CLUB OENOLOGIQUE | 90/100 for Purple Air Comes from the East
Lenz Moser has more than 15 years’ experience of winemaking in China, and his 5-year collaboration with the Changyu wine company has produced a range of accomplished Cabernets, including two zesty white Cabernets. This, from Ningxia’s renowned Helan Mountain region, with a price tag of over £200, is his first venture into “icon” wine territory. Aged in new French oak barriques for 24 months, it looks as opulent as its embossed purple label, a fine ruby red in the glass, with a light rim. Very agreeable smoky, savoury nose with hints of menthol, then soft blueberry palate with very delicate tannins, some black pepper adding a bit of interest. To begin with there’s a lack of grip, a kind of old-fashioned sponginess and lightness, but the tannins firm up as the wine moves across the palate, and there’s fine, juicy acidity too. Pleasurable, charming, the sort of wine you can take anywhere. It’s drinking beautifully now but I wonder if it has quite enough backbone for really long ageing? For the price, I’d expect a drinking window of more than a decade
Score
90
100
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Wine Details
Colour
red
Wine Style
Still
Grape Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon
Alcohol
14.3%
Bottle size
75cl
Drink dates
2020 - 2026
Origin
Country
China
Tasting Information
Blind
No
Tasted by
Adam Lechmere
UK Stockist
Hedonism
https://hedonism.co.uk/product/chateau-changyu-moser-xv-purple-air-comes-east-2016
