a corner in the US, said Aaron Ridgway, Wine Australia’s regional general manager for the Americas. ‘The number of active exporters has expanded to a 15-year high,’ he said.

Exports to the UK dropped by 10% to A$421m and by 15% in volume, to 227m litres. Yet the country was still the second biggest export market for Australian wine by value, and the largest by volume.

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China was previously Australia’s leading export market, with sales worth $1.2 billion in the year to September 2020.

However, Beijing then imposed a tariff of up to 218% on imported wine from Australia as a retaliatory measure after Canberra called for an international investigation into China’s handling of the Covid-19 outbreak in Wuhan.

Trade minister Simon Birmingham called it ‘a very distressing time for many hundreds of Australian wine producers, who have built in good faith a sound market in China’.

Beijing’s decision swiftly wiped out the market for Australian wine in mainland China. Exports had decreased 97% year-on-year by the end of 2021, according to Wine Australia.

The government-funded trade group has now seemingly abandoned hope of restoring a sizeable market in China. It has announced plans to close its Shanghai operation, which was its only office in the country.

‘This decision follows extensive consultation with the Australian grape and wine sector and is based on the current environment and market opportunity,’ a Wine Australia spokesperson said.

‘Wine Australia will continue to maintain our brand presence in China via our wine trade and consumer-facing social media channels, and will continue to work closely with in-market trade representatives on brand building and marketing campaigns.’

Australia has bolstered its presence in other markets, such as the UK and the US, but it has not been able to make up for the shortfall caused by Beijing’s punitive tariff.

The country’s total wine exports decreased by 30% in value to $2.03 billion in the year to December 31, 2021, according to Wine Australia.

‘The 2021 calendar year represents the first full 12-month period since very high deposit tariffs on Australian wine imported to China were imposed, and the global impact of the challenging operating environment can now be observed in full,’ said Rachel Triggs, general manager for corporate affairs and regulation at Wine Australia.

She warned that ‘we’ll keep seeing significant differences in the year-to-date export figures as a result of the deposit tariffs until the end of 2022’.

Hong Kong is not included in the tariffs, and exports to the city increased 45% last year. Exports are up by 108% to Singapore, 74% to South Korea, 65% to Taiwan and 31% to Thailand, so the Australian producers are likely to ramp up their focus on those markets.

Meanwhile, countries including Chile have enjoyed an export boost, replacing Australian wines on supermarket shelves across China.

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A rare bottle of Gordon & MacPhail’s Glen Grant 72-year-old whisky has broken its own previous auction world record in a sale at Bonham’s Hong Kong on 20 May.

The single bottle sold for HK$937,500 (US$120,000/£95,403) including buyer’s premium. This figure is more than double the price a bottle of the same whisky sold for at a Bonham’s Hong Kong sale in January 2021 (HK$421,600).

Distilled by Speyside producer Glen Grant in 1948, the rare single malt was ​​created by independent Scotch bottler Gordon & MacPhail and investment specialist Premier Whisky.

It is the oldest Glen Grant whisky ever released to the market. Just 290 bottles were produced, each presented in a crystal-cut decanter.

The bottle was sold alongside a unique NFT artwork by political cartoonist Harry Harrison (pictured above). Known for his work in the South China Morning Post, Harrison created a sketch called ‘Year of the Dram 1948’ commemorating the year the whisky put into cask. The sale marks the first time Harrison’s work has been minted as an NFT.

‘A bottle of this incredibly rare whisky reached a world record price for this category at one of our auctions just over a year ago. With the one-off NFT attached, making it even more unique and collectible, we weren’t surprised to set a new world record price for this exceptional whisky,’ said Daniel Lam, director of fine wines and spirits at Bonham’s Hong Kong.

Bob McNab, MD of Premier Whisky added: ‘We knew from day one that we had picked a great whisky. Leading the team of experts choosing the cask, Charles MacLean could not have been more fulsome in its praise, so we are especially grateful to our friends at Gordon & MacPhail, the expert creators and custodians of this special cask all these years.

