Helan Qingxue, Jiabeilan Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Helan Mountain East, Ningxia, China, 2011

The Jiabeilan Reserve is the producer’s flagship wine, showing consistent quality since the groundbreaking 2009 vintage. The 2011 vintage is a blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 15% Merlot and 5% Cabernet Gernischt (Carmenere). Game, dark cherries and smoke appear on the nose. It has been aged for 12 months in oak, and eight years down the line it is still showing great concentration on the palate, with refreshing acidity and plenty of black cherry fruits, decorated by restrained tobacco leaf and oak spices. The tannins are now supple and mellow, dusted with coffee and dark chocolate powder, which linger to the long finish. The older vintages of this wine are already very rare in the market but the 2015 vintage (which received a gold medal in the 2019 Decanter World Wine Awards) is currently available in the UK via importer Panda Fine Wine.