7款此生必喝的伟大罗纳河谷葡萄酒

Bonneau(博诺)、Chapoutier(莎普蒂尔)、Château Rayas(哈雅丝古堡)、Chave(沙芙)、Guigal(吉佳乐)、Jaboulet(嘉伯乐)和Vernay(伟奈)在是罗纳河谷在历史、葡萄栽种、葡萄酒酿造以及商业方面贡献的代表。通过这个酒单可以真正了解这个产区的魅力。
伊安·达加塔著

按照字母顺序——Bonneau(博诺)、Chapoutier(莎普蒂尔)、Château Rayas(哈雅丝古堡)、Chave(沙芙)、Guigal(吉佳乐)、Jaboulet(嘉伯乐)和Vernay(伟奈)不仅是罗纳河谷地区最好和最著名的七个酒庄,而且可以轻易占据任何严肃酒评家脑海中“世界上任何时代、唯独仅有、毋庸置疑、甚至如果你敢有什么不同想法都只能说明你疯了”这般的最佳五十个酒庄名单中的七个。如果所有这些表述都没法让人明白,我现在写下的,是一份类似于权威名单的东西。请注意,这不是一份权威葡萄酒的清单(因为需要有太多款葡萄酒被囊括在内),这是一份酒庄清单;我从每个酒庄中挑选了一款葡萄酒,这个清单好到什么地步呢——通过它可以真正了解罗纳河谷这个法国产区的魅力所在。当然,我本可以从每个酒庄选择许多其他款葡萄酒,以及更为著名的年份,但重点是,这个名单上的每一款酒都是令人着迷的好酒,而不一定是所谓百年难得一遇的“世纪之酒”,反过来说,每一款酒都充分展示了这七个卓尔不群、不容错过的酒庄特性。

法国罗纳河谷为葡萄酒爱好者提供了无数令人难忘的饮酒选择;毕竟,它是世界上一些最伟大葡萄酒的生产地。无论您喜欢棱角鲜明、富有矿物感,还是偏爱浓郁丰富、风味甜蜜的白葡萄酒,抑或您追求果香十足、生机勃发,乃至酒体厚重、热烈醇厚的红酒,显而易见的真相是:罗纳河谷种类繁多的酒款能够迎合每个人的口味偏好,那里的葡萄酒让人难以厌倦。最棒的是,这些葡萄酒颜色各异(白葡萄酒、红葡萄酒、桃红葡萄酒)、圆润度不同(棱角分明、柔和、圆润)、酒体也有差别(清淡、中等、厚重、非常厚重,以及“超级厚重”)。举例来说,罗纳河谷北部孔得里约(Condrieu)的维欧尼(Viogner)白葡萄酒闻名于世;另外还有附带烟熏、紫罗兰气息的西拉(Syrah)为主的红葡萄酒,范围从更为轻盈但风味浓郁的克罗兹-埃米塔日(Crozes- Hermitage)、圣约瑟夫(Saint-Joseph),到更为厚重、具有矿物感、烟草和森林地表气味的罗第丘(Côte-Rôtie)、科尔纳斯(Cornas)、埃米塔日(Hermitage)红葡萄酒。罗纳河谷南部的腔调如出一辙,那里的世界顶级佳酿名单连绵不绝,包括历史上著名的教皇新堡(Châteauneuf-du-Pape),以及那些常令人交口称赞、来自瓦凯拉(Vacqueyras)和吉贡达斯(Gigondas)产区的葡萄酒。显然,并不是所有酒都是一等一的好(其他任何地方也是如此),有太多的酒精含量过高、呈果酱状、毫无当地特色的葡萄酒被酿造而成,但在大多数情况下,罗纳河谷是个宝库,在此可以寻到许多价廉物美、适合佐餐、绝对美味的葡萄酒,更棒的是它们独具特色、很有辨识度。

