2005 Menghai V93 Shupu

A sample from DL [thanks muchly], this shupu tuocha sells for around $38 at Royal Puer - the 2005 is alleged to have won first prize in the 13th Shanghai National Tea Culture Competition in 2006. I remain skeptical about accolades from "tea competitions"!

Brita-filtered water @ 100C in 10cl shengpu pot; ~5-6g leaf; 2 rinses

Dry leaf:
Farily pretty, for the usually-homogenous shupu, being fairly large, with recognisable fragments of large leaves. The compression is unusual, being not too tight, allowing these large leaves to come apart quite easily, with minimal breakage.

This strikes me as a shupu produced with respect for the leaves, which is quite unusual (which I state as one who enjoys shupu).

7s, 12s, 18s, 25s, >60s:
A rich red-gold soup, with a decent fresh aroma. The flavour is rich, yet not overpowering. There is little in the way of huigan, but the shupu flavours are crisp, clean, and the texture is fairly smooth.

By the time of the fifth infusion, it's all over for the leaf.

Wet leaves:
Recognisable as leaves, which is a bonus, being 4-5cm in length. Many are still able to be unrolled, if seemingly a touch brittle.

Overall:
A fair shupu, crisp and pleasant. The most impressive aspect is the leaf, which is clearly Menghai shupu - they have put their considerable experience to good use. It doesn't really push the boundaries, though, being mostly "decent". Perhaps a touch expensive for what there is. Time will mellow and smooth it, but there doesn't appear to be a strong enough character to make this worth buying for the long-term.