“For our new store, our wine list only sells Chinese labels.
I didn’t expect that after only three days of business,
the most expensive wines on the list are almost sold out.”
~
Wine consumption in China rose hand-in-hand with the popularity of well-known red wine regions and brands, notably Bordeaux and Lafite.
China became the largest importer of Bordeaux reds. Lafite became a household word and got used for everything from bank ads to barbecue joints to housing estates. And a good life was symbolized by bottles that often cost a thousand US dollars or more, whether anyone actually enjoyed the wine inside or not.
The spending spree was on and spread to wines from other countries and regions, notably Australia and Penfolds.
As we know, those days are gone, with consumption only about one-third of a dozen years ago, and with status-based buying of famous expensive wines for gifting / entertaining following suit.
But a smaller market still offers opportunity and quality local wineries are introducing higher-priced options.
What provides hope?
The remaining status-based wine buyers out there and the potential newcomers with the wealth to afford such bottles–China had six million millionaires in 2023, per a UBS report.
Plus, the growing number of consumers taking pride in quality local products, including wine, with these new pricy options often highly ranked based on international standards.
Thus, I read with interest a recent WeChat message by a restauranteur in Shenzhen:
“For our new store, our wine list only sells Chinese labels. I didn’t expect that after only three days of business, the most expensive wines on the list are almost sold out.”
The thing is, there have long been super-expensive wines sold by local operations. For example, I visited Chateau Junding in Shandong province in 2011 and found bottles priced at RMB27998 / USD3875 (see above).
When I asked what justified such a price, I was told it was due to only 5000 bottles being made.
(The price of one bottle could then fund two round-trip tickets from Beijing to Paris, with more than USD1500 in spending money.)
The difference now is many super-expensive local wines come with high-level approval, namely, medals from global contests and high scores / kudos from critics with respected international credentials.
Consider the restaurant owner I cited. She posted a photo of a flight of bottles, all of them from Yunnan province, and none of them coming cheap.
There was Ao Yun, with the prestige of LVMH behind it as well as high scores from day one, with retail prices from more than RMB3000 / USD415 and, of course, restaurant ones higher.
There were labels from Baozhuang winery, which gained much attention in recent years, including from Julien Boulard, one of the half dozen or so MW’s living in China.
In May of 2023, Boulard wrote of trying 3000-plus Chinese wines over the years: “I had never tasted a Chinese wine that could rival the quality of the best Western wines.”
Until Baozhuang.
“I tasted the wine and immediately knew I was witnessing history,” he wrote, while heaping praise on a pair of wines.
How much does history cost? A search shows Baozhuang wines priced from ~USD230 to ~USD2600, which sounds outrageous but is still less than that Junding from 2011!
Yet another is Xiaoling Estate — see my Q&8 with owner Bertrand Cristau — which makes not only delectable reds but also a Chardonnay ranked number one last year in the China Top 100 by jamesuckling.com reviewer Shuai Zekun. (Ao Yun was second.)
This one is a relative bargain at about RMB1000 / USD150.
And expensive Chinese wines can be found from producers far beyond Yunnan.
Domaine Franco Chinois just outside Beijing lists two “Grand Reserve” wines, at RMB9800 / USD1360 and RMB12,800 / USD1770, with the Marselan for which it is so famous priced as high as RMB3168 / USD440.
Xige Estate in Ningxia launched a Pinot Noir at RMB3000 / USD415 per bottle. (More than ten times higher than what Pernod Ricard charged when it made wine with grapes from the same vineyards years ago!)
And Grace Vineyard in Shanxi / Ningxia finally took the step of adding a new premium wine with its Chairman’s Reserve “11”, listed at RMB2888 / USD400, four times more than its regular Chairman’s Reserve.
There are others, such as the critically acclaimed wines of DBR Lafite’s Longdai winery in Shandong, with the top ones costing USD400 and more, plus Hedong, Changyu-Moser XV, and more.
Again, this might all seem strange given wine sales have been collapsing. But as noted, the wine-as-status holdovers, the wealthy potential converts and the wave of consumer pride for local products all inspire hope these pricy bottles will sell, especially give their quality.
And for those consumers not millionaires? No worries, as the market is awash with good imported and local wines to enjoy.
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