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We asked the judges in this week’s Ningxia vs Bordeaux Challenge to rank ten wines from first to last in terms of quality (see results here). But as in the Grape Wall Challenge, we also asked them how much they liked or disliked each wine.

The judges had four options: “love it”, “like it”, “don’t like it” or “hate it”. This methodology seems to bother some wine industry people but I don’t care. As a consumer, I wanted to know the wines judges think are best made and the wines judges most enjoy.

More than half of the judges “liked” or “loved” the following wines (out of nine votes as one judge did not fill in this part):

8 votes: Silver Heights The Summit 2009 / 3 loves, 5 likes
8 votes: Helan Qing Xue Jia Bei Lan 2009 / 2 loves, 6 likes
7 votes: Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2009 / 3 loves, 4 likes
7 votes: Silver Heights Family Reserve 2009 / 7 likes
6 votes: Grace Vineyard Deep Blue 2009 / 3 loves, 3 likes
5 votes: Barons de Rothschild Saga Medoc 2009  / 1 love, 4 likes
5 votes: Cordier Prestige Rouge 2008 / 5 likes

Kressmann Grande Réserve St-Émilion AOC 2008 and Mouton Cadet Reserve Medoc 2009 each received one “love”.

For even more love, here are some of the more positive comments on each wine. I have put the wines in order of pouring.

Kressmann Grande Réserve St-Émilion AOC 2008

“A classic Cab. Fruity”, “Simple Bordeaux style with touch of oak”, “Fruit, fresh acidity, medium body, long finish”

Helan Qing Xue Jia Bei Lan Cabernet Dry Red 2009

“Nice nose, nice tannins, good ‘woody’ taste”, “Rich fruits on the nose. Elegant. Licorice”, “Spicy, full-bodied, finish is long and intensive”, “Mushroom. Chocolate”

Silver Heights Family Reserve 2009

“Nice structure but high acidity”, “Deep ruby, full-bodied and powerful, medium length”, “Truffle. Violet. Strawberry cake. Plum”, “Cooked vegetable. Nice acidity. A little smoky”

Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2009

“Nice ‘wood’, good balance, fresh taste”, “Spicy, full-bodied and balanced”, “Delicate, classic. Gooseberry aroma. Smooth with long length”, “Nice noise, ripe fruit, with vegetal [character]. Very supple”

Calvet Reserve De L’Estey Medoc 2009

“Well-done, balanced, with potential. Not too expressive at present”, “Not big or complicated but balanced”, “Sweeter tannin. Good fruit, long aftertaste.”

Mouton Cadet Reserve Medoc 2009

“Fruit, very well-balanced, nice finish”, “Incense and lavender. Nose is better than palate”, “Delicate smooth tannins”

Cordier Prestige Rouge 2008

“Some expression of character”, “The best aroma. Weak in the middle but good skill behind the wine”, “Tobacco, forest. A bit thinner and less structured”

Silver Heights The Summit 2009

“Nice fruit, good tannins”, “Beautiful mouth feel”, “Quite oaky, with vanilla, spice, chocolate. Could stay longer in the barrel”, “Cedar, smoky intense balsamic. Structured with a good finish”

Barons de Rothschild Saga Medoc 2009 (rmb350)

“The most classic: fruity and balanced”, “Elegant and fresh; long and balanced”, “Round fruit, high alcohol, oaky finish”

Grace Vineyard Deep Blue 2008

“Fruity and lovely to drink now with meat”, “Spicy with fresh acidity”, “Very aromatic. Cherry and flowers with a hint of oak”, “Complex and old-fashioned”

See also:

• Grace under pressure: Ningxia tops Bordeaux in Beijing wine challenge
• Was the Ningxia-Bordeaux Challenge unfair to French wines? Non
• Tóu to tête: Bordeaux-Ningxia Wine Challenge set for Wednesday in Beijing

(Follow me on Weibo and Twitter)

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It depends on your perspective. Different wine contests are designed to discover different things.

Our Grape Wall Challenge at Modo asked Chinese consumers to judge wines that retail for under rmb100 and to tell us what they liked.

The more recent North by Northwest Challenge at Hilton Beijing asked three groups — wine experts, reporters, and chefs and bartenders — what they thought of 24 wines from wineries in regions such as Shanxi, Gansu and Xinjiang.

Yesterday’s Ningxia vs Bordeaux Challenge, organized with TasteV at Zun Cellar, also had a purpose. It asked five Chinese and five French judges to blind taste five Ningxia and five Bordeaux wines. Ningxia took the top four spots in the challenge and there has since been criticism of the Bordeaux wines we used.

We never claimed this was the Beijing version of The Judgment of Paris. Or that we were pairing Ningxia wines with the best of Bordeaux. We used a price range to compare top Ningxia wines with bigger and better-known Bordeaux brands sold here by major distributors — brands consumers are more likely to know and have access to. That is the basis I used when working with Tony Wang of TasteV and sommelier Nicolas Carre to create the lineup of wines.

In China, a bottle of Grace Vineyard Deep Blue is rmb298, a bottle of Barons de Rothschild Collection Saga Medoc is rmb350 and a bottle of Silver Heights The Summit is rmb416. That is a price reality consumers face in China. To have the opinion of ten judges on these wines — to see whether they chose Deep Blue, Saga or Summit — is of interest.

Let me address two specific criticisms of the contest.

The first is that Bordeaux wines face 48% in taxes and this makes it unfair to compare them with Chinese wines of the same price.

Today I called Alberto Fernandez at Torres China re the ~50% in taxes on imported wines. Torres distributes three of the wines in the contest — one French (Mouton Cadet) and two Chinese (Grace, Silver Heights). Fernandez told me French wines face ~48% in taxes. But he said Chinese wines also face a consumption tax and a value-added tax. These reduce the gap from ~48% to just under 20%. This would significantly diminish the claim about pricing unfairness.