最近一连串的品鉴和晚宴上,一瓶接一瓶杰出的罗纳产区葡萄酒令席间蓬荜生辉,饕餮臻享、唇齿留香。事实上,这些酒令我陷入沉思,世界上很少有其他产区能汇聚如此密集的传奇酒庄,它们酿造的葡萄酒值得让人用生命去追寻(当然,这是个比喻)。本报告中的简短酒单可谓管中窥豹,囊括罗纳产区所能提供最高水平的葡萄酒;事实上如前所述,上好酒款不胜枚举,本应被纳入酒单,但这篇经过大量删节的酒单也足以达到目的了——那就是让读者,以及所有葡萄酒爱好者更加了解那些罗纳产区的葡萄酒是多么惊艳四方。更令人印象深刻的是:请记住,本报告中收录的许多葡萄酒,既不是酒庄的顶级酒款,也不是全世界收藏家所追求的获奖年份,这也令这些酒款、这份名单更为值得关注。另外可以肯定地说,罗纳河谷生产商所提供的瓶装酒,其中至少有一些,其质量水平确实由衷令人惊叹。尽管每个葡萄酒产区中都有自己或黯淡无光、或星光熠熠的庄园,但很少有什么地方能拥有像我在这里列出的七个生产商那样,品质有口皆碑、地位举足轻重的酒庄。

本文中的葡萄酒是在2020年11月15日至2021年2月15日的三个月时间内,在我所居住的城市上海进行品鉴的。选择它们的依据,不仅出于对整体平衡度、浓度、厚度、典型性以及对它们所代表风土之忠诚度等方面衡量,还考虑到出产它们的酒庄——这些酒庄在历史、葡萄栽种、葡萄酒酿造以及商业方面均具有巨大优势。毫无疑问,本文中的七个酒庄称得上是罗纳河谷地区最著名、最杰出的七个酒庄。这些酒现在都非常适饮,尽管实际上如果再继续进行陈年,对所有这些酒都将大有裨益。最重要的是,它们带来了愉悦的饮用体验和真正的福佑时光,几乎可以保证能让餐席间人人心醉神迷。如果您允许的话,我想说这本身理由已经足够充足,让我们在任何时候为其唱颂赞歌;在我们当下所处的艰难疫情时期,尤其更当如此。

莎普蒂尔(Chapoutier)

1808年,名为“卡尔维与同伴”(Calvet et Compagnie)的公司设立——随后在波尔多成名,1883年公司出售给Rodolphe Délepine。1897年,莎普蒂尔酒庄雏形初现,法国阿尔代什省(Ardèche)本地人马吕斯·莎普蒂尔(Marius Chapoutier)与德莱平(Rodolphe Délepine)联手创建了“德莱平与莎普蒂尔公司”。1922年德莱平退休,莎普蒂尔将公司名称改为“莎普蒂尔与同伴”(Chapoutier et Compagnie)——这是今天闻名遐迩的莎普蒂尔酒庄(M. Chapoutier)的祖先,而M. Chapoutier这一名称可追溯到1955年。因此,莎普蒂尔酒庄是罗纳地区最古老的酒庄之一,拥有同样悠久而卓越的上佳葡萄酒酿造历史。时至今日,莎普蒂尔名声远扬,在葡萄酒圈内众人皆知,这也是理所当然的——它在全球许多不同的葡萄酒产地——例如法国的阿尔萨斯(Alsace)、香槟(Champagne)、鲁西永(Roussillon)、德国、澳大利亚;以及在所有主要的罗纳河谷产区的葡萄园均持有股权。这一扩张举措在很大程度上要归功于米歇尔·莎普蒂尔(Michel Chapoutier)的运作,他在1990年也就是26岁时接管了他的家族酒庄,不夸张地说,他使酒庄跃升为不仅是罗纳河谷地区、而是全球领先的葡萄酒生产商之一。他制定了严格的修剪技术,将产量降低到每公顷2500升。他还开始大力宣传生物动力法酿酒,在这个过程中取消了化学杀虫剂和化肥的使用,同时坚持手工采摘,并且只使用天然酵母。另一个功勋卓著但经常被忽略的举措是:他在酒标上引入了盲文——自1996年以来,所有莎普蒂尔葡萄酒的酒标都附有盲文,以纪念莫里斯·莫尼耶·德拉·西泽拉讷(Maurice Monier de la Sizeranne),他是现代简写盲文的发明者、是埃米塔日地区莎普蒂尔葡萄园原先的主人。莎普蒂尔酒庄出产的埃米塔日葡萄酒中,也有一款以他的名字命名。目前虽然显而易见,米歇尔仍是酒庄的掌舵人,不过他与莎普蒂尔家族的下一代成员(实际上是第八代)密切配合,包括米歇尔的女儿马蒂尔德(Mathilde Chapoutier)和儿子马克西姆(Maxime Chapoutier)。

