Leading Ningxia winery Château Changyu-Moser XV has just released the world’s first and only Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noir aged in French barriques. Made at the estate in North West China, from the free-run juice of small thick-skinned Ningxia Cabernet Sauvignon berries, and refined in French oak for twelve months, this new wine is a natural progression from the estate’s hugely successful unoaked white Cabernet Sauvignon (which Moser launched in 2017, as an innovative solution to the lack of suitable white varieties in the region).
‘White Cabernet is something which we did out of necessity,’ he said. ‘At the Chateau I had 250 hectares of Cabernet Sauvignon, only red grapes, but I had to have a white wine, so I got creative.’
Explaining how the Moser Family Blanc de Noir 2017 came about, Moser comments ‘We loved the unoaked, stainless steel version of our Blanc de Noir Cabernet Sauvignon so much, that we started experimenting by ageing the wine in barriques. After repeatedly tasting the barrels in the cellar we grew more and more confident this will be something spectacular – and indeed it is! All the credentials of our other, unoaked, White Cabernet have been refined with subtle wood treatment for 12 months. This gives it the harmony and complexity expected of a world-class white wine.’
The wine, aimed at independent specialists and high end on-trade, has an off-trade retail of around RRP £35. The 2017 maiden vintage has a limited production of 1,000 bottles, with a further 18,000 bottles’ worth of 2018 vintage in new French barrique - so, stay tuned for the second vintage release in Summer 2020.
PRODUCTION NOTES
• 2017 was a great year in Ningxia – elegance, finesse and full flavour at the same time
• Vines around 12 years old
• 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (harvest of healthy berries with 23 brix immediate bleeding of the destemmed grapes for the white in the Cabernet Sauvignon)
• Ageing in new French barrique (Nadalie and Vicard) for 12 months and a small proportion blended back with stainless steel
• Growing and blending under close supervision of Lenz M. Moser (Chief Winemaker Chateau Changyu Moser XV) who spent the entire harvest period in Ningxia
• “Mise en bouteille au château’ / Estate bottled for the very first time at the Château in May 2019 by Mr. Fan Xi (Head Winemaker, Changyu Ningxia), Emma (Assistant Winemaker) and Lenz M. Moser (Chief Winemaker Chateau Changyu Moser XV, Ningxia)
For further info: nicky@nickysmithpr.co.uk m: 07884 381615