2015 Ao Yun
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Tasting notes
79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc. Emerging mossiness on the nose, but the black-cherry fruit keeps it youthful. On the palate, it's much more full throttle: powerful, inky fruit with a strong umami undercurrent that seems to be from bottle age – yet this is still in its first flush, with the intensity and structure to last much longer. (RH)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Sleek and rich, exceptionally good quality, touches of mint leaf and green pepper as it opens, giving a savoury Cabernet character along with sandalwood, aniseed and fennel spices. There is plenty of grilled oak smoke but it is well balanced by raspberry and black cherry fruits that become clearer with 24 hours opening as the tannins soften. At this point winemaker Maxence Dulou and the team at Ao Yun were getting to better understand the terroir (helped by an extensive soil study programme, furher subdividing the plots into 314 blocks, and measuring the water retaining capacity of each plot). Harvest September 17 (Xidang Village) to October 19 (Adong Village). 31hl/h yield, 60% new oak.
The 2015 Ao Yun is a blend of 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Cabernet Franc. It has a deep ruby appearance—even deeper than the 2016—and reveals an immediately complex, perfumed nose of lifted cassis, bramble and black plum fruit with subtle pyrazine notes (green bell pepper, touch of blackcurrant leaf) combining with well-integrated new oak notes of clove, smoke and toast. The 2015 Ao Yun shows even greater concentration than the impressive 2016 vintage, with ripe, fine-grained tannins, harmonious alcohol and some buoyant acidity. This has marked length with a stylish, polished finish. It will be fascinating to see how the 2015 and 2016 vintages evolve alongside each other in the years to come. The 2015 currently looks as though it might have the edge on the 2016, but there is much to appreciate in both wines. The 2015 is certainly more in line stylistically with the 2017 vintage, which has similarly glossy and robust fruit and will be similarly age-worthy.
79% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Cabernet Franc (like 2013 and 2014). This was the driest and warmest year since the 2010 establishment of a weather station. The vintage ended at the end October, about three weeks ahead of normal. Yield higher than average. 50% new oak, 20% one-year-old oak and 30% malo in baiju jars before going into cask. Dark, blackish crimson. Paler rim. Warm and ripe on the nose. Light bodied and fresh. Lots of freshness (there is usually more acid here than in Bordeaux apparently). You’d never guess this was 15.5% alcohol. A little bit shorter and simpler than the 2016 but much readier. (JR)
About the producer
Ao Yun – translating literally as “flying above the clouds” – is China’s most famous wine estate. Owned by Moët Hennessy, the aim was to produce a world-class fine wine that was the first Himalayan “grand cru”. The first vintage was 2013, released in 2016.