2011 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon                    97

Deep red-ruby, boasting aromas and flavours of red cherry, blackberry nectar, aromatic herbs, vanilla, licorice, tobacco and kirsch, the 2011 Chapoutier Ermitage Le Pavillon is a simply amazing wine. At once monstrously powerful yet refined and nuanced, it is exceptionally smooth and light on its feet, and truly unforgettable at every sip. Made in a super-ripe style but not on that is immediately tiresome and boring (and therein lies its true greatness, for combining those two characteristics is a neat trick few are really capable of pulling off), the grapes are sourced from the Les Bessards vineyard, a grand cru site if there ever was one (in fact, as a zonation study and subsequent classification was never carried out in Hermitage, and so Les Bessards, located on the western side of the Hermitage hill and one of the world’s true grand crus, is only a lieux-dit). At roughly 130 meters above sea level, Chapoutier’s vines are planted in the lower reaches of this cru, the soils of which are mostly made of reddish granite that help one understand why the wine is both spicy and fresh at once. The specific micro-biota does the rest in helping express this particular section of Les Bessards terroir, and you haven’t really tasted a great Hermitage wine until you’ve tasted one that is this good. But of course, even then, you’ll have tasted only one facet of the magic that is “the hill”. For the rest of the story, you’ll have to try Chapoutier’s other single cru Hermitage wines (or read my upcoming reports and vertical as on TerroirSense Wine Review). Drinking window: now-2036.

哈雅丝古堡(Château Rayas)

如果把那群葡萄酒专家钉在墙上不得动弹,直到他们说出心目中最伟大的罗纳葡萄酒究竟是什么,许多人无疑会选择哈雅丝古堡(然后可能同样多的人会提到沙芙、还有说莎普蒂尔的、提到吉佳乐的、还有其他酒庄的名称——这就是葡萄酒的魅力)。

哈雅丝古堡是个古老而广被传颂的庄园。早在1880年,雷诺家族(Reynaud Family)即已在此扬帆起航,他们的后代至今仍在披荆斩浪,御风前行;但事实上,没几个人知道,这一切其实起源于非常不幸的情形:阿尔伯特·雷诺住在教皇新堡附近,他在年仅四十五岁时失聪,迫使他选择新的职业以完成自我重塑。而他选择在罗纳河谷成为一名酿酒师,在那里他购买了哈雅丝古堡——这对于每一个钟爱葡萄酒的人而言都可称得上是天遂人愿。正是在他的继任者,路易·雷诺(Louis Reynaud)的带领下,哈雅丝古堡成为教皇新堡地区第一批庄内装瓶、自产自销的酒庄之一。

现如今,酒庄由伊曼纽尔·雷诺(Emmanuel Reynaud)管理,在追寻他的叔叔、备受尊敬的雅克·雷诺(Jacques Reynaud)足迹之前,伊曼纽尔自1989年起即负责瓦给拉斯(Vacqueyras)产区的图尔酒庄(Château des Tours)。哈雅丝古堡主要种植歌海娜(Grenache),拥有15个不同地块,分布在3个种植园中——夕阳西下(Le Couchant)、Le Coeur(中心地带)和Le Levant(日出东方),通常来说,朝北的葡萄藤种植在红色沙质土壤上,附有少量石灰石和黏土。对于该产区大部分较好的片区来说有点非同寻常的是,岩石和石块几乎很少,而更多是由非常细腻的沙质土壤主导的地形。正是由于石头较少、土壤富含黏土,确保哈雅丝古堡能够从一个比大多数地方更为凉爽的微气候中受益,至少教皇新堡这片林区亦能起到如此作用——大型针叶树和落叶树的存在,进一步造就了凉爽的微气候:事实上,哈雅丝古堡是教皇新堡地区最为凉爽的风土,因此哈雅丝古堡始终是该产区最后一批采收的酒庄之一,这也就顺理成章了。