‘It only remained for us to give it the Premier Whisky star treatment commensurate with its quality and prestige – and of course, its inherent value.’

The NFT minted alongside the Glen Grant 72-year-old is the first project of Meta Malts. This newly formed Hong Kong company has ambitions to take the premium whisky market into the metaverse. It aims to create a Hong Kong-based crypto exchange for trading in rare whisky tokens.

Related articles:

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A methuselah of Romanée-Conti 1976 from Burgundy’s vaunted Domaine de la Romanée-Conti was among the highlights in a two-day series of Sotheby’s wine and spirits auctions in Hong Kong last weekend.

The six-litre bottle sold for HK$1.25m (US$159,350), against a pre-sale estimate range of HK$1m to HK$1.4m.

In a separate spirits auction, a single bottle of Yamazaki 35 Year Old Japanese whisky fetched HK$1m (US$127,440).

Rare white Burgundy was also in-demand during the weekend event. Top lot in a further sale was a three-bottle collection of Domaine d’Auvenay, Chevalier-Montrachet 2011, which fetched HK$562,500 (US$71,700).

Total sales from the series of auctions reached HK$131m (US$16.7m). More than half of the lots sold achieved prices above their pre-sale high estimates, Sotheby’s said.

Its results follow a period of especially high demand for the world’s most prestigious wines. They also represent a signal that the market for blue-chip Burgundy and rare whiskies, in particular, has continued to be strong so far this year.

Sotheby’s highlighted ongoing interest among Asia-based collectors.

Jamie Ritchie, worldwide chairman of Sotheby’s wine and spirits, said, ‘Asian bidding dominated throughout this weekend’s sales, led by robust demand from collectors in Hong Kong, and with participation from mainland China, Taiwan and Singapore.’

Younger collectors have become a notable part of the market, according to Sotheby’s.

Ritchie said, ‘For some time now we have seen a burgeoning interest amongst a younger generation that is both casting the net wide in their tastes and willing to acquire the very best the market has to offer.’

Paul Wong, head of Sotheby’s wine and spirits auctions in Asia, added, ‘Intense bidding from collectors in Asia, who were also competing with collectors from across Europe and North America, bodes well for the exciting roster of sales lined up for the remainder of the year.’

Asia is already established as a major hub for fine wine sales.

Sotheby’s global wine and spirits auction sales hit a record US$132m in 2021. Asia-based buyers accounted for around 52% of the total, said the group in its 2021 review, published earlier this month.

Related articles

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Celebrating the start of Decanter World Wine Awards 2022 judging, Watson’s Wine – Hong Kong’s largest specialist and online wine retailer – is highlighting some of their favourite wines from the 2021 competition.

From 26 April to 30 May 2022, Watson’s Wine is offering online and in-store sales on DWWA 2021 winners with up to 30% discount.

The selection on offer includes 35 of the 90+ point wines including the RSRV Cuvée 4.5 Brut Grand Cru NV from Champagne house Maison Mumm, as well as the 2019 Marchesi Mazzei Fonterutoli from Chianti Classico which both received 96 points.

Featured wines allow customers the opportunity to explore different regions, wine styles and grape varieties with savings up to 30%.

To see all wines on offer throughout the month of May see below or view on Watson’s Wine’s website here.

About Watson’s Wine: Established in 1998, Watson’s Wine is the largest specialist wine retailer in Hong Kong with an online store and over 20 speciality stores in Hong Kong and Macau.

It offers Asia’s growing wine market a comprehensive selection of fine wine, sake, spirits, and accessories.

With vintages sourced directly from over 20 countries, Watson’s Wine lists over 4,000 different wines and great service from WSET trained staff.

