Wine in China June 2010

I was recently in Shenzhen in China for 10 days. Whilst there I checked out the wine scene from a foreigners point of view. I stayed in the Nanshan district (the tourist part).

In the hotel, Seaview O'City Hotel, they served Concha Y Toro Frontera Cabernet Sauvignon and Sauvignon Blanc which were gluggable but nothing special but the price was ok.

There is such a thing as "Chinese Wine" but it is just licqour. I tried to locate the local Grace Vineyards store but even with the address the taxi driver could not find it. There was a local licqour store next to the hotel which sold a few Chinese wines and a few French wines.

There was a wine store in the nearby shopping mall, Holiday Plaza, called Ole which had a good selection of wines including a back catalogue of first growths but the prices were double what they would be in Europe.

Shenzhen is in mainland China but next to Hong Kong. Hong Kong duty free shop on the border had a selection of Bordeaux wines which were slightly more expensive than in Sweden but they had wines which were unobtainable in Sweden (but that is difficult since Sweden is a closed monopolist wine market dictated by the government).

I bought three bottles of Chinese wine, one of which was quite good. I will report on these later but I didn't find an undrinkable bottle.

TN : Clarendelle Rose 2009, Clarence Dillon Wines, Bordeaux, France

This wine is blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon and 40% Merlot.



Colour : Bright redcurrant

Aroma : Raspberry, strawberry, vanilla, herbs

Taste : Red fruits, vanilla, herbs, redcurrant, dry

Alcohol : 13%

Mark : B

Website : Clarendelle

TN : Bramare Cabernet Sauvignon 2005, Vina Cobos, Lujan de Cuyo, Mendoza, Argentina

Bramare (Brah-MAH-reh) is the Italian word meaning "to yearn for".



Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Milk chocolate, blackcurrant, pepper, savoury, cherry

Taste : Blackcurrant, cherry, toast, vanilla, pepper, liqourice

Alcohol : 16.5%

Price : 249 SEK

Mark : B+

Website : Vina Cobos
Website : Paul Hobbs Imports

TN : Canoe Ridge Estate Chardonnay 2007, Horse Heaven Hills, Chateau Ste Michelle, USA

The vineyard is planted on a steep south-facing slope above the Columbia river.



This wine is imported by VinUnic.

Colour : Yellow, green hues

Aroma : Nuts, apples, oranges, butter

Taste : Nuts, buttered toast, oranges, citrus, green apple

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 209 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Chateau Ste Michelle
Website : VinUnic

TN : Tavel Rose 2009, Louis Bernard, Tavel, Rhone, France

This wine is a blend of 60% Grenache, 10% Syrah, 10% Cinsault, 10% Mourvedre, and 10% Clairette.



Colour : Bright red

Aroma : Cherry, raspberry, herbs

Taste : Cherries, raspberries, herbs, liqourice on finish

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 118 SEK

Mark : B

TN : Reserve de Bonnet 2009, Andre Lurton, Bordeaux, France

This wine is a blend of 40% Merlot, 40% Cabernet Sauvignon, and 20% Cabernet Franc.



This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Bright pink

Aroma : Herbs, raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant

Taste : Herbs, raspberry, redcurrant, vanilla

Alcohol : 12.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Andre Lurton

TN : Tokara Red 2005, Stellenbosch, South Africa

This wine is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot, and 10% Petit Verdot. The wine spent 20 months in 225 litre French oak barrels of which 79% was new. All the grapes were hand-harvested between March 2nd and March 23rd 2005.



This wine won a a gold medal at the International Wine Challenge in 2009.

This wine was imported by AB Nigab.

Colour : Dark red, blue hues

Aroma : Blackcurrants, plums, herbs

Taste : Minty, blackcurrant, plums, herbs, nuts

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 169 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Tokara
Website : AB Nigab

TN : Morgenhof Estate Wine 2004, Simonsberg, Stellenbosch, South Africa

This wine is a blend of 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 25% Merlot, 6% Malbec, and 4% Cabernet Franc. The residual sugar was 2.5 grammes per litre, the pH was 2.5, and the TA was 5.4 grammes per litre.



Morgenhof Wine Estate is owned by Mrs Cointreau and dates back to 1692. The estate consists of 212 hectares of which 74 hectares are under vines and it produces approximately 35,000 cases a year.