1989 Château Rayas                    100

This is an easy one: simply put, still today, the 1989 Château Rayas is one of the twenty greatest red wines I have ever tasted. The world’s millionaires will no doubt have had, and still have, a ton of fun trying to decide over the years (and over multiple attempts, clearly) which is better, the 1989 or the 1990 Rayas, but for me the elegance of the former wins out over the slightly over-the-top opulence of the latter every single time. Bright deep red, unbelievably sexy, silky and complex, the nose alone is that of an unforgettable 1000 point wine (for in this case, 100 points just doesn’t cut it) of red cherry, raspberry jam, incense, cinnamon, nutmeg, tobacco, sandalwood and so much more I would be another hour writing about if I had to describe every aroma you can pick up on their fabulous nose. The sleek, sweet and suave, with an incredibly fine-grained quality and a plump juiciness that are literally impossible to forget, not to mention the almost impossibly long finish and the absolutely luscious, refined, mouthfeel. A wine of unbelievable purity of fruit that is extraordinarily silky and elegant in its otherworldly texture, the 1989 Rayas is a truly unforgettable wine. Drinking window: now-2030.

沙芙(Chave)

路易·沙芙酒庄(Jean Louis Chave或JL Chave)始建于1481年,这里出产的葡萄酒从加利福尼亚到澳大利亚均备受追捧,而且没有任何一个收藏家能按捺住渴望,不去追捧一些格外令人垂涎的沙芙葡萄酒——例如,所有凯瑟琳特酿(Cuvée Cathelins)。这款出众特酿只在最好的年份酿制,与普通瓶装酒相比,它展现了一种不同的埃米塔日风格,因为它们虽然来自相同略地(lieux-dits),但混酿的比例不同,这样你就能知道酒庄做得还不错。事实上,在十六代人的努力下,如果这个酒庄的葡萄酒没有难以掩饰的出类拔萃,那将是一个真正的耻辱,因为沙芙代表了世界上最具传奇色彩、最闻名于世的酒庄之一,我们都希望看到它大放异彩。酒庄现在由让·路易·沙芙(Jean Louis Chave)经营,他在康涅狄格大学(University of Connecticut)完成本科学习,并在加利福尼亚大学戴维斯分校(University of California, Davis)获得酿酒学学位,随后自1992年起与他的父亲杰拉德(Gerard Chave)一同工作。在沙芙酒庄,他们一直被称为混酿大师。他们将埃米塔日各个略地的不同特点进行巧妙结合,呈现出精彩绝伦的葡萄酒——尤其是贝莎园(Les Bessards)陡峭的花岗岩山坡,为葡萄酒提供了丰富的水果特质。

1990 Chave Hermitage                    97

Long-lived wine of great purity, elegance, power, and finesse, the 1990 Chave Hermitage is yet another winemaking tour de force from the Rhône. Deep bright red, offering a panoply of violet, rosehip, red and dark cherry, sandalwood, tobacco, leather, earth and sweet spice aromas and flavours, complicated by botanical herbs and a shot of minerals, the wine finishes long and insidiously sweet with a very fine tannic grain. The 1990 Chave Hermitage showcases what is one of this estate’s best qualities that is the ability to make powerful and concentrated wines that are seemingly seamless. Fully mature but weathering old age beautifully, this wine can be enjoyed now or held on to a few more years, but I wouldn’t insist on deferring gratification too much longer (or tempting fate, for that matter). In fairness to my readers, I do need to point out that over the years I have had a few bottles of this wine that were just slightly marred by gamey aromas, though, just as fairly, I also want to say that this specific bottle did not offer any such notes. Drinking window: now-2028.

乔治·伟奈(Georges Vernay)

如果说时至今日,维欧尼葡萄还能得以存活延续,那都要得益于一个人的丰功伟绩。至今乔治·伟奈这家酒庄的每一个酒标都对他的名字传颂称道,而我在参观这家酒庄时,曾有幸与他数次相见。目前乔治·伟奈酒庄由酿酒师克里斯蒂·伟奈(Christine Vernay),以及她的丈夫、负责销售及营销的保罗·阿姆塞勒姆(Paul Amsellem)掌管。乔治现已过世,但这对才华横溢、讨人喜欢的夫妻俩继承了乔治的衣钵,事业得以传承。而在外面学习多年后,他们同样天资聪颖、迷人可爱的女儿艾玛,现在也介入酒庄工作,预备逐渐接替她的父母,真是个令人兴奋地好消息。