Watson’s Wine: DWWA 2021 Promotion

Now until 30 May 2022, save up to 30% on selected DWWA 2021 award-winning wines. Visit Watson’s Wine’s website for more details →

Gold

• Maison Mumm, RSRV Cuvée 4.5 Brut Grand Cru, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Gold, 96 points
• Mazzei, Fonterutoli, Chianti Classico, Tuscany, Italy 2019
  Red Still Dry, Gold, 96 points
• Veuve Clicquot, Rosé Brut, Champagne, France 2012
  Rosé Sparkling, Gold, 96 points

Silver

• Beaumont des Crayères, Fleur de Meunier Brut Nature, Champagne, France 2014
  White Sparkling, Silver, 93 points
• Beaumont des Crayères, Grand Rosé Brut, Champagne, France NV
  Rosé Sparkling, Silver, 92 points
• Beaumont des Crayères, Grande Réserve Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 90 points
• Chapel Hill, The MV Cabernet Sauvignon, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia 2019
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 90 points
• Château La Coste, Grand Vin Rosé, Coteaux d’Aix-en-Provence, Provence, France 2020
  Rosé Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France 2017
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 90 points
• Concha y Toro, Marques de Casa Concha Etiqueta Negra, Puente Alto, Maipó Valley, Chile 2019
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 92 points
• Cono Sur, 20 Barrels Cabernet Sauvignon, Pirque, Maipó Valley, Chile 2017
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Craggy Range, Te Muna Road Vineyard Pinot Noir, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand 2018
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 93 points
• Craggy Range, Te Kahu, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2019
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 90 points
• Domaine Sigalas, Assyrtiko, Santorini, Aegean Islands, Greece 2020
  White Still Dry, Silver, 93 points
• Elderton, Command Shiraz, Barossa, South Australia, Australia 2017
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 92 points
• G. H. Mumm, Grand Cordon Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 90 points
• Gusbourne, Rosé Brut, Kent, United Kingdom 2016
  Rosé Sparkling, Silver, 93 points
• Henschke, Keyneton Euphonium, Barossa, South Australia, Australia 2016
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 94 points
• Jansz, Premium Cuveé Brut, Tasmania, Australia NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 92 points
• Kaiken, Ultra Malbec, Mendoza, Argentina 2019
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Kir Yianni, Ramnista Xinomavro, Naoussa, Macedonia, Greece 2017
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 92 points
• Maison Mumm, RSRV Blanc de Blancs Brut Grand Cru, Champagne, France 2014
  White Sparkling, Silver, 92 points
• Moët & Chandon, Rosé Impérial Brut, Champagne, France NV
  Rosé Sparkling, Silver, 91 points
• Moët & Chandon, Rosé Impérial Brut, Champagne, France NV
  Rosé Sparkling, Silver, 91 points
• Moët & Chandon, Impérial Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 91 points
• Moët & Chandon, Impérial Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 91 points
• Montes Alpha, M, Apalta, Colchagua, Chile 2018
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Palliser Estate, Pinot Noir 2019, Martinborough, Wairarapa, New Zealand 2019
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Palmer & Co, Blanc De Blancs Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 91 points
• Palmer & Co, Réserve Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Silver, 91 points
• Thelema, Cabernet Sauvignon, Stellenbosch, South Africa 2018
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Trefethen, Chardonnay, Oak Knoll District of Napa Valley, California, United States 2019
  White Still Dry, Silver, 90 points
• Vasse Felix, Tom Cullity Cabernet Sauvignon-Malbec, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2017
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 92 points
• Vasse Felix, Cabernet Sauvignon, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2018
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 91 points
• Yalumba, The Signature Cabernet Sauvignon-Shiraz, Barossa, South Australia, Australia 2016
  Red Still Dry, Silver, 90 points

