Domaine de Longdai
Price: RMB 2388 (USD 370)
Region: Shandong
After enjoying vast success in China by exporting its grand vin Château Lafite Rothschild to more accessible Légende and Saga, the Bordeaux first growth Lafite finally launched its first Chinese wine Long Dai in Shandong Penglai in 2019, marking its leading position in the China premium wine market.
To pander to Chinese customers’ hearts, Lafite formed a mostly Chinese team and added Chinese favourite grape – Marselan – into the inaugural vintage 2017. The 2017 vintage is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan and Cabernet Franc. Marselan is a cross between Cabernet Sauvignon and Grenache and is considered as the signature grape of China in the future.
After 11 years of preparation and testing over 400 soil pits from 2009 to 2011, the vines were eventually planted on 30 hectares of terraces with granite soils in the foothills of the Qiu Shan Valley.
After reaching full maturity, the grapes are harvested by hand. The wine then spent 18 months in oak barrels before bottling.
With the relatively modest size of the vineyard, only around 2,500 cases are produced annually. Compared with 2017 Chateau Lafite Rothschild averagely priced at HKD 6,423 (USD 825), the Long Dai 2017 is priced at RMB 2,388 (USD 370) for its debut.
Scroll through the pages to find out which wine has set a record for most expensive Chinese wine.
