The first in Yanqi
Xiangdu calls itself the first winery to reclaim wasteland in the Yanqi Basin. Its vineyards in Qigexing were planted from 1999, and the estate describes them as free of pests and disease and farmed without chemical fertilisers.
Wind and lake
The basin’s winds shape the vineyard: at night, cold air slides down from the snowy peaks and widens the gap between day and night temperatures; by day, valley winds bring moisture from Bosten Lake and ease the summer heat. In spring, strong winds naturally thin the flowers, giving looser bunches, thicker skins and lower yields. The Yanqi Basin lies at about 1,100 metres between the main and branch ranges of the Tianshan, moderated by Bosten Lake, with less than 80 mm of rain a year: conditions well suited to organic viticulture.
The wines
Its Anthony Cabernet Sauvignon, whose label was painted by a French artist, comes from vines over ten years old and is aged for 12 months in French oak. Each December the winery presents its new wine at a “Gobi new wine” tasting.