The best Bordeaux doesn’t hail from France anymore — a winery from China shocked the wine world after taking the top prize in London Wednesday night, beating out reds from the US, Australia and France and cementing its place as a formidable player in the industry.
The win marked a first for the Decanter World Wine Awards, where Chinese winery He Lan Qing Xue took home the International Trophy for the best Red Bordeaux Varietal over £10 — the most coveted award of the night — beating blends from around the world, including the Bordeaux region itself.
Judges described their 2009 Jia Bei Lan Cabernet blend as “supple, graceful and ripe but not flashy” and praised the “excellent length” of its tannins. The wine was chosen from among 12,000 entries.
The wine — only available in China and produced in quantities of about 20,000 bottles — is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Cabernet Gernicht and retails for about £13 (€15).
The Chinese Bordeaux is produced in the winemaking region of Ningxia in northwest China which experiences extreme climatic conditions: hot dry summers, and cold winters. Temperatures can fall to -25C, requiring winegrowers to bury the vines to keep them alive.
The winery is led by Li Demei, who trained in Bordeaux and completed an internship at Chateau Palmer.
