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Ao Yun 2018 75cl

Yunnan | Chine
CHF 291.85
Évaluations et Scores
95 Robert Parker
Note: In what follows, I offer two tasting notes for the 2018 Ao Yun, the first from tasting the latest vintage release in bottle at the winery in May 2021—before it was released—and the second tasted much closer to sea level in Beijing in December 2021. The consistency in quality across bottles tasted at very different altitudes speaks well for the 2018 Ao Yun's overall quality and future development. The 2018 Ao Yun is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 19% Cabernet Franc, 10% Merlot, 7% Syrah and 4% Petit Verdot. 2017 was the first vintage where Merlot was included in the blend, and the higher proportion in the 2018 vintage is partly a reflection of vintage conditions but also a sign of Ao Yun’s increased interest in the variety (I saw new Merlot vines being established in an amphitheater-like vineyard in the village of Sinong in May 2021). The 2018 Ao Yun is very deep purple and very much in the emergent "Ao Yun style" showing lifted, perfumed Cabernet-dominated fruit, here with plenty of crushed blackberry, cassis and black cherry with ripe green bell pepper and other pyrazine notes and some toasted new oak with hints of smoke and clove. Full-bodied with that Ao Yun puissance of coating, fine-grained and chewy tannins, robust but well-integrated 14.5% alcohol and some lively acidity, especially in this cooler vintage (note also that, at this altitude, Ao Yun naturally comes in around pH 3.35-3.45). As such, the wine has an affinity with Mendoza Cabernet, at least structurally speaking. This is indeed much more of a "cooler vintage" expression rather than the more "solar" 2015, but do not think this equates to something like a cooler vintage in Bordeaux. There is abundant fruit achieved through rigorous selection and also picking at optimal ripeness aided by plenty of UV light (intense sunshine here). So, the 2018 has some similarity with the 2017 in terms of weather and fruit expression, and on this first tasting, albeit at high altitude at Ao Yun itself, quality is similar to the 2017 and 2015, but actually even better than those two vintages on this first showing. Note also that this is a baby of a wine that will need tasting again in the future. Supremely youthful, it would be worth waiting a year or so before broaching this. The 2018 will undoubtedly repay long-term cellaring. <br/><br/>
Producteur
Ao Yun

Premier véritable vin de luxe chinois, Ao Yun voit le jour au nord-ouest de la région méridionale du Yunnan. Son nom, qui signifie « errant au-dessus des nuages », fait allusion à sa situation, perchée le long des contreforts de l'Himalaya. L’aventure a débuté en 2009 lorsque Christophe Navarre, directeur général de Moët Hennessy, a fait renaître un rêve de longue date, celui de trouver un lieu de prédilection pour élaborer des vins rouges en Chine. Après des années de recherches approfondies, avec le soutien de l'œnologue australien Tony Jordan, cette région isolée a été choisie non seulement pour son terroir, mais aussi pour ses caractéristiques géographiques. L'altitude, de 2000 - 2600 mètres, crée un climat plutôt sec et frais, alors que les pentes offrent une belle exposition au soleil. La longue période de maturation, associée à un ensoleillement prolongé, donnent naissance à une intensité aromatique et à des tanins très soyeux. Ao Yun a dévoilé son premier millésime, le 2013, en 2016 et est aujourd'hui considéré comme l'un des meilleurs vins rouges jamais produits en Chine. Ao Yun est un vin fruité mûr, sombre et puissant avec une touche épicée et un soupçon de réglisse. Les tanins présents laissent augurer une belle aptitude à la garde. Sans nul doute l'un des meilleurs vins rouges de Chine, Ao Yun avec ses saveurs uniques, rappelant une Ribera del Duero espagnole, mais aussi un cabernet culte de la Napa, mérite vraiment le détour.