2019 | Ao Yun | Shangri-la

Very scented, complex and layered with a classy nose full of ripe currants, smoke and sweet tobacco leaves. Graphite, charcoal, exotic herbs and cigar box. A hint of black truffle and tapenade, too. Full body with fine, silky tannins that highlight the juicy aspect of this wine. Dusty tannins gradually build up on the palate in a crescendo, following through to a juicy, precise and lengthy finish. Super-polished and refined. There is still cabernet verticality on the palate.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: This is the best vintage of Ao Yun to date and also the highest-scoring Chinese wine I have ever reviewed. It, therefore, requires a more detailed account to understand why. The 2019 Ao Yun is a blend of 67% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 10% Syrah and 6% Petit Verdot (this latter emanating from the village of Sinong). Notably, Merlot did not make the grade in 2019, which was less to do with vintage but, according to winemaker Maxence Dulou, more a function of Merlot vines at an adolescent stage of development (at five to six years of age, Dulou feels Merlot doesn’t produce the most interesting fruit compared with younger or older vines). The relatively cooler and wetter winter prior to 2019 gave the vines decent reserves, but the drier and warmer than expected spring meant some irrigation was required around budburst and flowering. Overall, across Ao Yun’s different villages sites—Xidang, Sinong, Shuori and Adong—2019 witnessed a warm, healthy growing season and not too warm autumn with yields at their lowest to date (around 16 hectoliters per hectare rather than the average of 20-22 hectoliters per hectare). The long harvest commenced in Xidang on September 9th and finished in Adong on November 21st. Of the varieties above, the proportion of fruit was drawn from the villages in order of elevation as follows: 23% from Xidang, 21% from Sinong, 32% from Shuori and 24% from Adong. In the harvest as a whole, only 53% went into Ao Yun’s top wine, with tiny percentages being used for the Villlage Cru reds (6% each) and 2% for the 2019 Chardonnay. Thus 33% of the harvest was not used for Ao Yun at all.

Producer Information

Ao Yun is a Chinese wine estate founded by luxury goods group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moët Hennessy), which produced its first vintage in 2013. It produces a single red wine based on the Cabernet Sauvignon grape variety. The estate is located on the banks of the Mekong River in the Himalayan foothills in Yunnan province. Vineyards are spread across several villages at the foot of the sacred Meili Snow Mountain, near Shangri-La City and the borders with India and Myanmar. The Ao Yun name translates as "flying above the clouds". Vineyards are sited from 2200 to 2600 meters above sea level, There are over 300 vineyard plots, totalling 28 hectares (75 acres). The Cabernet Sauvignon is supported by Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Petit Verdot and (since the 2017 edition) Merlot.

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