This wine was imported by JPC Wines AB.

Colour : Dark red/black

Aroma : Green pepper, herbs, blackcurrant, toast, milk chocolate

Taste : Green pepper, blackcurrant, mint, toast, tobacco, cherries

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 189 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Morgenhof Wine Estate
Website : JPC Wines AB

TN : Thelema Cabernet Sauvignon 2006, Thelema Mountain Vineyards, Helshoote, Stellenbosch, South Africa

This wine is 100% clone 46 Cabernet Sauvignon. The root stocks used are 101-14, R110, and R99. The soil type was Hutton, decomposed granite. The vines were planted in 1988 and 1989 at a density of 3200 vines per hectare. The trellising is vertical hedge. The pruning strategy was 2-bud spurs every 15 centimetres. The average yield was six tonnes per hectare. Supplementary drip irrigation was used. The grapes were picked between the 28th and 31st March. The grape sugar was 24 balling, acidity was 5.2 grammes per litre, and the pH was 3.4.



Natural occurring wild yeasts were used for fermentation. Alcohol fermentation was at a temperature at 27 degrees. The grapes were de-stalked, followed by hand sorting of berries which were crushed and then pumped into stainless steel tanks. The cap was pumped over for six days and then the wine was left for five days before pressing, and then racked to barrel
for malolactic fermentation. The wine was matured for twenty months in barrel; 45% new French oak and the balance in older barrels.

This wine was imported by Nigab AB.

Colour : Dark blackcurrant

Aroma : Herbs, blackcurrant, mint, cedar

Taste : Toasty oak, bright blackcurrant fruit, mint, green pepper

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Thelema Mountain Vineyards
Website : Nigab AB

TN : Zevenwacht Chenin Blanc 2009, Berrel Fermented, Stellenbosch, South Africa

A combination of old vines, in excess of 25 years and newly planted vines in the Banhoek valley, was used to produce this wine.

50% of this wine was tank fermented at a cool fermentation temperature, hovering around 13 degrees. The other 50% was barrel fermented and aged for six months on the lees to add to the complexity and rich mouth feel of the wine. After six months, the wine was blended together and did a further extended lees contact on the fine lees. The residual sugar was 3.2 grammes per litre, the TA was 6.6 grammes per litre, and the pH was 3.2. The finishes wine was bottled under screwcap.



This wine was imported by Sharabu AB.

Colour : Pale yellow

Aroma : Pineapple, orange, vanilla, honey

Taste : Honey, pineapple, vanilla, nuts

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 121 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Zevenwacht
Website : Sharabu AB

TN : Grand Classique 2006, Glen Carlou, Wine of Origin Paarl, South Africa

This wine is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 14% Petit Verdot, 3% Malbec, and 3% Cabernet Franc. The grapes were harvested between February and March 2006. Alcoholic fermentation took 3 to 4 weeks in stainless steel vats. The wine was matured for two years in 40% new and 60% second-fill French oak barriques followed by minimal fining and bottling in July 2008. The total acidity was 6.1 grammes per litre, the pH was 3.47, and the residual sugar was 3.6 grammes per litre.



Colour : Dark blackberry

Aroma : Smoke, tobacco, blackberry, blackcurrant, plums, mint, milk chocolate

Taste : Blackcurrant, milk chocolate, tobacco, mint

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 149 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Glen Carlou Vineyards

TN : Stift Klosterneuburg Sparkling Rose , Austrian Sparkling Wine Brut, Austria

This wine is 100% Zweigelt. The residual sugar is 11 grammes per litre.



Colour : Bright pink, strawberry, small bubbles

Aroma : Strawberry, raspberry, melon

Taste : Dry, red berries, lemon on finish

Alcohol : 11.5%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : C

Website : Stift Klosterneuburg

TN : Leths Have Pink 2009, Rose, Leth, Niederoesterreich, Austria

This wine is 100% Blauer Zweigelt. This wine was sealed with a screwcap.

Colour : Bright pink

Aroma : Strawberries, herbs, redcurrants, vanilla

Taste : Strawberry, redcurrant, dry, slight spritz, vanilla

Alcohol : 12%

Price : 85 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Weingut Leth

TN : Bolgarello 2009, IGT, Poggio Al Tesoro, Bolgheri, Tuscany, Italy

This wine is a blend of Sangiovese and Shiraz. It contains 12 grammes of residual sugar per litre.