The second is that Bordeaux would have done better if we used estate wines.

Maybe. Yesterday’s tasting suggested Ningxia wines can hold their own against bigger Bordeaux brands, which are not only enjoyed the world over but also, in the case of our contest, retail for up to rmb350. I think that is of interest to consumers at large and hope it gets people opening some bottles. A nice follow up would be to compare those Ningxia wines against smaller hand-picked Bordeaux estates. I think that would be of more interest to those knowledgeable about wine. Someone should organize such an event and I would be willing to help out if needed. I can be reached by email at beijingboyce (at) yahoo.com or via my Weibo or Twitter accounts.

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By Jim Boyce

Chinese wines took the top four spots in the Ningxia vs Bordeaux Challenge held this afternoon in Beijing. The event featured ten wines — five from Ningxia and five from Bordeaux. They were blind-tasted by ten judges — five from China and five from France. I helped organize the event with website TasteV, wine club Zun, and fellow Grape Wall contributors.

The judges were asked to rank the wines from first to tenth based on quality. First place was worth one point, second place worth two points, and so on. The wines with the lowest total scores were the winners. The top five:

1. Grace Vineyard Chairman’s Reserve 2009, 34 points (rmb488)

2. Silver Heights The Summit 2009, 42 points (rmb416)

3. Helan Qing Xue Jia Bei Lan Cabernet Dry Red 2009, 44 points (was rmb220, now pending)

4. Grace Vineyard Deep Blue 2009, 46 points (rmb288)

5. Barons de Rothschild Collection Saga Medoc 2009, 54 points (rmb350)

Top pick of the five French judges: Chairman’s Reserve. Top pick of the five Chinese judges: The Summit.

Other wines tasted (alphabetical order): Calvet Reserve De L’Estey Medoc 2009, Cordier Prestige Rouge 2008, Kressmann Grande Réserve St-Émilion AOC 2008, Mouton Cadet Reserve Medoc 2009 and Silver Heights Family Reserve 2009.

The judges were also asked to indicate whether they liked or disliked each wine. I will have those results soon.

The wines were opened, tested for quality, bagged and tagged, in the presence of several reporters, under the supervision of Philip Osenton, who works with distributor Globus and is former head sommelier at Ritz London and restaurant manager for the Savoy. He and others, including the media, witnessed computation of the scores.

The judges had 40 minutes to rank the ten wines, which were poured before they sat. They then had a 30-minute discussion about the wines, led by professor Ma Huiqin, after which the winners were announced.

The Chinese judges:

• Ma Huiqin, professor at China University of Agriculture and wine marketing expert (head judge)
• Frankie Zhao, owner of Pro-Wine Consultancy
• Fiona Sun, senior editor at China edition of Revue du Vin
• Jin Yang, wine teacher who spent five years studying in Bordeaux wine programs
• John Gai, of wine distributor and bar operation Palatte

The French judges:

• Nicolas Carre, sommelier and wine consultant (head judge)
• Jerome Sabate, long involved as wine maker with Dragon Seal in Beijing
• Nathalie Sibillet, oenologist, journalist and teacher
• Thomas Briollet, seven years experience in China wine distribution
• Edouard Kressman, wine maker with experience in Bordeaux, California and Argentina

I know there will be many questions about this tasting. For example, French wines face ~48% in tariffs which means they have a price disadvantage versus Chinese wines. That is true. On the other hand, the prices listed above are what Chinese consumers face. [Also, two distributors told me that when taxes in Chinese wine are taken into account, it is closer to a 20% difference. I’ll get more on this tomorrow.] I can provide other examples but will save that for later.

For now, the big “takeaway” for me is that Chinese wines have again — not for the first time, not for second time, but again — shown they can compete on a global level. The reality check: these wines represent a sliver of the China market and the industry as a whole has a long way to go. Still, for those who ask, “Can China make good wine?”, the answer is yes.

I’ll have more — and correct typos, etc — tomorrow…

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The Ningxia-Bordeaux Wine Challenge will be held on Wednesday, December 14, in Beijing. Bordeaux wines have long held the highest status in China. Ningxia wines are getting increasing praise at home and in international competitions and publications. And the Ningxia wines in the challenge tend to involve wine makers trained in Bordeaux and/or the styles common there. These factors should make for an interesting event.

The challenge will have ten judges: five from China, headed by professor Ma Huiqin*, and five from abroad, headed by wine consultant Nicolas Carre.*

They will blind-taste ten wines: five from Ningxia and five from Bordeaux. The wines will come from recent vintages and the same price range.

The judges will be asked to arrange the wines in terms of quality: from first place to tenth place. They will also be asked to indicate whether they like or dislike each wine. The goal is to find out which wines the judges think are made best and which wines they enjoyed most.

After the judges finish, we will immediately compile the scores and aim to release the results within one hour.

The Ningxia vs Bordeaux Challenge is organized in cooperation with TasteV, a soon-to-launch wine retail and info site, which is involved in logistics, media outreach, Bordeaux selection, and more for this event. It is not meant to be a Beijing version of the “Judgment of Paris” per se but a fun way to compare and contrast wines from two regions and to promote the wine scene in China.

It follows the Grape Wall Challenge with Modo restaurant on November 8, where Chinese consumers judged wines that retail for less than rmb100, and the North by Northwest Challenge with Hilton Beijing on November 12, where wine experts, journalists, and chefs and bartenders judged 24 Chinese wines from nine wineries.

Tomorrow, I will provide details about the judges and wines in the challenge. And during the challenge, I will do my best to post updates on Weibo and Twitter, with TasteV posting here, and to blog the full results within 24 hours.

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