頂級澳洲Shiraz的品嚐報告
1998/5/29好友Simon辦了一場頂級澳洲酒的品嚐會，採Blind Tasting方式品嚐澳洲八支頂級好酒，酒單如下
年份, 酒廠&酒名, 當地澳幣價格, W.S.評分/Parker評分
1995 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz, AU$50.00, 93 /(‘93:94)
1993 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz, AU$34.00, (‘92:88)/ 88
1993 Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz, AU$100.00, -- / --
1996 Rosemount Estate Balmoral Syrah, AU$55.00, 92 /(‘95:88)
1994 Clarendon Hills Shiraz, AU$40.00, (‘95:92)/ 91
1994 Wynns Coonawarra Michael Shiraz, AU$70.00, (‘93:90)/ --
1995 Jim Barry The Armagh, AU$159.00, 92 / --
1995 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz, AU$50.00, (‘96:90)/ --
P.S. 打括號者表示該年份的酒尚未評分，括號內為其之前(後)年份的評分，僅供參考
品嚐結果:
由於五號酒公認氣味、口感有一股強烈的醃漬酸菜味，感覺酒已變質，眾人決議不參與評比，因此各人只就七支酒做喜好排序。此酒揭開鋁箔後發現是1994 Clarendon Hills，感覺十分可惜，不過我之前已喝過此酒，確實不是這種怪味，口味其實還不錯。
三號酒Grant Burge 1993 Meshach在12人中得到6票第一，2票第二，3票第三，1票第四，獲得壓倒性的勝利，是與會八支酒中最受大家喜愛者。此酒顏色不是一般Shiraz的紫紅色，而是比較接近波爾多酒的暗紅色，香氣濃郁而高雅，帶有香草、薄荷、醋栗、梅子的果香與燒烤橡木桶香，入口果味豐盈且複雜，帶有香甜梅子的風味，重度酒體，單寧年輕、厚實、但不粗糙，餘味非常地悠長且複雜，這支酸度夠、單寧強、果味足的好酒集優雅與力道於一身，不但現在就非常迷人，也令人期待它日後的發展。此酒被Winestate譽為”The Next Grange”，果然不是浪得虛名，在座多位酒友也一致認為:此酒實在是好，即使是與Penfolds ’93 Grange來做Blind Tasting，也不見得比它差。
六號酒Wynns 1994 Michael得到1票第一，6票第二，3票第三，但有1票最後一名，總分是這次品嚐會的第二名，此酒顏色是深紫紅色，香氣非常雅緻，梅子、蜜餞甜香中還隱隱有股花香，入口單寧豐富、重度酒體，帶有梅子與黑櫻桃的口味，酸度、單寧、果味之間非常均衡，我個人覺得此酒的細緻口感是八支酒中最像Cote-Rotie頂級酒的一支。此酒也名列“紐澳小金書”的五顆金星榜內，並得到James Halliday給予96高分，是這位澳洲酒評大師在1998整年所評的八百多支澳洲酒中的第三名，僅次於’93 Grange與’94 Hill of Grace的97分，看來好酒果然就是好酒，各路英雄所見略同！此酒係黃教授購自美國，感謝他慷慨割讓珍藏，讓眾人得享口鼻之福。
四號酒Rosemount 1996 Balmoral得到2票第一，6票第二，但有1票最後一名，總分雖是這次品嚐會的第三名，但與前一支僅差一分，應可算是與Wynns 1994 Michael並列亞軍；此酒顏色是深紫紅色，與Michael類似，帶有梅子、黑櫻桃的香氣，非常甜美、直接而迷人，入口單寧仍豐富，但較其它酒款柔軟，中至重度酒體，帶有梅子與糖果的口味，餘味中等長度，我個人覺得此酒雖不如前二支酒複雜細緻，但它的風味最為甜美、溫暖，這或許是它討喜的原因。澳洲專業葡萄酒雜誌Winestate在’98年度評鑑中(11/12月號)，Shiraz紅酒的第一名(於680款中評鑑)就是Rosemount Estate Balmoral Syrah 1995！這次原本要喝‘95，但因我一時疏忽錯開成一瓶’96，還好結果不差；Balmoral 1996曾得到James Halliday給予94高分，‘95理論上應更好，我家中還賸一瓶，下回有機會再試！
