China: Changyu unveils €70m Chateau Changyu Moser XV winery

(Decanter) - Leading Chinese wine producer Changyu has unveiled a new €70m winery in Ningxia province – and named it after the company's Austrian winemaking consultant.

Chateau Changyu Moser XV – also the name of the estate’s flagship wine – took two years to build, and houses an 800-barrique cellar, high-tech bottling line and a museum illustrating the history of the company and of winemaking in China.

The winery is named after Laurenz Maria Moser V of Austrian winery Laurenz V, specialist producer of Grüner Veltliner and distributor of Changyu’s wines in Europe, with Changyu in turn distributing Laurenz V wines in China.

Moser, representing the fifth generation of the Lenz Moser family of the Niederösterreich region of Austria, has been a consultant and winemaking advisor to Changyu since 2005, travelling to China on 18 occasions in the past eight years.

The Chateau Changyu Moser XV Grand Vin is a blend of 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, 10% Merlot and 5% Syrah, and ages for 12 months in 60% new oak barrels.

The initial bottling, from the 2008 vintage, is sourced from 66 hectares of 12-year-old vines adjacent to the chateau.