Hu Yue 2021 琥岳

TASTING NOTE BY MSQ

【中國拉菲酒莊——致力打造中國風土的世界級佳釀】

瓏岱酒莊（Long Dai）位于山東蓬萊的丘山山谷，由鼎鼎大名的拉菲酒莊所在的Domaines Barons de Rothschild（DBR Lafite）​傾力打造。

琥岳是酒莊的第二款力作，「琥岳」之名體現了中國文化、天地元素和大自然輪迴三者之間的神秘聯繫。「琥」意指古代農民用於祈禱豐收的玉石，也讓人聯想到中國文化的「第二大神獸」老虎，「琥珀」在中國也有著重要的文化意義；而「岳」字則代表中國的五大名山，並引申回酒莊名稱中所引用的岱宗。

這款酒主要採用Cabernet Sauvignon、Cabernet Franc和Merlot釀造而成，部分年份會加入Syrah及Marselan。入口純淨多汁，果味馥郁，酒體飽滿，單寧細膩，口感清新，尾韻悠長。

TASTING NOTE BY WINE CRITICS

2021 Long Dai has a deep purple appearance and sports an immediately appealing and approachable nose of vibrant, perfumed, black cherry, bramble, cassis, mulberry, blueberry and damson (this assemblage of fruit notes is derived from the combinations of Cabernets and Marselan) with some leafy herbaceousness and complemented by oak-influenced vanilla, clove, toast and smoke (the 2021 vintage saw around 18 months maturation in French barriques, percentage of new undisclosed, all issuing from DBR Lafite’s coopers). On the palate, it is full-bodied with impressively ripe and polished, fine-grained tannins; there’s been a real effort here, as in the 2020 vintage, to shape Marselan’s sometimes austere tannin profile with vibrant acidity and very well-integrated 13.5% alcohol. There’s an impressive core of ripe, vinous and vivacious dark fruit with integrated oak and well-managed pyrazine. With its long length and layered finish, this strikes me as on par with the 2020. That said, I would need to taste both Hu Yue and Long Dai vertically to reappraise the wines. Already approachable, 2021 Long Dai has a significant life ahead of it and will develop well in bottle over, at least, the next 8-10 years.

RATING BY WINE CRITICS

RP92