Chinese Wine…He Bu He? (To Drink or Not To Drink?)

So I thought I’d do a little cultural experiment today. I do like wine very much, especially good wine. Good wine is particularly difficult to come by in my little corner of Beijing. However, today I was at the ChaoShiFa (a supermarket chain here) buying Gatorade for the little girl in the house who’s had the stomach flu for 3 days now (family didn’t seem to know about Gatorade and they couldn’t get the kid to drink anything – poor thing’s screaming was breaking my heart). I stumbled upon a huge display of “Great Wall Wines.” Firstly I thought it was amusing that all the labels were in English, and secondly I thought it was hilarious that they were proudly labeling themselves as the official wine of the 2008 Olympic Games. So of course…I had to buy a bottle right?

I know what a lot of you are thinking…this can’t turn out well…especially with that lead-in.

Ok, so while on Skype with Doug, I mentioned that I bought it, and of course then we both start doing searches for anything about the 2003 Great Wall Cabernet Sauvignon. The only thing I could find was this article from Vancouver Magazine about obscure wines: http://www.vanmag.com/foodanddrink/07oct/Drink.shtml. Before I tell you about the review, and before you go and read the review, let me tell you what my tastebuds said.

The nose is definitely unique, I’d say heavy plum with an underpinning of coal (or maybe my nostrils are just coated with coal dust from living in Beijing). There’s also a very strong tannin component that comes through as it opens up. For the taste, I’m not sure I can describe it….a very off Merlot? Or maybe a corked Cab? Heavy tannin with a subtle shag-carpet finish. I know…I know…I’m being pretty harsh. But really, not sure what they were trying to accomplish with this wine. It doesn’t taste like any Cab I’ve ever had, but then again, it’s not as bad as that RMB 20 bottle I bought in some town somewhere at my old job. I think they were going for a moderate fruit with some oak or pine finish, but didn’t really accomplish it. The balance is off…way off. So apparently I agree with the reviewer at the Vancouver Magazine – a Tsing Tao is better with food!

Et voila! My experiment with Chinese wine is accomplished…though I do think that to give it a fair shake I should probably sample a few more, but next time I might just try a glass instead of being stuck with a bottle…

Answer to initial question: 2003 Great Wall Cab: Bu He! (don't drink!)