七號酒Jim Barry 1995 The Armagh得到總評的第四名(2票第一，7票給第三與第四，但有2票最後一名)，此酒顏色最深，是極濃的紫黑色，顏色深到舉杯對著燈看都不透光，一開始聞就感覺非常地深沉、收斂、封閉，燒烤橡木桶味，呼吸一段時間隱隱有茴香與花香味，口感則是強而有力，香甜、高貴、優雅，細緻如絲絨般的單寧，重度酒體，餘味極長，不過複雜及變化不如三、六號酒；此酒是這次最貴的一支酒，但大多數人都給它中間名次；其實不是它不夠好，而是這幾支酒實在都太好了，差距並不大，事實上這支酒得到James Halliday給90分，W.S.給92分，也算是極好，應該是還太年輕，其優點與潛力尚未完全未展現。
第五名是八號酒1995 Dalwhinnie，除了陳匡民美女對它情有獨鐘，其它人都給它中下名次(8票給第五與第四)，此酒顏色也是如墨汁般的深紫黑色，與上一支The Armagh類似，香氣帶有一股特殊的五香粉味道，由於之前我喝過1995 Dalwhinnie，即對此特殊香味印象深刻，因此一聞就很確定它就是1995 Dalwhinnie；此酒口感非常生硬，單寧咬口，並未有相當的果味匹配，感覺太年輕，還喝不出潛在的優點；以此酒名列“紐澳小金書”的五顆金星榜內之實力，陳年後應有另一番發展。
第六名是一號酒Henschke 1995 Mount Edelstone Shiraz，此酒顏色是中等的紫紅色，香氣不錯，帶有香草、茴香、梅子的味道，還隱然有一點帶甜的水果香味，口感果味豐富，單寧柔順，中度酒體，酒質均衡，入口深度不錯，但餘味較短，變化較少。此酒W.S.給93分，但James Halliday只給了88分，由於眾人原先對Henschke抱很大期望，揭曉後不免有些失望。
第七名是二號酒Penfolds 1993 St. Henri，分數與前一支Henschke非常接近，雖然敬陪末座，但以其如此低的價位而言品質實在也相當好。此酒顏色暗紅，有一點年紀，香氣與口感都是成熟的水果風味，香甜、柔順、好喝，中度濃郁，雖然複雜度與集中度稍弱，餘味也較短，但果味成熟，好喝易入口。
這次品嚐會後，發現好的澳洲酒實在令人驚豔，三、四、六、七號酒都極好，即使是Grange或Hill of Grace進來Blind Tasting可能也討不到便宜；尤其是三號酒Grant Burge 1993 Meshach，與會者沒有一人不喜歡，由於產量實在太少，我想Wine Spectator、Parker與Halliday可能都不曾喝過，因此沒有評分，但以這支酒如此好的品質，實在是不需要Wine Spectator、Parker的評分來肯定它！八支酒分攤下來每人共花費NT$1000，不但物超所值，彼此更分享了品嚐經驗，實在是一個美好的回憶。
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以下是酒款的介紹:
1993 Penfolds St. Henri Shiraz
Local Retail Price: AU$34.00
簡介:
Penfolds大概是澳洲目前最知名的老酒廠，生產各款高、中、低級紅白酒，酒款超過20種。它的旗艦酒款Grange素來號稱是“南半球第一好酒”，但自從得到了Wine Spectator的年度Top 100 Wines的第一名後，更加聲名遠播，價格就開始居高不下。St. Henri是Penfolds生產的紅酒中等級僅次於Grange(Shiraz)、Bin707(Cab. Sau.)與Magill(Shiraz)者，算是Penfolds紅酒類的老四，或是Shiraz的老三，雖比起今天一起品嚐的其它七支酒嫌稍弱，但也算是支好酒。
St. Henri的第一個年份是1956年，迄今已有40年歷史，其使用南澳多個小產區的葡萄混合而成，以Shiraz為主(85%以上)，視年份的狀況會加入一些Cabernet Sauvinon，特色是以香濃的果味為主，而非來自新橡木桶的複雜度；此酒是在2000公升的巨型舊木桶中儲養12-18個月後裝瓶，因此酒質不像其它使用小型新橡木桶儲養的酒那般強壯，此酒的李子、黑櫻桃、黑莓等水果味特別明顯，橡木桶味較淡，複雜度較不足，但比較優雅，屬於老式的傳統口味，即使在Penfolds家族中，它也是最獨樹一格的酒款；這在各個新酒廠競用新桶、以釀製濃郁強烈的酒成為趨勢的今日，St. Henri可算是個異數了。
Tasting notes sourced from Southcorp Wines(23/06/1997):
