Ao Yun

Decanted. Less pyridine than previous bottle but quite thin. 90-91

2013 vintage

Tasted blind and guessed it’s a Bordeaux. Didn’t really enjoy it and don’t understand the hype especially the price point

2015 vintage

Short double decant. Can't say I was a huge fan of this. Very peppery, but not in an underripe way. Lovely nose. Very empty taste though. Hollow and rather unsatisfying.

2013 vintage

Coravin'd 2 glasses over 2 nights before opening and finishing the bottle on night 3. First glass had noticeable spiciness / bell pepper to go with the black and blue fruits...billberry particularly and a bit of smoky tar. Bell pepper subsided by the 2nd glass.

2013 vintage

Dinner at The Pandomainium. Tasted blind. Drank in Spiegelau Bordeaux Definition. Really quite good. Impressed. Appearance is clear, deep intensity, ruby colour with slight purplish tinge. Legs. Nose is clean, medium+ intensity, with aromas of menthol mint, licorice, pure blackcurrants, blackberries, bit of vanilla oak. Developing. On the palate, dry, high acidity, medium+ alcohol (14.5%), fine high tannins, sneaky full body. Medium+ flavour intensity, with flavours of bell pepper spice, minty menthol, licorice, integrating vanilla oak, blackcurrant, blackberries. Long finish. …

2016 vintage

I had this on an international Cathay Pacific flight (fortunate to get upgraded to first class). I was very skeptical at first as I haven't had Chinese wines, but read the description that this was started from Moet Hennessey. I was tremendously surprised and absolutely loved this wine. It could have benefited from decanting but was already very delicious. Strong notes of blackcurrants and cassis. The palate was elegant and regal; there were some tannins that were restrained. I had …

2015 vintage

Merchant walkabout tasting, no detailed notes. I said it before during our Singapore China leader-board tasting (see tasting story on this site). Chinese premium wines are currently the most overpriced category in the world. This Ao Yun is no exception, a commercial, formulaic, oaky wine, which you can find for 30 bucks in any supermarket shelve coming form Chile, Argentina, etc. at a price of top Napa or Bordeaux. LOL, the emperor has no clothes...

2020 vintage

Avu tasting Zurich. Informal tasting note. Deep purple color. Very green and herbal, tea, black pepper, capsicum, red spices. Interesting but not worth 300 chf for my taste. Presume this will get better and one is supposed to taste the potential here. Time will tell - I m not sure.

2020 vintage

First/second growth Bordeaux equivalent night : What a treat to have the first vintage of this wine. I guessed American trying very hard to be Bordeaux, obvious pyrazines on the nose but with ripe, dark red fruit. Very restrained despite the overt oak use, well-balanced and I liked it much more than the others.

2013 vintage

Inaugural vintage of Ao Yun. Wild forest berries, ground spice and restrained black plums. Spicy and funky with medium body and grainy tannins. Discreet and low-key

2013 vintage

Powerful and fruit forward. Creamy, rich and high tannins. Good finish.

2013 vintage

A powerful, full bodied yet refined wine. Strong alcohol level and tannins. But very refined. Nose of oak, earth and tabacco.

2013 vintage

One last round at Jade Court (Chicago, IL) : Served double blind. Quickly went to young Napa cabernet, but from a producer that doesn't mess it up like Corison. A bit darker in complexion, but with sweet cabernet fruit. Some leather, but plenty of young tannins as well. I quite like this -- plenty of fruit but without the overbearing toasted oak that makes Napa such a slog these days. More acidity than most as well. Great stuff -- just …

2015 vintage

Noticeable improvement from the last bottle I tried approximately 2 years ago. Gone are the green and almost charcoal like notes that stuck out last time. Now well integrated with blackberry / billberry flavors leading the way and not yet much in the way of more tertiary development. Still some noticeable fine tanins in the first hour or so open, but rounded out nicely after about an hour in the decanter. This bottle was in a good, enjoyable spot, especially …

