£11.99 on offer, Ocado
This is an obvious choice if you're celebrating Chinese New Year next week, but it's so much more than that: a true original, a Cabernet Sauvignon rosé of real concentration and character, initiated and produced under the close supervision of well-known Austrian winemaker Lenz Moser in the Ningxia region, 1300km to the west of Beijing on the fringes of the Gobi desert.
It's bone dry, yet opulent in texture with succulent fruit (suggestions of strawberry and apricot) piqued by spicy white pepper and refreshing, salty grapefruit bite. It works as an aperitif but deserves food too. Standing up to both both spice and sweetness in savoury dishes, it could take you all the way through a Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, from spring rolls, dumplings and noodles to steamed fish and chicken to rice cake and hotpot. 14%
Lenz Moser partnered with Chateau Changyu, China's biggest wine producer, in 2013 and spends about three months a year in situ, including the entire harvest period. The focus is on Cabernet Sauvignon and the Helan Mountain Range includes a deep-fruited, supple, unoaked red Cabernet Sauvignon, which is also on offer at £11.99 at Ocado.
Chateau Changyu Moser XV Cabernet Sauvignon Blanc de Noirs Helan Mountain Range 2018, Ningxia, China
£11.99 (down from £17.99 until 18 February), Ocado.
Slurp and some other retailers are still on the 2017, which I'm also very happy to recommend, although the 2018 is a step up
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