Tinnyu 'Coma' Chardonnay 2024

100% Chardonnay from Xi-Da (2800m) and A-Dong (2600m) villages in Shangri-La, Yunnan. Sandy-loam soils with distinct gravel and red schist. Wild cold ferment for 16-18 days, no post-ferment maceration. Aged in 70% stainless steel, 30% French 225L oak (50% new, 50% one year old) for 8 months with weekly battonage for the first few weeks. Unfined, filtered to remove fine lees. 20ppm sulphur added at bottling.

"With such high elevation bringing intense acidity to wines, the best Chardonnays from Yunnan benefit from lots of lees work. This is exactly that. Fresh and aromatic, yellow citrus with slightly nutty, herbaceous complexity. Weight and texture on the palate, but still beautifully pure." - Hamish Williams

With vintage experience at Bordeaux’s Château Olivier, Champagne, and China’s Ao Yun & Domaine Franco-Chinois, Tinnyu are producing pure, alpine, and expressive wines along the upper parts of the Mekong and Yangtze rivers - surpassing the limits of what’s previously possible for Chinese wine. Leqi Liu and Yuxuan Qiu manage three tiny vineyards totalling 0.83 hectares, working with local growers to stimulate soil regeneration and enrich biodiversity. Their ‘no-till’ approach relies on cover crops and compost to enhance soil structure and fertility. The Cabernet Sauvignon is harvested relatively early in mid-September, whilst the Chardonnay is harvested 7-10 days later, winemaking is simple, preserving the unique terroir of Shangri-La.