Poggio Al Tesoro is a cooperation between Allegrini and Leonardo LoCascio.

This wine was sealed with a screwcap.



Colour : Bright strawberry pink

Aroma : Strawberry, raspberry, herbs, oranges, jellied red fruits

Taste : Herbs, cherries, strawberries, grapefruit

Alcohol : 13%

Price : 89 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Poggio Al Tesoro

TN : Mendel Malbec 2006, Mendoza, Argentina

The vineyard location was Lujan de Cuyo at an elevation of 1000 metres. The vineyar was planted in 1928. 3500 cases were produced and the wine spent 12 months in French barriques.



This wine was imported by Primewine Sweden.

Colour : Blackberry/raspberry

Aroma : Raspberry, blueberry, blackberry, vanilla, toast

Taste : Toasty oak, blueberry, blackberry, raspberry, tobacco

Alcohol : 13.9%

Price : 149 SEK (Purchased on 21st November 2008)

Mark : B

Website : Mendel Wines
Website : Primewine Sweden

TN : Bramare Chardonnay 2008, Marchiori Vineyard, Vina Cobos, Argentina

The Marchiori vineyard is situated at 980 metres elevation in Perdriel, Lujan de Cuyo at the foot of the Andes. The vineyard has been farmed by Nico Marchiori for more than fifty years.



Bramare is an Italian word meaning "to yearn for".

This wine was imported by Prime Wine Sweden AB.

Colour : Yellow

Aroma : Nuts, buttered toast, sweetcorn, apple

Taste : Chardonnay on steroids, rich, creamy, nuts, pineapple, lemon, vanilla, buttered toast, oranges

Alcohol : 14.5%

Price : 200 SEK

Mark : B

Website : Vina Cobos
Website : Prime Wine Sweden AB

TN : Seigneurs D'Aiguilhe 2006, Comtes von Neipperg, Cotes De Castillon, Bordeaux, France

Colour : Dark red/blue

Aroma : Blackberry, plums, herbs

Taste : Fruity, blackberry, plums, cedar, drying tannins, cherries

Alcohol : 13.5%

Price : 139 SEK

Mark : C+

Website : Vignobles Comtes von Neipperg

TN : Heru Pinot Noir 2007, Vina Ventisquero, Casablanca Valley, Chile

On the back label is states "A legend tells the story of an elf named Heru who secretly lived among the vines of Casablanca while keeping watch ovet the harvest, his most precious treasure".



The grapes were grown on gentle slopes of granitic red clay. Below a depth of 1 metre, subsoils of fractured granite promote the development of deep root systems, allowing the vines to take up mineral complexity. The vineyard is oriented in a North-South exposure. The yield was 4 to 5 tons per hectare or 1.6 to 2 tons per acre. The grapes were harvested between March 25th and March 30th.

Colour : Bright red

Aroma : Red fruits, spice, vanilla, woody

Taste : Stewed sweet red fruits, strawberry, very spicy, raspberry, oak

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 229 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Vina Ventisquero

TN : Hawk Hill Pinot Noir 2007, Auntsfield Estate, Marlborough, New Zealand

Hawk Hill is named after the Harrier Hawks which glide over Auntsfield's North-facing slopes where the Pinot Noir grapes were grown. Luc Cowley was the winemaker and Ben Cowley was the viticulturist.



Colour : Red

Aroma : Stewed red fruits, spice

Taste : Red fruits, spice, cherries, ginger

Alcohol : 14%

Price : 199 SEK

Mark : B-

Website : Auntsfield Estate

TN : Chateau Haut Mayne 2008, Graves, Bordeaux, France

This wine is blend of 77% Semillon, 19% Sauvignon Blanc, and 4% Muscadelle.

The grapes were machine harvested between the 25th September and the 1st October. The wine spent four months in Americanm oak: one third of which was new, one third was one year old, and the other third was two years old. The winemaker was Yorick Lavaud.



Colour : Yellow

Aroma : Oak, lemon, nuts, buttered toast

Taste : Lemon, oak, nuts, minerals

Alcohol : 12%

Price : 120 SEK

Mark : C+