Read Long Dai

About Domaine de Long Dai

Long Dai speaks of man and nature, civilisation and Chinese heritage, ancestral knowledge, and the avant-garde of our winegrowers. An encounter. 

5000 feet above the Yellow Sea, in the Shandong Peninsula. The place. The Qiu Shan valley, nestled not far from the sea and the village of Mulangou. Fresh, ocean air, soil with multiple expressions – strength and flexibility – nature, know-how, and the will to learn more. The perfect balance. Like the cradle of a vineyard that was just waiting to be revealed.

In 2008, the first vines were planted, a journey began. Year after year, ripening fruit, summer solstice, warm days. The 24 solar terms. Year after year, maturation and balance, audacity, and patience. Year after year, observation, and dedication from harvest to bottling. 

And finally, 10 years after that first day, the beginning of a never-ending story.

The Vineyard

The subsoil is homogeneous, consisting of a granitic base that is easily altered. Most of the soils are sandy, sandy-clay and silty-clay.

The temperate climate of the region, with a beautiful late season, offers optimal conditions for the grapes to reach full maturity.

The Long Dai vineyard has more than 40 hectares, spread over almost 600 terraces, in the agricultural tradition of Shandong. It was planted in collaboration with the local farmers living in the neighbouring village of Mulangou, whose contribution was invaluable in complementing the expertise of the DBR Lafite teams. The terraced layout, respectful of the landscape and soil structure, implies a heterogeneity of the lots and requires high precision viticulture (fertilisation, pruning, adapted harvests), more manual work, and adapted mechanical equipment.

The grape varieties planted at Domaine de Long Dai include DBR Lafite’s signature grape, Cabernet-Sauvignon (39%), complemented by Marselan (27%), Cabernet Franc (19%) and Merlot (9%). The rest of the vineyard is divided between Petit Verdot and Alicante.

The Chiselled Mountain

In Chinese, the complex version of the character “Long” means “chiselled like a jade tablet” and refers to an important tablet used by farmers to pray for a good harvest. 

“Dai” not only means “mountain” but is a tribute to the sacred mountain Taishan, located in Shandong, the province where the property is located. 

The name of the property is both a tribute to the exceptional local history of Shandong and an illustration of the family’s desire to have an identity that expresses the perfect balance between nature and the care taken by the men and women to reveal the potential of the terroir.

The Team

The property is managed by Charles Treutenaere, with the assistance of Zhang Peng, technical manager, Shao Li Ying , vineyard manager, and Liang Chen, cellar master.

Olivier Trégoat, also technical director of Château L’Évangile, Château Paradis-Casseuil, Rieussec and Domaine d’Aussières, provides technical supervision.

Our Commitment

Building an ambitious wine project in a dialogue with the local village

At Long Dai, from the terraced vineyards to the semiburied buildings and the training of the winegrowers, every stage is part of a desire to integrate the estate into the landscape and the local ecosystem.

The project was carried out considering the principles of LEED (Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design), as well as the Leed Gold Certification was obtained in 2019.

This Domaine joined the B Corp community in December 2023. To learn more, click here.

Read more about Domaine Long Dai in our CSR report

Vinification

The Long Dai team opted for small, temperature-controlled stainless-steel vats ranging from 15 to 90 hectolitres. The perfect format for the separate fermentation of small batches.

The grapes are handpicked, collected in small crates, and brought immediately to the winery where they are destemmed and meticulously sorted on tables. After crushing, they are transferred to the vats.

The wine from Long Dai is made using traditional Bordeaux winemaking methods and aged in oak barrels, most of which are made by the Tonnellerie des Domaines cooperage in Pauillac.

The Wines

Born with the 2017 vintage, Long Dai is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Marselan, and Cabernet Franc. The traditional Bordeaux winemaking method for the emblematic grape varieties is complemented by gentle extractions for the Marselan, facilitating a slow diffusion of aromatic and phenolic compounds. The first wine of Long Dai combines the distinctive qualities of each of the terraces from which it originates, its grapes, and the climate. A balanced and mineral wine that exhibits a combination of tasty black fruits and sweet spices. 

In 2020, the Long Dai team imagined Hu Yue. Together with its elder brother, the second wine expresses the subtle elegance of its terroir. It reveals deep aromatics of black fruits and a spicy character that sets it apart. Its name is inspired by the strength of the tiger, China’s second most sacred animal (Hu), and the five sacred mountains of China (Yue), evocative of the amber beauty of the majestic hillside from which it is sourced, hidden among the vines. It is a harmonious blend of emblematic Bordeaux grapes – Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc – and more southern grapes (Marselan and Syrah). 

Long Dai also produces a rosé wine, Xiao Mu Lan, available only at the property.