In contrast to many other Penfolds reds, prominent oak is not an important element of the Penfolds St. Henri, rather the emphasis is placed on the shiraz fruit characters. After a very wet spring and early summer, the long, fine autumn enabled optimal ripeness to be achieved. The 1993 St. Henri is destined to be a classic and will develop along similar lines to the excellent 1991, 1986 and 1983 vintages. Bright red purple colour. The nose is very fruit driven with complex aromas of sweet stewed plum berried fruit and hints of berry and liquorice with oak characters adding depth. The palate is full bodied, concentrated, powerful and mouthfilling. The wine features ripe plum and mulberry shiraz flavours derived from the Barossa Valley and McLaren components of the blend, with spice and a hint of anise from the Coonawarra and Eden Valley fruit. Fine subtle tannins provide a soft dry finish. Cellar 5-10 years. 13.5% Alcohol Volume.
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1993 Grant Burge Meshach Shiraz
Local Retail Price: AU$100.00
簡介:
Grant Burge是此酒廠釀酒師的名字，雖然酒廠自1988年創立至今才十年左右，但卻頗具明星架勢；此酒廠生產多款紅白酒，最高檔的兩款一個是Shadrach (CAb. Sau.)，另一個就是Meshach (Shiraz)。Meshach是Grant Burge祖父的名字，此酒在Barossa Valley產區首屈一指，只在上好年份才生產，由100% Shiraz釀成，先在75%的新木桶中儲養二年半，裝瓶後再在酒窖陳年二年後才上市；葡萄來自Filsell葡萄園中約八十歲樹齡的菁華老藤，年產量僅數百箱；此酒廠同樣來自Filsell葡萄園的普通等級Shiraz，一瓶僅十幾塊澳幣，1996年份的酒就已得到Wine Spectator給予91高分，這支’93 Meshach售價高達100澳元，雖尚未有評分，但品質應可由此略見端倪。
澳洲專業葡萄酒雜誌Winestate在’97年的5/6月號的專題報導，Grant Burge酒廠的Meshach Shiraz被譽為”The Next Grange”，是頗令人期待的一款酒。
Tasting notes from the winery(06/06/1997):
Made from 100% shiraz grapes grown on the Grant Burge Filsell Vineyard, planted in 1920 - it is only made from the top 2-3% of Barossa Valley shiraz available. The 1993 Meshach was deep colour - almost opaque. Very powerful intense nose with lovely ripe fruit and vanillin oak aromas. The palate displays rich fruit and high quality oak with some plum and cherry oak characters. Very complex and excellent length. Strong tannins at present - needs time. Cellar 20 years. A beautifully balanced wine.
