Chinese wines get a grand showcase to shine

The caricature of a wine expert from France would no doubt say French wines are magnifique. Italian wines? (Promising.) German wines? (Don't make me laugh.) New World wines? (Don't even go there.)

So what would real-life French wine experts make of today's Chinese wines?

I had a chance to find out last week at a pairing and tasting dinner, featuring comments by French wine journalists and critics Michel Bettane and Thierry Desseauve, authors of a globally respected annual wine guide. I was so intrigued by the prospect, in fact, that I uncharacteristically shelled out 880 yuan ($140) to check it out.