Chateau Yuanshi, Soul of Mountain Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China, 2016

‘Soul of Mountain’ is the top wine of this producer. It is a more restrained and concentrated expression than the second label ‘Son of Mountain’, which has a small percentage of Merlot in the blend. To reduce the impact of oak flavours, the 2016 vintage is aged in new but lightly toasted oak barrels for 14 months. Black pepper and tobacco leaf notes are backed by smoked blackcurrant, coffee beans and minerals. Coffee bitterness and spiced liquorice notes provide elegance on top of the ripe, juicy black cherry and plum flavours. This is a structured and concentrated Cabernet with good level of acidity to refresh, elegant and long. Retail price in China is 980 CNY.