Red wine

Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Purple Air Comes From the East 2016

RRP £202 per bottle
UK Stockist
90
Tasted on
10/09/2020
Tasted by
Adam Lechmere

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

Drinking Window
2020 - 2026
Colour
Red
Wine Style
Still
Alcohol
14.3%
Country
China
Bottle size
75cl
Grape Varieties
Cabernet Sauvignon (100%)