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Lots of people have asked about Jia Bei Lan Cabernet Dry Red 2009 since it won a Decanter award a few weeks ago. As far as I know, there is no stock in Beijing, save a couple of bottles brought back last week after a trip I took to Helan Qing Xue, the producer of Jia Bei Lan, with Li Demei, the chief consultant there.
I gave one bottle to Modo for its enomatic machine (I’ll provide an update when it actually goes in). I opened the other and took it on a tour of Beijing that saw 22 people get samples. That included chefs, bartenders and/or managers at Aperitivo, Union, Let’s Burger, Flamme, Agua, Naojo and Migas, and consumers, including two guys from CCTV, a major whiskey fan, and Mr Hao and Ms Hao.
In general, the wine received a good reception, with some being surprised it hailed from China. Most found it smooth, with plenty of fruit, though a few thought it had too much “red pepper” or “green pepper” smell (the latter is common in many of the Ningxia wines I have tried). And one person found the finish too acidic. Overall, though, a good response.
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we may have a few bottles in Pudao next week along with 20 or so other trophy, gold and silver winning wines from DWWA