20世纪50年代,乔治意识到,他钟爱的维欧尼葡萄已减少到在全球范围只剩大约6公顷,并决定不能再这样下去了,这对我们所有葡萄酒爱好者来说都是一件幸事。那时,一公斤的杏卖的比维欧尼葡萄还要贵,孔得里约当地人将葡萄藤连根拔起,转而用空地建造附带泳池的第二居所。然而,得益于伟奈为维欧尼葡萄及产区所做的不懈努力,时至今日维欧尼葡萄已在世界各地种植,孔得里约产区也已闻名于世。克里斯蒂·伟奈在1996年接管了酒庄,使葡萄酒品质又迈上新的台阶,特别是其中一款名为孔得里约弗农丘(Condrieu Coteau de Vernon)的葡萄酒——大多数人均交口赞誉,认为它是世界上最杰出的孔得里约葡萄酒。这款传说中的葡萄酒能达到如此高的品质,不仅因为克里斯蒂的酿酒天赋,还源于弗农丘的风土,这里很可能是世界上最适合种植维欧尼葡萄的地块。简而言之,这块土地的地质、气候、微生物学(乔治·伟奈酒庄获得了有机认证)不仅可以呈现维欧尼葡萄的油质感,还能表现出芳香细腻感——而这是在稍差地区酿制的维欧尼葡萄酒中经常会缺失的。

2017 Condrieu Coteau de Vernon                    97

The 2017 Domaine Vernay Condrieu Coteau de Vernon was extraordinary: in fact, one of the best young Vernons I have ever tasted. Not as rich and opulent as some other vintages of this world-famous wine, but explosively perfumed and downright dainty in its lifted texture, the 2017 is beautifully pale-golden in hue, and exudes truly memorable aromas and flavours that are archetypically Viognier: apricot, white and yellow peach, white pepper, hawthorn, lime, pear, orange peel, violets, orange flowers and jasmine. It was vinified and aged in barrels (25% new in 2017, which is more than the 15% of the 2018 Coteau de Vernon). There have been more famous, even better vintages than the 2017 Condrieu Coteau de Vernon, but I’ve had this wine at dinner numerous times over the last year or so, and I have found over this stretch that it always ends up being everyone’s favourite at evening’s end, and that has to count for something. And so it makes my list here. Drinking window: now-2028.

吉佳乐(Guigal)

我对菲利普·吉佳乐(Philippe Guigal)其人、他的家庭以及他酿造的葡萄酒情有独钟,也许是因为在他方才接管吉佳乐家族酒庄时,我刚开始认真地探访罗纳产区、每年安排多达三次旅行。但事实上,即使对那些峥嵘往昔的记忆并不存在,如不把吉佳乐列为罗第丘最著名的生产商、同时是全世界最杰出的十个葡萄酒庄园之一,这也是天方夜谭。这个家族不仅生产全球差不多二十五款顶级红酒中的三款,例如著名的La Las(La Mouline、La Landonne和La Turque),而且如罗纳丘(Côtes du Rhône)在内的入门级葡萄酒的质量,也使无论何地的大型生产商都倍感羞耻;吉佳乐也是世界上最大的酒贸易商之一,事实上,吉佳乐的任何低价位葡萄酒都很出色:早期易饮、柔滑的教皇新堡及罗第丘就是其中的贴切范例。在如此短的时间内,吉佳乐酒庄取得了如此大的成就,简直令人惊叹:酒庄在1946年才由埃蒂安·吉佳乐(Etienne Guigal)创立,彼时他刚离开当时闻名于罗纳产区的威菲酒庄(Vidal-Fleury)——埃蒂安在那里工作了将近20年;吉佳乐最终在1984年买下了威菲庄园,也可称得上是有趣的生命轮回。埃蒂安的儿子马塞尔(Marcel)继承衣钵,于1961年起与他的父亲一起工作。马塞尔将吉佳乐变成今天在全球范围拥有权势的集团公司,可以说是功不可没。而且可以说,在吉佳乐之前,罗纳地区的分区和单一庄葡萄酒非属典型,那里的葡萄酒均由不同地块的葡萄混酿而成。

