2018 Ningxia Riesling, Kanaan Winery, China
The Kanaan Winery has 16.8 hectares of vineyards, of which just 1.3 hectares of sandy soils are planted to ungrafted Riesling vines. In this corner of central China, winter temperatures can reach as low as -20˚C, so every winter the team have to bury the vines to ensure they’re not killed by the frost. Winemaker Fang Wang spent time in Germany, where her love of Riesling began. Yet this dry Riesling is more Alsatian in style, with beautiful richness of fruit, finely balanced acidity, and a long, saline finish. This is so much more than a curiosity.