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1994 Clarendon Hills Shiraz
簡介:
此酒廠在1989年才創立，生產Chardonnay, Pinor Noir, Merlot, Shiraz, Semillon, Cabernet各式紅白酒，但產量都不多，在1996年二月推出了旗艦酒Astralis(Shiraz，‘94年份)後，立刻受到Parker的好評(97分)，從此本酒款一躍為澳洲當紅炸子雞，成為拍賣會場的新寵(年產僅150箱，市面上幾乎買不到)。’96 Astralis甚至在芝加哥葡萄酒公司的拍賣價飆到了US$260一瓶，比同年份五大酒莊還貴！而它普通等級的Shiraz價格則沒有那麼驚人，但Parker仍是讚譽有加，這支‘94 Shiraz不但得到91高分，而且還被Parker評為“可輕易的與Henschke Hill of Grace以及Penfold’s Grange兩支超級巨星匹敵”！
Local Retail Price: AU$40.00
Parker‘s Notes, score: 91 (4/25/1997)
Based on the strength of his 1994s, proprietor Roman Bratasiuk was named one of my ”Wine Producers of the Year” in issue #108. His skill in turning old head-pruned vines into majestic wines of extraordinary richness and purity has been confirmed with the release of the 1995s. These wines are massive and rich as well as extraordinarily well-balanced and pure. The most provocative of the Clarendon Hills offerings is the Shiraz. The 1994 Shiraz from vineyards near Clarendon, not far from Adelaide, is a dense purple-colored wine with an exotic nose of roasted meats, blueberries, tomatoes, chocolate, and smoke. Quite provocative, rich, massively-endowed, but still young and generally unformed, this is another blockbuster Shiraz that can easily compete with such Australian superstars as Henschke Hill of Grace and Penfold’s Grange. As the wine sat for about ten minutes in the glass, it developed a more pronounced black pepper/black raspberry aroma, with the tomato character moving into the background. Since I became more and more impressed with this wine as it sat in the glass, I would suggest decanting it 30-45 minutes in advance. These are amazing wines.
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1994 Wynns Coonawarra Estate Michael Shiraz
Local Retail Price: AU$72.00
簡介:
Wynns酒廠的John Riddoch Cabernet Sauvignon遠近馳名，這支Michael則是它Shiraz的頂級酒，跟John Riddoch一樣，只有在好年份才會生產。由於在1955年份David Wynn曾做出一支極好的Shiraz，標示為”Michael Hermitage”，也就是此酒取名為”Michael”的由來。此酒在全新美國橡木桶中儲養19個月才裝瓶，一般認為是Coonawarra產區最好的紅酒之一。
Tasting Notes sourced from Southcorp Wines(23/06/1997):
Great colour, showing a tremendous depth of red and purple hues. The nose displays mulberry and pepper-like berry fruit with dark chocolate, peppermint and coffee bean aromas in the background. This is rich, ripe Shiraz at its best. The palate displays sweet, spicy fruit with black pepper characters typical of cool climate Shiraz and charry oak. Excellent depth of flavour. Cellar 10 years. Winner of 3 Gold Medals. 13.0% Alcohol Volume.
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1995 Dalwhinnie Moonambel Shiraz
簡介:
此酒款是少數得到Australian and New Zealand Wine Vintages一書給予“五顆金星”的酒廠(其它得主有Henschke Hill of Grace, Penfolds Grange, Jim Barry Armaph, Leeuwin Art Series Chardonnay, Wynn‘s Michael等等)，年產量僅一千多箱，且有越做越好的趨勢。
Local Retail Price: AU$50.00
Notes sourced from Dalwhinnie wines(23/06/1998):
The 1996 growing season was one of the coolest on record. This cool slow ripening period allowed the fruit to reach optimum ripeness and has resulted in a classic Dalwhinnie Shiraz. The wine was matured in small French oak barrels. Deep purple colour. The nose displays fantastic varietal Shiraz aromas - spice, white pepper and blackberry fruits. The palate reflects the nose - very generous rich fruit characters, well balanced to the acid and oak. Dalhwinnie regard this wine as one of their best efforts to date - in the style of the outstanding 1991 vintage. Cellar up to 10 years.
