A vineyard made by hand
Zhongfei sits in Qigexing, at the foot of the Huola Mountains in the Yanqi Basin, with the Kaidu River to the north and Bosten Lake to the south. In 2009 the land was bare gobi. Over ten years the estate removed some 3,000 tonnes of stones and brought soil down from the mountains to cover the ground to a depth of about 70 cm, earning it the nickname of the “Yugong winery”, after the old fable of the man who moved mountains.
The vineyards
Today Zhongfei farms about 667 hectares on sunny, gentle slopes, planted with Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah, Cabernet Franc, Marselan and Chardonnay. 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
Zhongfei has a solid record at the Decanter awards, with its Zunxiang Syrah and Zunxiang Bordeaux blend, and a barrel-aged Marselan that won Platinum at the Decanter Asia Wine Awards.