[London, Monday 11 March 2024] – Chinese winery Domaine Fangsi was one of the big winners at the Global Merlot Masters 2024, where their Kaiyun Single Vineyard Merlot won a Gold medal. The Ningxia-based Merlot 2019 was praised as ‘beautifully balanced’ by experts, who were won over by its racy acidity, velvety tannins and notes of dark jammy fruits, chocolate-mocha and lifted herbal notes.
The experienced panel was selected by industry publication the drinks business and consisted of senior buyers and Masters of Wine (widely considered the highest mark of expertise in the wine trade). They judged wines from all over the world in a blind-tasting format, knowing only the price band and the sweetness level of the wine. The tasting formed part of the Global Wine Masters, a yearlong competition series that saw thousands of wines from 27 countries tasted and judged.
The Gold medal marked a notable win for the Chinese winery, marking their wine as a benchmark example showing great balance, complexity and intensity. Domaine Fangsi had already picked up a Silver medal at the Global Cabernet Franc Masters 2024 for their Baixia Single Vineyard Cabernet Franc.
Elsa Shi, representative for Domaine Fangsi, commented: “we are so incredibly honoured and grateful to receive this award, and I would like to express our gratitude to the drinks business & the Global Wine Masters”.
The vineyards are located in the eastern part of the Helan Mountain appellation, in Ningxia. The terraces and plains with clay and sedimentary layers makes it ideal to grow Merlot.
On top of this surprising win, the Global Merlot Masters saw three wines receiving the top accolade of a Master medal. This medal, not awarded at every competition, celebrates outstanding wines and impeccable winemaking. Two went to US producers, Mt Brave – whose winemaker Chris Carpenter recently won the prestigious Master Winemaker of the Year 2024 award – and Freemark Abbey, while the third Master medal was for a Tuscan Merlot by Vignamaggio.
About The Global Wine Masters Competitions
The Global Wine Masters have rewarded excellence in winemaking since 2013, helping quality brands to stand out and consumers to drink with confidence. Through its unique structure – defining categories by grape variety or style rather than region – the competition series lets the finest wines in the world compete against each other. Every competition is judged by the very best palates in the world: Masters of Wine, Master Sommeliers and senior buyers.
The Global Wine Masters award wines with Bronze, Silver and Gold medals, and Master medals for the very best entries:
- Bronze (85-88): A well-made wine that qualifies for our seal of approval. This wine is enjoyable and meets customer expectations.
- Silver (89-92): A high-quality wine that clearly demonstrates good winemaking while serving as a strong example of its style, source or dominant grape.
- Gold (93-96): A brilliant wine that is a benchmark for its type. This wine has lasting appeal and shows great balance, complexity and intensity.
- Master (97-100): An outstanding example of its type, showing impeccable winemaking. This wine delights for its wonderful texture, perfect balance and broad range of delicious, persistent flavours.
The results of each competition are published in the drinks business magazine and website (circulation of 13,000 print copies and 1.9 million webpage visits per month). This large reach guarantees that entrants’ medal wins are visible to a truly international and industry-focused audience.
