might not be the first cab off the rank when global wine chatter kicks off, but quietly, steadily, and now confidently, it’s becoming one of the most intriguing new frontiers of the wine world. Yes, there’s a lineage stretching back thousands of years, but it’s only in recent years that the avant garde scene has really kicked off — not just in volume, but in verve, with an upswell of winemakers shrugging off preconceptions and shifting into new, dynamic territory.
The cliched idea of China-as-bold-red-wine-only is getting left in the dirt. A cohort of next-gen producers, boutique, restless, curious, are turning out vibrant, lighter weight reds, intriguing textural whites, edgy amber wines, joyous pet nats and all manner of misfit blends. They're less about aping Bordeaux and more about rewriting the playbook altogether. While noble varieties see a reinvention, there’s a groundswell of producers using hybrid varieties alongside. Smaller, organic vineyards are their quarry, and sustainability is a touchstone. Minimal intervention and gentle winemaking approaches slot in. A revolution at hand.
In the thick of it is Ian Dai, sommelier-turned-winemaker, educator, global wanderer and the brains and brawn behind the cult-like Xiao Pu wines. His fingerprints are all over a range of expressive, creative, distinct and intriguing wines. The wines speak authentically of their varied regions, unique plots, varieties and blends and are inspiring a small but swelling rank of younger gen, progressive producers are joining in. The China wine scene is worthy of investigation and is exciting to explore, particularly as new wines enter the Australian market.
We’ve a neat supply of the last of a small and rare allocation of Xiao Pu wines. The wine named ‘Naked’ comes, well, naked, no label, but the contents are definitely syrah blended with the hybrid variety marselan. It’s an out of the box red, rich and warm, plenty of salted plum, mocha, choc-mint with highlight of rose petal, turned earth and pot pourri. A brand new experience.
Equally compelling is the wine that launched it all – Gathering MV.6 – winemaker Ian Dai’s multi-vintage, cabernet dominant field blend that offers soft texture, cassis and mocha-like characters and dashes of soy sauce, smoked duck sausage and bergamot tea. We don’t do favourites often, but the one our beloved crew have been getting stuck into is Tangerine, a supple-textured orange wine produced from four white varieties. While fleshy textured, and layered with hyper floral frangipani and jasmine notes, the core of plump cumquat and ginger-lemon feels refreshing as it is intriguing. As should be expected, these are all very, very limited, and true cult wines. Dig in!