2013 vintage

Tasted blind and guessed Napa Cabernet Franc / Cabernet Sauvignon. Rich and fruity array of cassis, tomato leaf, vanilla wood spices and mulberry. Very polished tannins and sense of suave. This vintage showed particular greeness from Cab Franc, very grassy. 15.5% alcohol but hard to tell, also the new norm in Bordeaux these days! (90/100)

2015 vintage

neben Mouton 2012 MG, Richebourg 2009 und L'Evangile 95 DMG getrunken ... was für ein Fest ;) Der Ao Yun brauchte sehr lange, hat sich dann aber enorm entwickelt ... eine Liga mit den oben genannten Weinen (meine Meinung)!

2015 vintage

3 hr decant - which was sufficient. Well, quite a change in 4 years since the last tasting. The really prominent capsicum is largely gone, or rather not at all dominant any more. Ripe dark berries, graphite, a little spice (this too is diminished) and some meaty flavors prevail. Overall much better integrated, much closer to more recent vintages, less exotic flavored ( this is a positive or negative depending on how you feel about other aspects of the wine). …

2013 vintage

Pinot Noir and Chardonnay not from Burgundy; 2/17/2023-2/18/2023 : Blind. Aromas of graphite, sweet on palate with some capsicum. No indicate on the age of the wine. Well made wine but probably not worth its price tag in the current market.

2013 vintage

Medium ruby with some garnet notes. Nice nose with lots of red and dark berries - some spices in the background. On the palate blueberries, ripe raspberries, black currant, red cherries and some soft graphite notes. Medium bodied with a medium acidity. Tannins are smooth and completely integrated. Great structure and depth. Medium (+) complexity and a very good overall balance. Quite elegant mouth feeling. Nice medium long to long finish. It’s in a good spot now and can age …

2013 vintage

Wet eatth, blackberries, blueberries, mocha, and green pepper. Medium to full bodied. Good acidity with moderate finish. Too steamy and green pepper for me to really like. To me, this is a curiosity wine. There are many better wines for $300.00 out there.

2013 vintage

Blackberry, smoke, pepper, tobacco, oak, vanilla, herbaceous, jalapeno. I prefer the 2017.

2016 vintage

Deep ruby in colour. Notes of blackcurrant, black cherry, leather, spices. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Decanted for 5 hours. Warmest temperature. 79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Cabernet Franc. Magic number for decanting 8 hours. Drank 2015, 2016 and 2017 side by side and felt that for now 2015 > 2017 > 2016.

2015 vintage

Deep ruby in colour. Nose still closed. Hints of black current, black fruits, mint, spices. Medium+ acidity and medium+ tannin. Bold and fuller bodied. Long finish. Decanted for 5 hours. 74% Cabernet Sauvignon 20% Cabernet Franc 4% Syrah 2% Petit Verdot. Drank 2015, 2016 and 2017 side by side and felt that for now 2015 > 2017 > 2016.

2016 vintage

Double blind Unmistakably a Cabernet-dominant blend made in a Bordeaux rather than a California style. Could be either cab sauv or franc Highly floral with aromas of lavender, rose, potpourri, medium+ green pyrazine notes Medium+ bodied This wine can easily age 15 or + years Drunk alongside the 2006 Haut-Brion and an Amarone and it did not feel out of place

2016 vintage

Blind. Obvious notes of Cab Franc greeness and grassy pyrzaine. But that was kinda it... Can't say this is a wine I understand; friends say later vintages are better. 90

2013 vintage

Too young. Nose is mainly dark fruit and licorice. Medium-Full bodied. Red fruit, chocolate, sweet, almost cloying, palate with some earthiness poking through. Hides alcohol well. Good balance. Good potential but needs a long decant at this stage.

2015 vintage

Tasted blind, thought it's a carmenere or malbec from S America. Overripe, sweet viscous and high abv, no mistaking its origin from a new world hot terroir. Dense material but how it ages we shall see. Jammy now but it's fairer to judge a Cabernet at age 10-15 years

2015 vintage

medium ruby, nose of green pepper, cream, cedar. salty, delicious sour cherry, plum, finish flavours fade quickly, only bitterness and hotness remain. very rustic but expensive.