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1995 Henschke Mount Edelstone Shiraz
Local Retail Price: AU$50.00
Tasting notes sourced from Henschke(13/12/1997):
Made from 100% old vine Shiraz grown in the Eden Valley wine region. The Mount Edelstone vineyard, meaning gemstone, was planted in the 1920’s on the eastern slopes of the hill of the same name, located in Keyneton, high in the ranges east of the Barossa Valley. The Mount Edelstone wines are a model of consistency having received awards at National Wine Shows every year since 1956. Adverse whether conditions (drought, frosts and a dry spring and summer) reduced the 1995 vintage yields by up to 40%. However, with the lower yields came greater concentrated wines. The 70 year old dry grown vines are low yielding, producing wines of great intensity, complexity and length. The Shiraz was hand picked in mid April and matured in new and seasoned American and French oak hogsheads for eighteen months. Deep crimson colour. The nose displays aromas of sweet spicy plums, anise and blackberries, with vanilla and coconut oak nuances. The palate is sweet, rich, soft and silky, with good length and depth. A slightly firmer tannin finish than the 1994 vintage reflecting the drought and low yields of 1995. Cellar 8 years.
Wine Spectator‘s Notes, score:93 (1998/6/15):
Feel the depth, feel the elegance, taste the lovely range of ripe plum, prune, anise, black cherry and spice flavors that linger with real style and grace in this Australian red. Delicious now, at its best from 2000 through 2010. (500 cases produced)
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1995 Rosemount Estate Balmoral Syrah
McLaren Vale South Australia
Local Retail Price: AU$75.00
簡介:
澳洲專業葡萄酒雜誌Winestate在’98年度評鑑中(11/12月號)，Shiraz紅酒的第一名(於680款中評鑑)就是Rosemount Estate Balmoral Syrah 1995！此酒第一個年份是1989，早先是以Rosemount Show Reserve為名，在1992年取名為Balmoral，目前是Rosemount紅酒中的最高等級；葡萄來自Ryecroft葡萄園的百年老樹，平均年產量不到2000箱。
Tasting notes sourced from Rosemount Estate(02/12/1997):
This outstanding McLaren Vale Syrah has been named Balmoral after the Oatley family homestead, built in 1852. Syrah vines have been grown in McLaren Vale for over 160 years and a few small patches of very old vines survive today, yielding tiny quantities of exceptional fruit. The fruit for Balmoral is sourced in the main from three distinct areas of the McLaren Vale region, the sandy loam soils to the north of Blewitt Springs; the darker soils in McLaren flat itself; and the red soils with underlying limestone which are found in the Seaview area.The 1995 vintage was characteristically dry throughout the majority of Australia, including McLaren Vale. Temperatures through mid and late summer, however, were not searing, thus enabling particularly the deep rooted old vines to avoid any problems with undue heat/drought stress. The resulting fruit had typically small berries with deep colour, intense flavour and high levels of ripe skin tannins. The wine was matured in new and one year old American Oak barrels for 20 months. Excellent depth of colour - almost opaque. The wine stains the glass as it is poured and has a tight purple/pink rim. The nose displays distinct spice and plummy fruit with a fine underpinning of extremely well integrated American oak flavours which add complexity. The palate is silky smooth with a rich, almost inky concentration of plum and sweet berry fruits with background notes of cloves and spice flavours. This is supported by a firm tannin structure which will hold the wine together and enable it to mature well in bottle over the next ten to fifteen years.
Wine Spectator‘s Notes, score:90 (1999/5/15):
Dense in flavor, Crisp in structure, with beautiful proportioned blueberry, plum and peper aromas and flavors. Acidity is a bit livelier than in earlier vintages, but this should be a “wow” wine for years to com. Drink now through 2004. 4000 cases made.
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1995 Jim Barry The Armagh
Local Retail Price: AU$159.00
Wine Spectator‘s Notes, score:92 (1998/6/15):
Ripe and intense, with well-defined blackberry, anise and pepper flavors, hinting at chocolate and eucalyptus on the firm finish. Veers toward tartness, but it has impressive, if eccentric, character. Approachable now; best from 1999 through 2005.
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