2016 Saint-Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice                    96+

Deep, brilliant ruby-red. Boasts ripe cassis, blackberry nectar, violet, and sweet spice notes on the complex nose. Then similar flavours to the aromas, plus a healthy dollop of sweet vanillin oak (that still needs to be digested), and truly noteworthy minerality. Finishes long and seamless, this is a Saint-Joseph like none you have ever tried before, and is made very much in the mold of Guigal’s famous La Las. Refined but beautifully balanced, focused and concentrated, it will develop splendidly over the next four to five years. Then enjoy for another ten (at least) after that. A truly beautiful, seamless wine that showcases the utmost elegance that the best wines of Saint-Joseph have in spades (wines that were once considered to be superior to those of Hermitage!), the Guigal 2016 Saint-Joseph Vignes de l’Hospice will easily convert you into a Rhône wine lover! Made from 20 to 80 years old vines and aged for thirty months in new oak barriques, this is a suave beauty the first taste of which will have you immediately realize you are in the presence of greatness. It is now also a monopole wine after Guigal was able to buy the sections of the vineyard previously owned by the Jean-Louis Grippat and de Vallouit estates. Made from a cooler, east-facing, and absolutely beautiful vineyard that is very easy to admire from the Les Bessards vineyard on the Hermitage hill across the river (coincidentally, the soils of the two sites, broken granite, are very similar), the Vignes de l’Hospice plot is located just above the town of Tournon. Drinking window: 2025-2034.

亨利·博诺(Henri Bonneau)

亨利·博诺是他家族的第12代葡萄种植者,他首次酿造葡萄酒的时间是在于1956年!亨利因糖尿病并发症过世,享年77岁,但他身后这些葡萄酒是永不磨灭的宝贵遗产。博诺似乎对歌海娜葡萄(Grenache)有真正的领悟——甚至这可能是与生俱来的天赋——他将酒的酒精含量提高到其他大多数人都无法想象的水平,尽管他使用的红葡萄品种通常还包括少量的慕合怀特(Mourvedre)、古诺瓦兹(Counoise)及瓦卡尔斯(Vaccarèse)。他将产量控制到非常低——每公顷1000至1200升是“正常”的量,采取晚收,不做去梗处理。他酿的酒既有力量感、又优雅怡人,这十分难得:只有世界上最伟大的酿造者才能保持这样做。根据年份不同,博诺最多可以酿制4种不同的教皇新堡葡萄酒,他的入门级葡萄酒通常比大多数其他酒庄的顶级葡萄酒都要好。可以肯定地说,从品质角度出发,只有哈雅丝古堡和博卡斯特尔酒庄(Beaucastel)能与之相提并论。博诺利用水泥罐进行发酵,然后将葡萄酒在大号勃艮第旧桶中保存长达十年,且仅在他认为万事俱备时进行装瓶。

Henri Bonneau 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape                    95

Deep purple-ruby. Extremely vinous, brambly nose speaks of dark plums, violet, garrigue, tobacco and roasted chestnuts, plus a shot of liquid minerality. Powerful and deep on the palate, but with vibrant acidity nicely extending the blue and black fruit and herbal flavours on the long silky fresh back end. This truly mesmerizing wine packs in amazing levels of power and flavour but does so with amazing grace and delicacy, a really neat trick to witness, and one that only star-level winemakers can really pull off. I also want to emphasize just how much this beautiful wine was so much more open and complex the next day after opening the bottle, so decanting well ahead is a very good idea. Just one sip of the Henri Bonneau 2017 Châteauneuf-du-Pape will have you finally understand what the words “greatness in the glass” really mean. Drinking window: 2024-2034.

嘉伯乐(Jaboulet)

创立于1834年,在20世纪下半叶的大部分时间里,保罗·嘉伯乐(Paul Jaboulet Aîné)在埃米塔日酒庄里大名鼎鼎,拥有一系列传奇年份。其葡萄酒是衡量所有其他罗纳葡萄酒的基准。尽管嘉伯乐是的拥有者是一个非常庞大的家族,并且这个规模旁大的酒商从其他种植者那里购买相当大比例的葡萄酒和葡萄,嘉伯乐非常善于建立网络,与数百个罗纳地区最好的种植者相联结,从他们那里购买极其优质的果实。但此外,嘉伯乐酒庄还在埃米塔日拥有多达五分之一的最为著名的葡萄园,另外在克罗兹-埃米塔日也拥有上等葡萄园。史上大部分时间里,该公司总能酿造出许多表现优异的葡萄酒,各种价位都有——例如,他们的斯坦伯格骑士白葡萄酒(Chevalier de Sterimberg),自始至终品质坚实可靠,总是非常值得购买。然而,他们那瓶颈标上绘有可爱小教堂图案的小教堂葡萄酒(Hermitage La Chapelle),使酒庄真正声名鹊起,令嘉伯乐成为世界上真正具有代表性的葡萄酒庄园。1961年和1978年的小教堂,是世界各地拍卖会上最受收藏家追捧的两款葡萄酒。不幸的是,在罗纳地区,80年代出现了庄内装瓶风潮,意味着嘉伯乐失去了一部分优质葡萄来源,另外杰拉德·嘉伯乐(Gerard Jaboulet)于1997年英年早逝,也对酒庄造成沉重打击。因此,经历一段艰难时期后,许多葡萄酒已跌落神坛,往昔传奇不复。嘉伯乐公司被卖给了弗雷金融集团(Compagnie Financière Frey),他们是波尔多朗丽湖酒庄(Château la Lagune)的所有者。事实上,大部分嘉伯乐20世纪90年代葡萄酒的美名,已经被许多所谓的葡萄酒专家一笔勾销了。尽管我认为这一论点也不是无稽之谈,但我也认为这一具体说法被夸大了,甚至有时这样说有失公允。不幸的是,在酒评撰写方面,一窝蜂地盲目跟风实在太普遍了。