2013 vintage

little hot but less bitterness, best of all vintages at this moment. The fruits and oak are integrated and intensive. even concentrated on mid-palate. the structure needs more precision and finesse.

2016 vintage

medium ruby. sweet creamy cherry cake, concentrate, firm structure, little bitterness, would benefit from cellaring. simple but better integrated.

2015 vintage

74% Cabernet Sauvignon and 20% Cabernet Franc, 4% syrah, 2% Petit Verdot from 314 plots totaling 27.7 hectares on the banks of the Mekong River at the foothills of the Himalayas in north Yunnan province, China at 2,200 - 2,600 m with manual farming involving 114 local families following organic and traditional practices. The blend comprises yield from 4 main villages: 17% Adong, 25% Shuori, 36% Sinong, 22% Xidang. Extra oxygen was introduced in vinification to compensate for thin air …

2016 vintage

Bordeaux rood. Neus: Rood fruit met kruidige neus, mint. Weinig rook Smaak: rood fruit, frisse zuren, matige tanine, vrij hoog in alcohol. Krachtige wijn met volle body en lange afdronk

2013 vintage

Tasted side-by-side with the 2014. This 2015 is getting some orange-red hue that kind of surprised me given the relatively young age. Similar to most of the premium red wine from China, it carries distinctive aromas of Chinese medicine, accompanies by rich dark cherries and cassis. As compared to the 2014, I preferred the elegance and integration of the 2015. It is also smoother on palate, with equally strong aromas and balancing acidity. It would be a treat to taste …

2015 vintage

Check in on the Wine China leaderboard, tasted blind (Singapore) : Garnet color. A famous and expensive wine now, one of the Premium stars of China made by LVMH. I found this wine also a bit strange. On the one hand you have a rich sweetish mouth feel with alcohol, oak and soft tannins but then there is an asparagus greenness bell pepper side in the aromas. Both are not really married together (yet?). At 200$ a bottle it really …

2015 vintage

Singapore Chinese wine tasting with wineandco on a random Sunday evening. 2015 is supposedly the best so far, after 13 and 14 being quite bad. Just for you to know, this had an 8 hour decant. Deep ruby color. Pronounced nose with a lot of green pepper. Med acidity, full body, high alcohol, Med tannins, Med flavour intensity, Med finish. A lot of capsicum, really overpowering, which makes this very average. It is like somebody squeezed some green bell peppers …

2015 vintage

I like JJYOYO's most recent tasting note. This really is a very good wine. LVMH came along and went into this project with a 'money is no inhibitor' approach, and it shows here. The tannins are super integrated into the wine - those coming from the 100% new french oak barrels. Hand picking and sorting is evident - they got the best of the best. Is it worth the hefty price tag? Maybe if money is no inhibitor to the …

2013 vintage

Decanted for an hour Color: full chocolate red, strong edges Nose: excessive notes of capsicum, some pepper, no fruit at all Palate: taste much better than the nose, spicy, pepper, some oak, strong tannins Overall: not worth it for the price point but very interesting experience. Could probably use a lot more time and a lot more air

2015 vintage

Drank it blind .... before knowing the producer I thought it was a 1st or 2nd cru left bank in the 2012 vintage. I also thought briefly that it could be a Cheval Blanc. Wow good juice with silky tannins a very very pure fruit on blackcurrant and on the nose the cab franc stands out a lot. At the unveiling very surprised but the price becomes a big problem. Glad to have tried it anyway and it removes a …

2015 vintage

Dark ruby in color with a short brick rim. Earthy nose with blueberries, black currants, blackberries, wood, light vanilla, espresso, wet leaves, forest floor, smoke, tobacco leaf, spices, graphite, vegetables, bell pepper, licorice and black pepper. Full bodied and smooth with medium acidity and long legs. Dry on the palate with with blueberries, sweet cherries, black plums, oak, licorice, cloves, earth, vegetables, spices, tobacco leaf, wet leaves, black tea, peppercorn and leather. Long finish with fine grained tannins and tangy …