Bronze

• Blind River, Sauvignon Blanc, Awatere Valley, Marlborough, New Zealand 2020
  White Still Dry, Bronze, 87 points
• Bodegas Palacio, Glorioso, Reserva, Rioja, Spain 2016
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Carmelo Rodero, Crianza, Ribera del Duero, Spain 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 87 points
• Ceretto, Moscato d’Asti, Piedmont, Italy 2020
  White Sweet, Bronze, 89 points
• Chapel Hill, The MV Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia 2019
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Chapel Hill, The Vicar Shiraz, McLaren Vale, South Australia, Australia 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Château Prieuré-Lichine, Confidences de Prieuré-Lichine, Margaux, Bordeaux, France 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Clairault, Chardonnay, Margaret River, Western Australia, Australia 2018
  White Still Dry, Bronze, 88 points
• Clinet, Pomerol, Bordeaux, France 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 88 points
• Elderton, Neil Ashmead Grand Tourer Shiraz, Barossa Valley, South Australia, Australia 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Fèlsina, Fontalloro, Toscana, Tuscany, Italy 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Fèlsina, Rancia, Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany, Italy 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 88 points
• G.H. Mumm, Grand Cordon Rosé Brut, Champagne, France NV
  Rosé Sparkling, Bronze, 88 points
• House of Arras, Blanc de Blancs Brut, Tasmania, Australia NV
  White Sparkling, Bronze, 89 points
• House of Arras, A by Arras Premium Cuvée Brut, Tasmania, Australia NV
  White Sparkling, Bronze, 88 points
• Mazzei, Ser Lapo, Chianti Classico Riserva, Tuscany, Italy 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Quinta Do Portal, Reserva, Douro, Portugal 2018
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 87 points
• Soutiran, Blanc De Blancs Brut Grand Cru, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Bronze, 89 points
• Tenuta Regaleali, Rosso del Conte, Contea di Sclafani, Sicily, Italy 2016
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 88 points
• Trinity Hill, Chardonnay, Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2019
  White Still Dry, Bronze, 89 points
• Trinity Hill, Syrah, Gimblett Gravels, Hawke’s Bay, New Zealand 2019
  Red Still Dry, Bronze, 88 points
• Veuve Clicquot, Yellow Label Brut, Champagne, France NV
  White Sparkling, Bronze, 88 points

Website: www.watsonswine.com

Phone: +852 2606 8828

Email: info@watsonswine.com

Promotion period: 26 April – 30 May 2022

Promotion details: Save up to 30% on selected wines

Follow Watson’s Wine

Facebook: @watsonswine

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It’s no easy task to establish a super-premium wine in an entirely new region, particularly when inviting potential retail partners or distributors to the vineyard involves journeying to a distant corner of the Himalayas in the outer reaches of the Yunnan province, southwestern China.

For my journey, after four flights from Bordeaux to Shanghai, Chengdu then Shangri-La, it was a four-hour drive up through stunning mountain passes to the foothills (here, that means 2,200m above sea level) of the Meili mountains.

Scroll down to read Jane’s Ao Yun profile and her verdict on its wines

It’s hard to imagine a vineyard as breathtaking as Ao Yun, the LVMH (Moët Hennessy) project set in this improbably remote region.

The name (which means ‘flying above the clouds’) takes on a whole new meaning when you realise that oxygen is packed into the back of the car just in case you start to feel dizzy from altitude sickness.

Perfect Location

We are high above the Mekong valley here in the Three Parallel Rivers national park, one of the most biologically diverse temperate regions on earth. Just finding this location took the late Australian viticulturist Dr Tony Jordan four years of travelling around China, looking for the perfect place in a country that throws up obstacles for viticulture – from harsh winters to high humidity – at nearly every location.

‘What we found here was a low latitude but high altitude,’ says Maxence Dulou, winemaker for the project since its early years. ‘About the same as mid-Morocco in latitude, but much higher in altitude to compensate.

‘This is a monsoon region, but we are in a rain shadow because of the Meili mountains, and have summers that are often warmer than in France,’ he explains. ‘The shadow of the mountains means short days, but these are balanced by stronger ultraviolet light because of the altitude. It means we have long, slow growing seasons, giving density and concentration to the fruit but keeping freshness and balance.’

The potential of this location has been clear in the glass ever since the first vintage of Ao Yun in 2013. But even so, one of the key challenges has been balancing the creation of a wine that feels sufficiently luxurious to support its premium price point (about £250/$350), while still transmitting the sense of place that is such an essential and unusual part of the Ao Yun story.

How do you explain that the complexity of Ao Yun comes from its 300 blocks of vines, set across four villages, tended to by 100 families who own and work the land, if you know that the vast majority of consumers will never have the opportunity to travel there?

