Might win most obscure wine tasting location (hotel room) and country of origin award for the night 
In China for work, so I thought I’d give a few of the local wines a fair go and do some quick reviews on them. The glass I am using is from the store I got the wine from washed out with bottled water, best I could find in the circumstances. Am procuring some Grace Vineyard and Silver Heights wines to take back home for a further tasting based on notes on the forums and web.
Changyu Dry Red Wine
The Changyu winery is around 120years old. (I kid you not) and the wine is the Changyu Dry Red Wine which is a blend of Cabernet and Gernischt there doesn’t seem to be a vintage on the bottle that I can see. This is under cork, which seemed to be in good condition.
Nice clear garnet colour and blackberry and dark fruits immediately coming out on pouring, upon nosing the glass there is a real white pepper coming off the wine that tingles the nose a bit. I’m really trying to avoid cliched Chinese descriptors here, so I’m not going to say there is a hint of soy and Chinese Five Spice . On the palate it is quite sour and acidic yet soft in the mouth on entry, the tannins are quite abrasive at first softening on the back palate to a nice fuzziness. It sort of kind of puts me in the mind of a young Rioja Alta with the lightness and spiciness with nice dark cherry coming through. The depth of fruit is a bit lacking, as it tends to fall off fairly quickly and reveals a bit of heat and not much else on the back palate. At 12% alc it would make a good casual mid-week pizza night wine as it has the acid and structure to cut through all the heaviness of a pan size pizza without the headache in the morning, ultimately I don’t think they are trying to make a wine that should be taken too seriously and at 86RMB on special or around $13AUD they are not priced to be either. I am finding as it sits the glass a bit longer the wine is opening up a bit more. I’ll let this sit and Audouze for a bit.
1994 Dynasty Dry Red Wine CabSav
Second bottle on the Renaissance Hotel Suzhou Tasting Desk is the 1994 Dynasty Dry Red Wine, Cabernet Sauvignon. The cork is reminiscent of a diam so I’m not sure how they have made it with only 5mm of seepage up the cork. The container had rust around the lid, so I dare say it’s been sitting in the shop for a while (a large supermarket (Rainbow) so I’m hoping it’s not fake as a result). There is that white pepper aroma again although it seems a bit dustier now (it is not the glass as I have rinsed it again and smelt prior). The colour is quite good so am starting to wonder if 1994 is the vintage or relating to something else. The nose has leather characteristics under the pepper so maybe some hope yet with some blackcurrant fighting its way through and it actually has some good depth to it. On the palate I can get older characteristics with a really strange structure and almost powdery graininess, similar to when you get to the bottom of an unfiltered wine and the sediment becomes more prevalent. There is almost, and this may sound weird, an element of popped popcorn about it (that smell you get just after you pop them). The length and structure is actually not too bad, it leaves a nice aftertaste of raspberry and redcurrant. Definitely getting more secondary characteristics coming through with a bit of air, it’s putting me in the mind of an aged Aussie Shiraz. Get rid of the white pepper on the nose and it’s actually very drinkable, the tannins are starting to provide a nice bit of chewiness to the finish. I paid 148RMB for this which is about $25AUD it is 13% alc and 100% Cab Sav.
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