Vinaria | Laurenz Moser V. brings China's Ultra Cabernet

The Austrian (Kremstal) Laurenz Maria Moser, better known as Lenz Moser V., who has been working as a winemaker in China for years, is in the starting blocks: his ultra-premium Cabernet Sauvignon from China will be launched on the market in March. There, Moser runs the Château Changyu–Moser XV together with the Chinese wine giant Changyu. The wine with the distinctive Chinese label and English subtitle is called “Purple Air Comes From The East”, is vintage 2016 and is a pure Cabernet Sauvignon. The grapes come from Château's own vineyards in the Chinese province of Ningxa, the wine-growing center of China. Only 6,300 bottles of the premiere wine were filled. The price has not yet been determined.

The global presentation of the premium label starts in March, and there was already a foretaste in London. Moser sees his new wine on an equal footing with the flagships of Chinese winemaking art, such as Lafite's “Long Dai” or the “Ao Yun” from the wine division of the luxury goods group LVMH (Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy), both from France and with their own wineries in China.

Moser has been working with and for Changyu Winery, the largest of its kind in China, since 2005. He is a consultant and “winemaking advisor” there. Château Changyu–Moser His grandfather developed high culture in the vineyards, which is still considered the standard in viticulture worldwide.

After working as managing director of the Lenz Moser winery, which was sold to a group of investors in 1986, Laurenz V. set up a branch in Europe for the American winemaking pioneer Robert Mondavi from 1997 onwards. After the sale of Robert Mondavi Europe to the Constellation Group, Lenz Moser turned back to viticulture in Austria and established the “Laurenz V” project in 2005. Under this brand, wines are produced according to his ideas by bottlers, especially in the USA and Asia distributed.

In the cooperation with Changyu, Moser finds everything he wants. State-of-the-art facilities, extensive cultivation areas, suitable teams – and lots of capital. This encourages innovation. For example, the world's first white-pressed Cabernet, which Changyu-Moser brought onto the market in 2017. Or for the Grüner Veltliner, his family's original variety, with which he is currently planning big things again. The Austrian sees enormous potential in China, especially in the still poorly developed domestic market.