Could Chinese wine be sold at USD 300? It must not be a question asked by the reporter only. Recently, the reporter found such a wine at the French Embassy.

It is understood that this wine, named “Aoyun”, is the first ultra-premium wine in China. It is jointly produced by French Moet Hennessy and Shangri-La Liquor Co., Ltd. in China and is currently priced USD 300. It has been introduced in France, the United States and Hong Kong, and has become sought-after in these markets. Jancis Robinson, a British wine master, once said, “Many wines claim to be unique, but the uniqueness of Aoyun is undeniable.”

Elin Mccoy, a reporter from Bloomberg in the US, described that “With its thick color and beautiful taste, the 2013 ‘Aoyun’ is surely the best Chinese red wine I have ever tried. 90% Cabernet Sauvignon and 10% Cabernet Franc brew this mellow and strong wine that exudes a hint of licorice flavor and boasts of smooth taste. Containing nearly 15% alcohol content, it has a unique taste and is somewhat like the Cabernet Sauvignon mixture of Ribera Douro in Spain and Napa cultwine.

Shu Shiping, general manager of Shangri-La Liquor Co., Ltd., told the reporter that the winery jointly run by Moet Hennessy and Shangri-La covers a vineyard of nearly 420 mu, but its current production capacity is only 24,000 bottles, about 2,000 cases. A bottle of Aoyun wine is sold about $ 300 in the international market and is expensive for good reason, given the area of the vineyard and the production. The average yield per mu should be 300 to 360 bottles, which is the production of high-quality Bordeaux wines. Based on this estimate, the production of Aoyu should have been 5 to 6 times of its current production, or more than 100,000 bottles. However, the reporter learned that the winery chooses only the wines brewed with the best quality grapes and, as a result, introduces merely 24,000 bottles to the market. USD  300 seems to be a high price, but is equivalent to less than RMB 2000.

It is understood that the producing area in Shangri-La is very likely to be the highest in China. The vineyards are located in the mountains and all cover a small area, with varying altitudes. All the grapes are hand planted, and logistics and transport are difficult. However, it has the potential to be the Shangri-La in the wine world.

Shangri-La Liquor Co., Ltd. has started to explore the planting of grapes for brewing purposes on this land since 2000. In 2008, Shangri-La Liquor Co., Ltd. began to apply for organic wine grape and wine certification and passed it in 2011. Another work to be done is the protection of the whole Shangri-La plateau as production of origin, or the Chinese Version AOC. In fact, Shangri-La Liquor Co., Ltd. has summarized the characteristics of different local villages, has taken different planting and harvesting strategies for different varieties in villages such as Adong, Xidang, Sinong and Shuori, and has finally obtained the first protected designation of origin certificate in the wine industry issued by the General Administration of Quality Supervision, Inspection and Quarantine of the PRC.