Read Jane’s first-hand account of her trip to the vineyards in 2015

Celebrating difference

The new village wines, introduced from the 2018 vintage and released in 2022, should go some way to answering that question. The exact parts that go into Ao Yun are decided by blind tasting each year. So in 2018, only three village crus – Adong, Shuori and Xidang – have been produced, because the fourth, Sinong, has gone entirely into the main wine.

‘These are four villages with very different soils, climates, altitude and exposure, all of which make an impact on the flavour profile,’ says Dulou. ‘There is, for example, a two-month difference in ripening with the same grape variety between the east-facing, gravel and limestone soils of Xidang, at 2,200m, and the cooler, northwest-facing clay and granite soils of Adong, at 2,600m.’

Understanding how best to harness this has been a learning experience for LVMH. For the first six years, 2013-2019, teams were set up so that the villagers worked in groups across everybody’s land, but from 2019 the organisation was changed to allow each family to manage their own plots.

‘The villagers are excellent farmers, and we realised they were losing motivation by working across a large area. They love their freedom and want to set their own schedules,’ says Dulou.

‘Each village has a chief villager who helps us understand the culture and rules, from bullfights to rituals like mushroom-picking in certain seasons. We then have one Chinese winemaker per village, usually from outside the region, and working alongside them is French vineyard manager Rémi Vincent.’

Reaching the market

It’s easy to see why this makes sense for the wines, but given how young the market is for Chinese wines as a whole, they may now come up against a different barrier. So soon into the Ao Yun project, is it sensible to add a new level of complexity?

Julien Le Doaré at Hedonism Wines in Mayfair, London, isn’t sure. ‘Our customer base is always open to new discoveries,’ he says, ‘yet only a handful of customers have come to us asking specifically for Ao Yun. A second label could help to reach more clients.’

‘Ao Yun is a grand cru, using the best blend from the four villages,’ is how Dulou puts it, ‘whereas the other bottlings are the village crus. Tasting them is a way to understand the array of flavours that go into Ao Yun.’

See Jane’s tasting notes and scores for Ao Yun’s wines

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Police raids in Jiangsu province uncovered more than 8,000 bottles of counterfeit Penfolds wines as part of a larger anti-fraud investigation spanning several regions of China, reported the Vino-Joy publication, citing local media.

A workshop suspected of producing imitation Penfolds wines was also discovered, alongside and tens of thousands of other items, from packaging to trademark logos. Six people were arrested, the publication said.

Australia’s Penfolds has a long-standing and strong reputation in China, despite supplies being curtailed more recently due to government tariffs.

It’s one of several high-profile international wine brands that have been targeted by counterfeiters.

In the most recent case, Decanter understands that intellectual property experts at Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates (TWE) helped Chinese authorities to verify suspicious bottles as counterfeit.

TWE has stepped up its anti-counterfeiting operations since 2017, in an effort to protect its brands in all markets, not just China.

The firm’s global director of intellectual property, Anna Olsen, said this week, ‘Treasury Wine Estates treats the protection of its intellectual property rights as a top priority and takes a zero tolerance approach to infringement.

‘We continue to prioritise and make significant investments in our global brand protection and anti-counterfeiting programme across all markets, including China.’

TWE has developed relationships with government authorities, industry bodies and leading online marketplaces, including becoming a member of ecommerce platform Alibaba’s ‘Anti-Counterfeiting Alliance’.

Supplies of genuine Penfolds to China have fallen sharply in the past year after the country’s Ministry of Commerce imposed restrictive tariffs on Australian wine imports.

TWE has been hit with combined tariffs of 175.6% on the value of its wines, packaged in containers of two litres or less, entering Mainland China, the group said in its interim results announcement in February.

Shares in TWE recently rose, however, after the company managed to partially offset tariffs by selling more wine to other markets.

Paul Rayner, TWE chairman, said in October last year, ‘We remain committed to the China market for the long-term and continue to invest in our team, our brands and our relationships with customers and consumers.’