1999 Hermitage La Chapelle                    95

A wine that proves my point and then some is the 1999 Paul Jaboulet Aîné Hermitage La Chapelle, a wine of real beauty, grace and refinement, exceptionally smooth and pretty. Don’t take my word for it, open a bottle and see for yourselves. Though clearly not the most concentrated Hermitage you’ll ever taste (and for this reason it was immediately lumped into a generic “not as good as this wine used to be” category), it is instead drinking beautifully right now and will prove a perfect match with many a meat dish you’ll want to try. Bright deep red, it boasts aromas of red cherry, strawberry, sandalwood, rosemary, tarragon and leather complicated by nuances of cinnamon and black pepper. Very smooth and light on its feet, it just glides effortlessly on the palate, smothering your tastebuds with a sultry coat of Syrah-based sexy goodness and very noteworthy suave length. Simply put, it’s hard to find a more enjoyable red wine to drink right now, and I only wish I had more bottles of this very classic, timeless and absolutely seamless beauty stored in my cellar. It recently brought a magical evening of fine wine, food and friends to a wonderful close. Drinking window: now-2028.

 

 

Ian D'Agata

伊安·达加塔在葡萄酒领域耕耘超过30年,在葡萄酒品评、葡萄酒科研写作和葡萄酒教育等方面,都取得了杰出的成果,在葡萄酒行业和葡萄酒爱好者中,享有世界性声望。作为享誉国际的葡萄酒作家,他最近的两本著作《意大利原生葡萄品种》《意大利原生葡萄品种风土》被公认为意大利葡萄酒领域的权威著作;前者荣获2015年Louis Roederer国际葡萄酒作家大奖赛“年度最佳书籍奖”,他是唯一获此殊荣的意大利葡萄酒作家,并入选《洛杉矶时报》、《金融时报》、《纽约时报》评选的“年度葡萄酒书籍”榜单;后者被《纽约时报》和美国的Food & Wine杂志提名为年度最佳葡萄酒书籍。

Ian D’Agata has been writing and educating about wines for over thirty years. Internationally recognized as an distinguished expert, critic and writer on many wine regions, his two most recent, award winning books Native Wine Grapes of Italy and Italy's Native Wine Grape Terroirs (both published by University of California Press) are widely viewed as the "state of the art" textbooks on the subject. The former book won the Louis Roederer International Wine Awards Book of the Year in 2015 and was ranked as the top wine books of the year for the Los Angeles Times, the Financial Times and the New York Times, while the latter was named among the best wine books of the year by Food & Wine Magazine and the NY Times.[:]

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  • Hello Ian, great Wineries from Rhône their wines have a constant quality and respect the identity of the territory.

    • I couldn’t agree more! But that’s probably true of all the great wineries of the world, they all make wines that respect the territory as much as possible and try to express their terroirs in the glass as much as possible…I’ll be writing soon about another seven great estates and wiens from the Rhone, like I said there are so many great ones to chosoe from…Beaucastel, Graillot, Clape…the list is really almost endless!

  • Rayas is like Romanee Conti–it exists in its own realm although it seems to be connected to the rest of the earth. Yes 100 points will not do. There are wines that go beyond points. Rayas is one of the few. I am so happy for you that you could taste these gems. Bob Millman

    • I was very glad too! Honestly, it’s hard to explain just how amazing that wine in that vintage is. ian

Ian D'Agata