At the beginning of 2024, the battlefield of the Year of the Dragon Zodiac wine has been full of gunsmoke, and the release of the Zodiac wine led by Long Mao has also become a major attraction of the wine market at the beginning of each year (extended reading: Long Mao** stabilized, and the Zodiac wine war ended early?). ）。
However, in the wine world, the most famous "dragon wine" is probably the "Chateau Beychevelle". 
In the early 17th century, the first Duke of Apernon became the owner of the estate, and the French admiral was so powerful that ships passing through his domain had to lower their sails as a sign of loyalty. This deep reverence has since become the symbol of the estate, a galleon with a monster with the head of a sphinx. In addition, the name "Bêcha Vêla", which means "sailing" in the Gascony dialect, has since evolved into today's French name, Beychevelle. After entering the Chinese market, Chateau Beychevelle was figuratively translated as "Dragon Boat Estate", according to the characteristic logo of the château. 
The Chinese people's emphasis on the matter of names, after thousands of years of accumulation and evolution, has long been a school of its own, not only pinning ardent hopes and good wishes, but also the Chinese nation's philosophy, ethics, aesthetics, and outlook on life have also been condensed and inherited through names. The brand name, as the façade of a brand, not only bears the role of communication, but also contains its unique significance. There are domestic brands such as "Quanjude", "Lao Fengxiang" and "Tong Ren Tang" with a long history, and foreign brands such as "Coca-Cola", "BMW" and "IKEA". In the field of imported wines, there are extremely pleasing Chinese translations such as "Penfolds", which greatly promote the localization of foreign brands. 
"Dragon Boat Manor" is relying on the dragon culture complex inherited by the Chinese nation for thousands of years, knocking on the door of the Asian market, and thus opening up the market. According to LIV-EX, sales of Dragon Boat Estate wines have soared since 2008 during the boom of the wine market, which was dominated by the Asian market. Unlike other French wineries, even during the bubble period, sales of Dragonboat wines were relatively stable, growing steadily until 2022, properly outperforming the Bordeaux 500 and Rive Gauche 200** indices. In the secondary market for fine wines, vintage is a key factor in influencing **. In this year of the dragon, the four vintages of 2012, 2000, 1988 and 1976 have also become popular at the beginning of the new year. 
In 2012In terms of the growing season, the recent 2012 "Dragon" year was challenging for many premium wine regions, including Bordeaux and Burgundy, resulting in uneven wines. However, it is widely regarded as one of the greatest champagne vintages of the century, and some parts of Tuscany and the Rhône Valley are also doing very well. The famous 100 points (Wine Advocate) wines include M. from the Rhône Valley chapoutier ermitage l'Ermite (scored by Jeb Dunnuck), L from Bordeaux'Eglise-Clinet (scored by William Kelley), Pingus from Spain (scored by Luis Gutiérrez) and Screaming Eagle from California (scored by Robert Parker). 
Year 2000The Bordeaux vintage of 2000 is brilliant, and many are now ripe. In this classic vintage, Robert Parker awarded the P**IE, La Mission Haut-Brion and Pétrus a perfect score of 100, Lafleur a perfect score for Neal Martin and Cheval Blanc for Antonio Galloni. 2000 was also a legendary year for Champagne, with high scores for the Krug Clos du Mesnil, Louis Roederer Cristic and Dom Pérignon P2. In the Burgundy region, the vintage is largely seen as suitable for early drinking due to its lower acidity, but many wines are now perfectly drinkable, with outstanding appellations including Nuits-Saint-Georges, Chambolle-Musigny and Morey-Saint-Denis. 
1988 year1988 was a great vintage for Bordeaux sweet wines, with Sauternes and Barsac 1988 standing the test of time. The 1988 vintage was another of Burgundy's quickest drinkable vintages, producing classic, long-aged, fruity wines. 
1976 yearGoing back nearly 50 years, the 1976 vintage was a mixed bag for much of the wine world. In France, Champagne and Alsace fared better than Bordeaux and Burgundy, while Germany had a fantastic year. The most important event of 1976 was the Paris Tasting, which put California on the fine wine map. As far as 100 point wines go, Robert Parker's favourites are the 1976 Penfolds Grange and Guigal C Te-R Tie La Mouline. 
According to Liv-EX statistics, in the last three months of 2023, Asian buyers bought 19% of the total number of wines from the above four vintages in the past three years8%, almost double the number in the previous three months. The most popular vintages of 2012 are Chateau Lafite Rothschild, Domaine de la Romanee-Conti Romanee-Conti Grand Cru, Chateau Latour, Chateau P**ie and Chateau Rayas. Which bottle of dragon wine is yours? Feel free to let us know in the comment section.
Text, edLan Xi
Data** Liv-Ex, WineCap