TWE confirmed to Decanter that it is planning to debut a Penfolds ‘French Collection’, to be released worldwide – including in China – as part of the company’s new Penfolds Global Collection launch later this year.

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Now a fixed part of the annual fine wine sales calendar, March sees the release of several high-profile international wines, as well as releases from Bordeaux estates.

The 26 wines being released, with the exception of three tasted in-situ and one in London, were presented to select members of the press at a tasting organised by Joanne Rare Wines in Bordeaux.

Scroll down to see tasting notes and scores for the new international releases on the Place de Bordeaux in March 2022

Notable new entries

China – Ao Yun

The release of Ao Yun, Yunnan 2018 marks the first time a Chinese wine will be sold through the Place de Bordeaux and the first of LVMH’s non-Bordeaux wines to use the system.

The passion project began more than 20 years ago, when LVMH set about finding the best place to cultivate vines in China.

It was a task that took almost four years, before the group settled on the remote corner of northern Yunnan in the villages of Adong, Xidang, Sinong and Shuori at the foot of the sacred Meili mountain, the highest peak of the Himalayas in the region.

The estate’s name means ‘flying above the clouds’, and vineyards are planted on 700 steep terraces at altitudes ranging from 2,200 – 2,600 metres.

‘The target of having the wine on the Place was to help put Ao Yun into the category of the finest wines of the world, not only in terms of satisfying a curiosity, but to go into the cellars of fine wine collectors,’ says Jean-Quentin Prats, director of Joanne Rare Wines and son of Jean-Guillaume Prats, who initiated the project during his time as president of LVMH Estates & Wines.

The total production is around 30,000 bottles, of which 9,000 will be offered for sale outside of China by three négociants at a retail cost of roughly €300 per bottle. The 2018 vintage will be released on the 30 March.

‘The story, the rarity, history and sense of place all contribute to what makes you buy a wine and you have all that here,’ said Prats.

A longer, more in-depth article by Jane Anson, covering Ao Yun’s history and a vertical tasting of all wines produced, will be published in Decanter’s May issue which goes on sale at the beginning of April.

Italy

Piedmont

For the first time, four wines from Piedmont join the growing cohort of Tuscan wines on the Place.

Three limited production Barolo cru bottlings from Parusso will be sold in six-bottle cases comprising two bottles of each wine. Michele Chiarlo’s Barolo DOCG will also be offered, showcasing the different expressions of Nebbiolo and varying terroir aspects within the region.

The two family-run estates are markedly different. Parusso, nicknamed locally as ‘the one who breaks the rules’, focuses on innovative viticulture and vinification techniques, including leaving the grapes to rest for three days after harvest with their stems so as not to stress the grapes.

Michele Chiarlo is known for a more traditional approach, with wines produced only in the best years and from the best grapes of the Cerequio Cru.

The producers feel that ‘Barolo is having success on the export market but perhaps not so much in terms of brand recognition’, said Prats.

‘Piedmont is in the top two Italian regions for prestige so it was important for us to represent some of its wineries.

‘The process isn’t about destroying existing distribution channels, it’s about improving visibility as a whole, putting the wines on par not only with other iconic bottles from Italy but other fine wines of the world.’

Speaking about Piedmont and the Place, Giovanni Mazzei, export director of Marchesi Mazzei (whose wines Siepi and Concerto are distributed through the system) said, ‘There’s a real opportunity for Piedmont with the introduction of a classic appellation like Barolo to the Place system.

‘Tuscany has a different history and different culture, it’s traditionally been more fitting for the Place but we are all very curious and excited to see Barolo being represented.

‘A brand like Parusso will surely benefit. It has always been there but finally it has the window to be seen. It is a Barolo that’s really sophisticated but at the same time approachable, so everyone can appreciate it.’

Mazzei added, ‘There are some other Barolo estates that I think would be interesting to see, two brands won’t be enough – there are so many different styles within the appellation so if they choose well and don’t overlap there could be a greater representation of the appellation in the future.’

Tuscany

The first release of Castellare di Castellina’s icon single-parcel bottling I Sodi di S Niccolo 2018 also joins the Place this year.

