"This guy is actually pretty good..."
Taylor Swift muttered under her breath after listening to Tom Hiddleston's enthusiastic praise.
She had originally come over just to poke fun at Jiang Hai, but unexpectedly, he'd ended up impressing them without even trying.
And sometimes, it was exactly this kind of effortless charm that had the strongest impact. With just a single glass of wine, Ellie Goulding—who had been on the same side as her—suddenly didn't seem quite so aligned anymore.
Taylor had always disliked Jiang Hai. In her eyes, he was nothing more than a flashy playboy. No matter how rich a cattle rancher was, she'd assumed he lacked refinement.
But now… learning that his estate produced such fine red wine was enough to shift her opinion—at least a little.
"Alright then, I hope your wine does well in the competition. We're leaving now."
She gave Jiang Hai a half-smirk, patted him on the shoulder, and turned to leave with the others.
Jiang Hai didn't mind. He wasn't particularly concerned with whether they stayed or went. After all, it wasn't like they were his friends.
As the trio left, he continued enjoying his crepes.
A full day passed in a blink. The first day of the wine competition had ended. The organizers collected the scorecards and sealed them for tallying. Both today's and tomorrow's votes would be publicly counted on the third day.
Jiang Hai didn't think much of it. After the first day, he returned to the hotel with the girls. They'd had a great time sightseeing nearby—though they did attract some unwelcome attention.
He had to admit: French men—especially some of the more persistent ones—were incredibly annoying. If not for Connorson Peters keeping them at bay, things might have gotten out of hand. When the girls returned, they vented their frustration to Jiang Hai before everyone turned in for the night.
The next morning, Jiang Hai and his group attended the cocktail party again. But having explored most of it the day before, their interest had waned. So after handling the wine submission, they boarded a shuttle and went sightseeing.
Mâcon, with its 1,400–1,500-year history, still had plenty of old architecture to appreciate. Though the town was small, it offered a full day's worth of exploration and photo ops.
On the third day, however, there was no time for leisure. They returned to the venue to await the final results. A total of 29 wineries were participating in this year's Mâcon Wine Competition—most of them French. There were also a few Australian wineries, including entries from Clare Valley and Gunawarra, both of which are among Australia's best wine-producing regions.
Jiang Hai wasn't familiar with all the competitors, but he remained confident in his wine.
And it wasn't blind confidence either. Seeing how calm Dulles Gerard and the other winemakers were made him feel more at ease. Unbeknownst to Jiang Hai, Dulles was actually quite anxious—but he was a seasoned pro and didn't show it.
At 10 a.m., the first rankings were posted. These results were categorized into four key elements: Color, Aroma, Taste, and Finish (aftertaste). Only after evaluating these would the overall rankings—such as Gold, Silver, and Bronze—be announced.
First up: Color.
Each wine was scored from 6 to 10 points, with hundreds of tasters rating every aspect. The sheer volume of paperwork and data entry involved was staggering.
As the crowd swarmed the board, Jiang Hai and his team leaned in.
After a quick scan, they breathed a collective sigh of relief.
To be fair, richer, aged wines tend to have better color. Jiang Hai's First Love had only been aged for half a year, so he wasn't overly confident about this part. But to his surprise, the tasters thought it was excellent.
Tenglong Manor's First Love received a 9.71 in color—ranking 4th among all 29 entries.
The top spot went to Château Lafite Rothschild's flagship red, aged for five years. Naturally, Jiang Hai's younger wine couldn't compete on color alone.
Second place went to Mouton Rothschild—more formally, Château Mouton-Rothschild, the pride of the powerful Rothschild family. Once the world's greatest financial dynasty, the Rothschilds suffered a major setback when they failed to establish dominance in America. That failure led to the emergence of the Rockefeller and Morgan families. But in Europe, the Rothschilds still reign supreme.
Third place was awarded to Château Haut-Brion.
Fourth was Jiang Hai's First Love.
Fifth place? None other than the world-famous Romanée-Conti.
Sixth: Château Latour.
Seventh: Château Pétrus.
Eighth: Château Cheval Blanc.
Ninth: Château Margaux.
