During this year’s global wine extravaganza at the ProWein Trade Fair in Dusseldorf, Germany, renowned British magazine Drinks Business hosted a wine “World Wine King” competition, which featured the flagship Longyu Long 12 Cabernet Sauvignon dry red wine from Yantai’s leading wine enterprise Changyu. 

A total of seven outstanding wines were selected as the world wine kings, with Longyu being joined by prestigious names such as Château Lafite Rothschild from France, Opus One from the United States, and Penfolds Grange from Australia. 

Patrick Schmitt MW, chairman of the judging panel, commented: “The 2021 Long 12 Cabernet Sauvignon from Longyu Estate achieved the same score as Lafite from the same year and surpassed Italy’s top Cabernet Sauvignon blend, Sassicaia.” 

“In terms of overall performance, I must say that Longyu did an excellent job. This wine showcases all the qualities of a truly high-quality Cabernet Sauvignon. It is rich, structurally elegant, fresh, and perfectly integrates rich toasty notes from high-quality French oak barrels,” he added. 

When compared further with Lafite from Bordeaux, he believed that both wines, being primarily Cabernet Sauvignon-based, had distinct differences. Lafite’s style was slightly lighter, while Longyu’s Cabernet Sauvignon from the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains in Ningxia Hui autonomous region displayed more fruity aromas, greater power, and more pronounced oak characteristics.

This wasn’t the first encounter between Longyu and Lafite. World wine master Jancis Robinson once gave Longyu a score on par with Lafite in a blind tasting.