Hejinzun Winery, Helan Horg Classic 20, China
Chinese wine is general quite good, well, drinkable. This red from the Hejinzun Winery is a dry red wine that is fruity and soft. Its not memorable but its OK. Thats the best I can say. Red and fruity.
Wine from China is getting better, although this Moon Valley, Chardonnay, while drinkable is rather lacklustre. It’s white wine but doesn’t seem to give any reference to this noble grape, it could be from any grape. Acid, dry and non descript is the best I can put it. There are better chinese wines out there.
Tiansai, Skyline of Gobi, Cabernet Sauvignon/Merlot, 2014, China
China can make some really good wines and this is a example of a really good drinking red wine. It’s stood the test of time quite well at 7 years it’s very drinkable, still it’s not particularly powerful but you do get lots of fruity notes with a little chocolate and leather. It’s a sort of wine you would open it a dinner party, partly for the novelty value, that it’s from China but because it’s so drinkable. Give it another 10 years and I reckon China’s going to be producing some world-class wines for the everyday drinking.
Minghu, monluxe II, 2014, China
Chinese wine is not rubbish. Said it, drunk it and really liked it.
Ribena is what you smell, concentrated and with sweet tannins. Flavour is much less than the aroma, you get a little blackcurrant, but lots of dryness. Normally I would say this was simple and one dimensional. A cheap wine that’s best as the last bottle of a party BUT the length is reasonable and the smell is great and given that its 7 years old its OK.
This would have best at 4 years ago when it would have been vibrant in colour and just fruity. If the chinese can do this in the few years they have been producing then in 10 years time the french had better watch out.
Chateau Ningxia Saint Louis Ding, Farsight, Merlot 2013, China
Chinese wine can be very good, I tried the Cab Sav 2015 version of this wine earlier in the year. It’s good, medal winning quality. This is even better. This is from the north west part of China, south of the Gobi desert. They reckon Marselan is the Chinese grape, like Bacchus is for the UK.
There are aromas and flavours of red fruit, black fruits. Soft tannins and mellow tasting make this a great bottle
Ho Lan Soul, 2015 Marselan, China