Tenth: Château Pontet-Canet.
Seeing this lineup, both Dulles Gerard and Jiang Hai exhaled deeply. Many others, however—especially the Romanée-Conti team—were visibly surprised.
Their expressions were mixed: some disbelief, some curiosity, and even a hint of unease. Clearly, they hadn't taken Tenglong Manor seriously before. They expected it to land somewhere in the middle of the pack at best—not within striking distance of Bordeaux's elite.
But the surprises weren't over.
When the Aroma category rankings came out, gasps rippled through the crowd.
This time, First Love ranked third—beating out several top contenders. The top spot went to Romanée-Conti, followed by Château Lafite Rothschild.
The competition now regarded Jiang Hai's wine with increasing wariness. The idea of an unknown American winery muscling into their ranks unsettled many.
Based on just color and aroma, First Love had already secured a bronze medal. And if the wine's taste and aftertaste held up, it might even win silver.
The Mâcon Wine Competition only awarded:
1 Gold,
4 Silver,
and 6 Bronze medals.
At this point, Jiang Hai's team was guaranteed a medal.
"Looks like a strong new contender has emerged from the U.S. Never even heard of Tenglong Manor before," murmured several winery representatives, eyeing Jiang Hai's group cautiously.
But Jiang Hai wasn't worried. He came here to make a name for himself—not to make friends.
Whether it was Pra Walton or the high-end restaurants in Boston that carried his seafood, winning this competition would drastically boost demand.
He wasn't expecting to fetch $20,000 for a box of six bottles like the elite Bordeaux labels. But $1,000 per bottle? Easily achievable. And with hundreds of thousands of bottles in storage, this venture was shaping up to be incredibly profitable.
More importantly, this was just the beginning. Wines aged three or more years might fetch $2,000–$3,000 per bottle. What he had once considered a hobby was turning into a lucrative enterprise.
His eyes gleamed. He eagerly awaited the last two categories—the ones they had the most confidence in.
The staff soon posted the Taste rankings.
This was the most critical category:
Color: 5% of the total score
Aroma: 10%
Taste: 70%
Finish (aftertaste): 15%
Jiang Hai's results in the first two were promising. Now it was time for the real test.
As the list went up, a collective gasp filled the room. Even the typically composed representatives of Château Lafite and Romanée-Conti couldn't hide their shock.
A beaming smile spread across the faces of Jiang Hai and his team.
"Tenglong Manor – First Love: 9.98 points."
Cheers erupted from their side. Afra and the other girls began celebrating. Dulles Gerard's hands trembled, though he kept a stoic expression. Even the eternally grim O'Connor Murphy cracked a crooked smile—albeit one that looked more painful than joyful.
They had believed in their wine, but even they hadn't expected it to dominate the French tasters so completely.
Whispers buzzed throughout the hall. Many attendees simply couldn't accept the results.
"Can the organizers really justify this score?" someone muttered. Eventually, representatives from Château Lafite stepped forward and raised the concern publicly.
An elder judge calmly replied, "To be honest, we were skeptical at first, too. But after tasting the First Love from Tenglong Manor, we are convinced. The score is well-deserved."
Even Dulles Gerard—whose palate wasn't as sharp as before—had been able to appreciate its finesse. The judges, with even more refined tastes, were utterly taken by it.
To settle the debate, Dulles had already prepared decanted samples for the panel. Jiang Hai believed in letting the wine speak for itself.
One by one, the doubters accepted a glass. And with each sip, their expressions changed.
It was that good.
They couldn't find a single flaw. Some nodded quietly, others remained silent. But they all knew—the score was fair.
Shortly afterward, the Finish (aftertaste) rankings were announced. Once again, First Love topped the list.
At this point, it was inevitable: Jiang Hai had won the gold medal.
His first trip to Europe had been a resounding success.
After the awards ceremony, Dulles Gerard and O'Connor Murphy took the remaining wine to Brussels, where they would attend another cocktail event.
Jiang Hai and the others returned to Paris. Even if they didn't particularly like the French or their attitude, they were already in the country—might as well enjoy the sights.
(To be continued.)