Highlights:
- One of the best early Xi Zi Hao productions
- Very complex and aromatic
- 100% unmanaged (“HuangShan”) big/old tree Youle leaves
- Impressive depth and patience, both taste and Qi wise
Lingcha translates to “Spiritual tea” and given the very strong Youle Qi you can really see why it’s called like so. Woody flavour notes progressively turn to very sweet over the long session, with a very strong complexity and aftertaste depth. Quite similar to 2003 Chen Yuan Hao Youle (that one is a bit older, this is a bit more drier stored and has more aroma).
This is one of the best 2005-2006 XZH productions and has received quite a lot of positive reviews for its embodiment of typical XZH qualities: strong aftertaste, complexity, patience and evolving aromas. Xi Zi Hao sells this cake for many times this price, but we’ve got lucky with our collector source who bought it in 2006 and passed it to us at a very friendly price.
~400grams big cake.
Anonymous (verified owner) –
hard to say whether 05 or 06 xzh youle is better, 06 is more balanced though. standard TW storage for xzh of this age
Nick M. (verified owner) –
Rich amber, fully translucent broth. Lovely colours. Strong aromas both from pot and full bowl, and strikingly perfumed from the empty bowl with the same heady intensity as you might find in a modern old/ ancient tree production (and remains perfumed long into the session). Beeswax, Frankincense medicinal honey, lemon blossom. Thickly textured, yet with a lifted palate thanks to an acidulous, mouthwatering balance to the tea with an earthy, tertiary-flavoured back palate. Some stickiness to the broth. Low bitterness. Grounding Q1i. Storage really has been ideal. Given the large cake size, I see this as very good value. I want another cake; such a shame it’s a sell-out 🙂