‘We were looking for a traditional Sangiovese wine with history and authenticity,’ said Prats. ‘We’re looking for a quality, a story to tell and wines that are recognised as key to a region with the will to get international renown.’

Speaking about the Place in general for the Mazzei Tuscan wines, Mazzei said. ‘It’s been one of the best things that could have happened for Siepi. It was always there, we were distributed in over 70 countries, working with over 150 distributors but we needed an extra voice.

‘We were so enthusiastic about the quality but needed that voice to show where Siepi should sit – the Place embraced it and spoke very loudly about it.’

USA

Acaibo

March 16th will see the first release of Acaibo, the Sonoma wine owned by Bordeaux husband and wife winemaker team Claire and Gonzague Lurton.

Despite both owning and running classified estates – Pauillac fifth growth Château Haut Bages Libéral, Margaux third growth Château Ferrière (owned by Claire), and Margaux second growth Château Durfort-Vivens (Gonzague) – the couple decided to add an international winery to their already impressive collection of estates.

Their search began more than 20 years ago, with South Africa the initial destination of choice. However, a planned purchase was scuppered at the last minute and ended up diverting the couple to Sonoma on the recommendation of Gonzague’s father, who had spent many years exploring the vineyards of north and south America and always had a dream to work a winery in California.

In the summer of 2011, the couple visited California with their children searching for a suitable location. A return visit by Gonzague in January 2012 led to the discovery of Acaibo, a 10-hectare estate located one mile from another notable Sonoma property, Vérité.

‘Chalk Hill AVA is very interesting (between Russian River and Alexander Valley), it has a great climate to get Bordeaux varieties at the right ripeness,’ said Gonzague, during a mini-vertical tasting at the beginning of March.

They custom crushed for the first two years and in 2014 decided to move the entire family there for three years before installing a permanent team and returning to Bordeaux in 2017.

‘Our project is really to produce a wine from our terroir,’ said Gonzague. ‘It’s from the climate and soil of Chalk Hill. We are not producing a wine which is typically an ‘American style’. It’s a wine which is very singular, like we’re trying to do in Bordeaux. Many might say it’s an old world style but in fact we think it’s a new kind of American-terroir wine.’

The first vintage was 2012, released onto the market in 2014. The 2014 was the first made in proprietary winemaking facilities. The 2016 vintage is the first to be released via the Place system this month.

A deep-dive article on all three Bordeaux estates plus a mini-vertical of Acaibo will be published on Decanter Premium later this month. 

Promontory

This month sees the Promontory 2016 vintage released internationally, following its US release last year.

The property, which is becoming one of Napa Valley’s most talked about stars, was purchased by Bill Harlan in 2008 and its first vintage – 2009 – was released in 2015.

The 2016 is the fourth vintage to be sold via the Place.

France – ex-châteaux

Bordeaux

Today, Tuesday 15 March, Château Latour released its 2014 vintage, alongside its second wine, Le Forts de Latour 2016 and Pauillac de Latour 2017.

The releases follow year-on-year since the 2012 was launched in 2020 and became the first ‘new’ grand vin to leave the estate’s cellars in eight years.

Speaking about the wines, Château Latour’s technical director, Hélène Génin, said ‘2017 and 2014 are classical vintages but where ’17 has more plumpness and is more gourmande, ’14 has more austerity. 2016 on the other hand was more expressive and riper.’

Champagne

The third Philipponnat, Clos de Goisses vintage – 1994 – will also be offered via the Place this month following the release of the 1996 and 2012 last September.

Only 3,000 bottles of the top Champagne were produced in 1994 – a stark contrast to the usual 15,000-30,000 bottles – of which 2,000 were kept on their lees for disgorgement on-demand over the years.

This March release is a special disgorgement, with only four négociants receiving fewer than 100 bottles each.

