Domaine de Long Dai – Tales of Lafite!

On 12th November 2019, Qualia, the restaurant I work at, located at the iconic World 1 towers in Lower Parel (Bombay, India) hosted an outstanding wine dinner at along with Aspri Spirits Private Limited and Mr Fabrice Papin (International Sales Manager / Africa, Middle East, India Sales Manager) where we had an exquisite food menu paired with the collection series (Légende R and Réserves) by Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite which intrigued me to read more about its legendary portfolio.

@Mr Fabrice Papin along with Sommelier Ranjit Shirke. 

Domaines Barons de Rothschild Lafite a pioneer winemaker in Bordeaux who owns château’s like:

• Château Lafite Rothschild (Bordeaux, Premier grand cru classe 1855 classification)
• Château Duhart-Milon (Bordeaux, Quatrieme Cru 1855 classification)
• Château Rieussec (Sauternes Premier grand cru 1855 classification)
• Château L’évangile (Pomerol, Bordeaux)
• Domaine D’aussières (Narbonne, Languedoc)
• Viña Los Vascos (Colchagua, Chile), and
• Bodegas Caro (Luján de Cuyo and Maipú). 

Shandong, a province that lies in the northeastern part of China is considered to be a hot-temperate climate region due to the influence of the Yellow sea. The soil being majorly granite, long summers along with a tiny amount of rainfall in July and August, concludes the harvest season with a dry weather for almost two months which benefits in achieving optimal ripeness in the grapes. The region is also responsible for 40% of total wine production here. It’s not surprising to see a bunch of legendary winemakers collaborating with the excellent terroir and modern techniques to put China on the map as one of the premium wine-growing regions in the world.

@Domaine de Long Dai.  © Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite)

Domaine de Long Dai had recognized their vineyard sites in China in 2009, and almost 400 soil pits were dug deep in more than 360 terraces to finalize the most ideal land to plant 34 hectares of vines. Most of the vines were planted near the village of Mulangou with the help of the expertise from the Domaines Barons de Rothschild (Lafite) team and local farmers. The vineyards are planted with Cabernet Sauvignon (dominant varietal), Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Syrah, and Marselan. The brand never wanted to compromise on quality because of which it took 8 years to declare Domaine de Long Dai’s first vintage.

“Domaine de Long Dai” (considered as a Chinese grand cru) takes its name from a Taishan sacred mountain located at the foothills of Qiu Shan Valley in the heart of Shandong expressing the power of mother natures, cherished by mankind. Saskia de Rothschild (chairwoman @DBR) likes to mention, ’We try to perfect raw materials provided by nature’. The vines for the first vintage (2017) were planted mostly in 2011. Proper de-budding, natural green harvesting which leads to reduced yield and phenolic maturation. The idea was always to produce quality. Hand-harvested upon optimal ripeness.  

The wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, and Marselan. Destemmed berries are fermented in temperature controlled stainless-steel tanks. Maceration takes place for about 21 days. Post malolactic fermentation, the wines are blended and aged in the barrels procured from Tonnellerie des Domaines (near Château Lafite in Pauillac, Bordeaux) for 18 months. The wines are estate bottled and ready to release. Only 2,500 cases are been produced for this outstanding liquid. Today the wine sells at approximately $300 a bottle which is a skyrocketing price for a startup winery from China.

@Domaine de Long Dai -  Flagship Wine.

A second wine called ‘Hu Yue’ which means Chinese cultural respect for the elements of nature’s uncontrollable cycle, mentioned by Saskia again is recently been launched by the DBR team, which is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Syrah, Merlot, and Marselan. 2018 is the first vintage to be released, sold only for private clients from the winery as of now. Currently, Pernod Ricard China owns the distribution for this grand cru (as Lafite likes to mention) from China since September 19, whereas later in 2020 was the updated guidelines for the distribution worldwide.

@Hu Yue - Second Wine of Domaine de Long Dai.

Charles Treuteraere plays the role of a General Manager since 2018 along with Juliette Couderc as being the Technical manager budding with Zhang Peng, leading as a Vineyard Manager, and Liang Chen holding a prestigious position of a Cellar Master. “One thing we know is the more the age of the vines, the better the wines produced,” says the DBR group. This keeps us excited as our eyeballs are wide open to see what Domaine de Long Dai has to offer in the long run.

Article by – Ranjeet Shirke, Certified Sommelier.