负责任的葡萄酒评论

这篇文章里,罗伯特米尔曼分析了葡萄酒评论中逐渐有的分数膨胀和分差范围缩小的趋势,并讨论了葡萄酒分数和价格间的一些关系。
by Robert Millman

如何最好地评论葡萄酒,特别是如何给葡萄酒打分,这是每个认真对待自己工作的品酒师/酒评家的核心问题。不幸的是,夸张和过度打分的趋势已经达到这样一种地步,使消费者不禁要问,目前的酒评有多少真正有用、有参考价值?有多少比例可以提供有效信息。对具有鲜明个性和特点的葡萄酒充满热爱是可以的,不过,对于读者,在言辞和评分方面对它们稍加克制,实际上比无节制的赞美更有利。我们很容易责怪罗伯特帕克引入100分制,使得短时间里,很多葡萄酒分数都迅速移到90分以上。而一旦90分的底线被确立,它就开始向93分漂移,从而将实际的评分范围从0到100分变成93到100分。  这种评分漂移的不幸后果是:89-92分的葡萄酒被置于失落边缘,当然除非它们本身是廉价酒。

零售商很快也意识到,分数越高,销售就越快、越容易。零售商需要”每一款卖到100美元的酒都应有95分或更高的评分”,当然,有经验和知识的买家能拒绝上当,但普通消费者呢?

一些葡萄酒作家悄悄拒绝屈服于评分膨胀。Bruce Sanderson(《葡萄酒观察家》)、Ian D’Agata、Steve Tanzer和Allen Meadows(Burghound),是四位为真正为出类拔萃的葡萄酒,保留95分及以上评分的酒评家。当这些先生们给出高分时,能明显感觉这些分数是公平和恰当的。不止一次,我有机会将D’Agata和Tanzer对波尔多的评分与其他作家的评分进行比较,许多葡萄酒的评分都在89-92的区间内!这意味着95或97分的葡萄酒已经是有杰出表现。当高分就像婚礼上的彩纸一样被抛来抛去,会造成双重伤害,过誉的那些将不可避免地导致消费者失望,有时甚至是公开在各种购买、媒体渠道冷嘲热讽。进而部分大众可能得出结论,很多95分及以上的葡萄酒其实并不值这个分数,这样对真正优秀的葡萄酒产生连带伤害。

市面上大多数(生产销售商)需要评分/评论的葡萄酒,从打分系统定义上讲几乎都不在最杰出那档的范围。但这些酒也许能令人愉快,甚至还是迷人并有品质保证的。88-90分的范围似乎对它们很合适,它们并不会因为 “未能 “获得93分或更高的分数,而变成有缺陷或缺乏重要要素的酒。打分膨胀夸大了大多数值得饮用的葡萄酒的优点。相应地,给几乎所有昂贵的葡萄酒打95分或更高的分数,使人们几乎无法区分真正出类拔萃的酒和仅仅是非常好的酒。

有一类葡萄酒,低分和高分出现得同样频繁:勃艮第。这个问题因勃艮第分级变得很普遍,最顶级是特级园,只占很小产量。特级园之下是一级园,虽然对应每一个特级园都有10-12个一级园,但产量仍然很低。一级园下面是有葡萄园名称但没有分级地位的略地(Lieux-dits),其中一些有非常好的声誉。接下来是有村庄名称的葡萄酒,如Gevrey-Chambertin。最后,有相当多葡萄酒仅被标为勃艮第红葡萄酒或勃艮第白葡萄酒。现实里有一个不成文的规则,即葡萄园的地位越高,允许给的分数就越高。勃艮第大区葡萄酒的评分通常为87-89分,村庄葡萄酒的最高分是90-91分,略地有时能达到92分。一级园评分可高达94分,但通常在90-93分之间,95分及以上是留给特级园的。酿造葡萄酒的酒庄越有名,评分就越高。我担心生活中总避免不了任何形式的政治。经常品尝勃艮第葡萄酒的人都知道,不同酒庄手里,有时一家的村庄级葡萄酒要比另一家的一级园做得更好、更真实。一旦你了解一家酒庄的品质,就可以据此来调整评分。数字是绝对的,感官体验则更灵活、多变,这就是为什么在评论葡萄酒时,文字很重要!

 

Robert Millman

Robert Millman’s wine career began in the early 1980s, when he began working from Morrell & Company, one of the USA’s top wine retailers. During that time, he co-founded Executive Wine Seminars (EWS) with Howard Kaplan, which over the years became one of NYC’s most highly regarded wine events companies. EWS organized and conducted over 1000 wine events during its prestigious thirty-three year history. High points included Robert Parker being a regular guest presenter at the tastings, and through 2011, the results of the tastings were published on the Wine Advocate website. Having reached an age where taking a step back from the wear and tear of life in the wine fast lane made sense, Millman currently enjoys being a taster and wine writer for Grapes the Wine Company, an excellent, leading e-retailer based in Westchester (NY). 

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  • Another great, and authentic, article. V informative and honest. Particularly liked the section about Burgundy scoring. All in all, I’d rate this article a 93 – and I am a very tough rater!

    • I appreciate the comments and the score. When I ran wine seminars in NYC, I gave 93 to wines I really liked and would be happy to own. 95 and above was reserved for perhaps 1-2 out of 12 top notch wines. To many 95s-99s and the value of high scores is reduced to a matter of luck for the reader.

Robert Millman