March 2022 releases via the Place de Bordeaux

Argentina

La Violeta, Valle de Uco, Mendoza, 2013 – not yet tasted – Release date 24th March

Chile

Seña, Aconcagua Valley, 2009 – 96 points Release date 14th March

China

Ao Yun, Yunnan, 2018 – 96 points Release date 30th March

France

Château d’Yquem, Sauternes, 1er Cru Classé Superieur, 2019 – 97 points

Château Latour, Pauillac de Latour, Bordeaux, 2017 – 92 points Release date 15th March

Château Latour, Les Forts de Latour, Pauillac, Bordeaux 2016 – 95 points Release date 15th March

Château Latour, Pauillac 1er Cru Classé, Bordeaux, 2014 – 96 points Release date 15th March

Philipponnat, Clos de Goisses, Champagne, 1994 – 97 points Release date 9th March

Italy

Piedmont

Parusso, Barolo (Mariondino), Piedmont 2018 – 92 points

Parusso, Barolo (Mosconi) Piedmont, 2018 – 94 points

Parusso, Barolo (Bussia), Piedmont, 2018 – 96 points

Michele Chiarlo Cerequio Barolo, Piedmont, 2018 – 96 points

Tuscany

Luce, Lucente, Toscana, 2019 – 92 points Release date 2nd March

Luce. Toscana, 2019 – 96 points Release date 2nd March

Luce, Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, 2017 – 93 points Release date 2nd March

I Sodi, Toscana, 2018 96 points

Poggio Antico Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, 2020 – 93 points Release date 8th March

Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino, Tuscany, 2017 – 95 points Release date 8th March

Poggio Antico Brunello di Montalcino Riserva, Tuscany, 2016 – 98 points Release date 8th March

Ornellaia Le Volte Dell’Ornellaia, Toscana, 2020 – 93 points Release date 1st April

Ornellaia Le Serre Nuove Dell’Ornellaia Bolgheri, Tuscan, 2019 – 94 points Release date 1st April

Ornellaia Bolgheri (Superiore) / Tuscany, 2019 – 98 points Release date 1st April

Ornellaia, Poggio Alle Gazze Dell’Ornellaia, Toscana, 2020 – 93 points Release date 1st April

Ornellaia, Bianco, Toscana, 2019 – 97 points Release date 1st April

USA

Acaibo, Sonoma County (Chalk Hill, California, 2016 – 95 points

Promontory, Napa Valley, California, 2016 – 98 points Release date 2nd March

See tasting notes and scores for 24 new international releases on the Place de Bordeaux

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According to China’s General Administration of Customs, the seized goods consisted of more than 1,000 bottles of Penfolds from Australia and over 100 bottles of top-end Bordeaux wine, including first growth labels such as Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Margaux.

The Chinese customs authorities discovered the cases of illegally imported bottles by checking the amount of wine declared on the offending company’s documents against the actual number of items being transported. The smuggled goods were being concealed amongst a larger amount of boxes of Chilean wine.

While Chinese authorities have not disclosed which cuvées of Penfolds were being illegally transported, media reports suggest that these could be Penfolds bin 389 and Penfolds bin 407.

The news follows a further smuggling attempt in July 2021, when Shenzhen Liantang Customs stopped a range of goods – including wine as well as seafood and hair products – from entering mainland China from Hong Kong. The attempt involved high-end Bordeaux labels such as Château Lafite Rothschild and Château Mouton Rothschild, Australian wine (Penfolds bin 707), Champagnes, and whisky, for a total of 4,174 bottles and a value of RMB 18m (£2.8m).

While Hong Kong enjoys tax free wine imports, exports to China are subject to a minimum of 43.2% duty, with Australian wines penalised by even higher taxes of up to 218% following an escalating trade war last year. As reported by Decanter last March, for instance, leading Australian exporter and Penfolds owner Treasury Wine Estates faces a duty rate of 175.6% on all its wines imported into China in containers of two litres or less.

Hong Kong’s tax free status might represent an incentive for wine smugglers. The imposition of high import duties caused shipments to mainland China to plummet, while exports of Australian wine to Hong Kong experienced remarkable growth over the past year, up by 45% according to the latest Wine Australia’s Wine Export Monitor.

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