2013 vintage

Very similar notes to last time. On this occasion, 2 hrs decant. Almost zero sediment. Initially quite a bit of pepper, hot spice, graphite. After another 2 hrs started to mellow into genuine 5-spice over an increasingly rich cherry/strawberry core -- as if the wine unfolded almost exactly in the opposite sequence to what you'd expect. Makes me think even the 2013 is aging worthy -- I intend to keep my last bottle for another 5-7 years. Still think the …

2013 vintage

An interesting experiment... a Cab grown in China! Better than I expected, but nothing to write home about. The price tag of $250 is, of course, crazy, fortunately our bottle was a gift.

2013 vintage

Lucky enough to have tasted all three initial vintages (2013/14/15) and the 2015 is the best so far. Some of the exotic tastes of the 2013 without the excessive capsicum notes; the structure of 2014 without the angularity. You can taste the makers of Ao Yun zeroing in what they want to bring out of the terroir. Nose had a fair amount of reduction upon opening but that dissipated after about a half hour. Pronounced nose of strawberry at first. …

2015 vintage

79% Cabernet Sauvignon and 21% Cabernet Franc from 314 plots totaling 27.7 hectares on the banks of the Mekong River at the foothills of the Himalayas in north Yunnan province, China at 2,200 - 2,600 m with manual farming involving 120 local families following organic and traditional practices. The blend comprises yield from 4 main villages: 31% Adong, 41% Shuori, 13% Sinong, 14% Sinang. Extra oxygen was introduced in vinification to compensate for thin air at altitude. Malolactic in barrels …

2015 vintage

Max Chicago visit

2013 vintage

this has a good balance. a bit of smoke. for me Cab Franc taste. still slightly dry at the end. good for relatively young vines.

2015 vintage

First take out of the bottle was disappointment. Nose initially of harsh aromas reminiscent of organic chem lab. Palate very unintegrated, with three distinct phases that didn’t flow well. After some time, however, things came together, and it rather grew on me: Nose of tart red and ripe black fruit. Reminds a lot of Las Cases and Latour. Later on, a hint of pauilliac graphite and leather. Soft and round on the attack, like a classically styled Napa cab, montelena …

2013 vintage

First vintage of the LVMH project Ao Yun in China. Deep red and purple color. Beautiful flowery nose. A little harsh after uncorking. Better and quite smooth after 2-3 hours. A lot of red fruits, cherry, raspberry and blackberry. Not very complex or deep but a very enjoyable taste. Good try for the first vintage although way too expensive - but I guess, with the LVMH branding in the background the won't have a problem selling their 2.000 produced cases. …

2013 vintage

Excellent wine from first release of a 14 year LVMH project in a remote Chinese area 8,000 ft elevation with 300 person dedicated team. While perhaps not as complex as world class examples, this was impressive. Dark rich pure extracted smooth creamy dark red fruits with a succulent edge. Comes across very Napa like. A bit monolithic, yet this primary flavor profile does impress. A project to each with great interest.

2013 vintage

Super savory Cab nose: graphite, dark green leaves, roasted peppers, cassoulet, cassis, plums... there's also some nice white flowers in there. Significant but not overbearing structure, satin textured tannin, not a lot of fat or heft, lithe and muscular, medium to full bodied. Sweet dark cherry and spice appears on the long dry finish, very savory and elegant. A touch of heat on the finish is a little distracting and unexpected given the cool and savory character.

2013 vintage

Truffles with the SLDS (CFs) : Blind. Swirling spices, violets, cranberry, blueberry and herbs with really lifted perfume - this is distintively Cabernet. Beautiful balance and composure, the fruit has ripeness but also a cool streak through it, with good acidity and tannin. Very impressive wine and I was surprised when its identity was revealed. Great to try and while the pricing is highly ambitious, the quality of this bottle isn't too far off that.

2013 vintage

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