澳大利亚另一边的葡萄酒

Tersina Shieh

澳大利亞国土辽阔。澳大利亚西部的珀斯和印度尼西亚的巴厘岛之间，仅有2600多公里的距离，但从珀斯到悉尼则有4000多公里。因此，澳大利亚西部所产的葡萄酒与澳大利亚东南部有如此大的差异也就不足为奇了。

Australia is a big place. The distance between Perth in Western Australia and Bali in Indonesia is just over 2，600 km， while it is over 4，000 km from Sydney. Naturally， it is not surprising that the wine produced in Western Australia is so different from those in southeast Australia.

最近，我们有幸在格伦·古道尔的指导下品尝了西澳大利亚州的葡萄酒，格伦是玛格丽特河产区仙乐都酒庄的高级酿酒师。仙乐都酒庄有全面的产品组合，从长相思、桃红、设拉子，到加强型葡萄酒都有，但格伦只给我们展示了霞多丽和赤霞珠，这自有他的道理。

西澳大利亚州的葡萄种植历史只有50年，但是这里的霞多丽已经吸引了国际葡萄酒评论家的注意。格伦将及归因于独特的霞多丽克隆品种：Gingin，它于20世纪50年代末被带到西澳大利亚州作为病毒指示品种。这个克隆品种身上有着种种不良的生长特点，包括：不良的坐果率、成熟不均（一束果实葡萄大小不均）以及低产量。然而在酿酒方面，这种低产量的克隆品种却有很高的皮汁比例，使葡萄酒有良好的深度和强烈的风味。

格伦酿造霞多丽自有一套。他只采用桶内自然发酵并频繁地搅拌酒糟，以此创造出酸奶油般的口感，但不使用苹果酸乳酸发酵，以保持新鲜的酸度。格伦还会使用不同烘烤程度的橡木桶来影响葡萄酒，他称之为白桶（轻度烘焙）和黑桶（深度烘焙）。格伦将这种葡萄酒的口感与意大利面食作比较—中间有嚼劲，外面有奶油味。

我们品尝了3款2017年份的霞多丽：DJL葡萄酒（为了纪念仙乐都酒庄的创始人约翰·拉根博士）口感轻盈，酸度爽脆，有白色核果气息。庄园霞多丽葡萄酒有一层层柑橘和核果味道，还有奶油般的口感以及清爽的酸度—这是我最喜欢的。珍藏霞多丽葡萄酒的酿酒葡萄产自最古老的葡萄园，酒体紧实，附带有细微的咸味，这样它在未来的3-5年中可以在瓶内进一步发展。

除了这个克隆品种外，玛格丽特河产区成为葡萄酒理想种植地的另一个成功因素，是它的气候和地理条件。印度洋三面环绕，为产区带来了海洋性气候，将葡萄年份的变化降至最低。星罗棋布的多样土壤类型允许这里种植不同的葡萄品种。早在1967年，玛格丽特河就被认为是最像波尔多的河流。

正因为这样，赤霞珠有完全不一样的表现。与澳大利亚另一边的赤霞珠不同，玛格丽特河产区的赤霞珠有蓝色水果、地中海香料气息和圆润的单宁等特征。格伦将此归功于南非引进的克隆品种：Houghton，它被公认为能酿造出玛格丽特河的优质赤霞珠葡萄酒。2016年份的庄园赤霞珠葡萄酒采用这种克隆，再加一点马尔贝克和小味儿多混酿而成，展现出丰富的鲜果味道，酒体结构良好，回味悠长。难怪这款酒赢得了2018年吉米沃尔森杯（澳大利亚葡萄酒界最具声誉的奖项之一）荣誉。

霞多丽和赤霞珠是玛格丽特河的旗舰葡萄品种。如果说这个产区与波尔多产区相似，那么最显而易见的一定是赤霞珠。那么不产于波尔多的霞多丽呢？格伦耸耸肩说道：“也许波尔多从没有机会去尝试霞多丽。好吧，这也许就是旧世界原产地控制的缺点。”

We were lucky to have tasted Western Australian wine under the guidance of Glenn Goodall， Senior Winemaker of Xanadu in Margaret River， Western Australia recently. Xanadu has a comprehensive portfolio from Sauvignon Blanc and Rosé to Shiraz and fortified wine but Glenn only chose to show his Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon for a reason.

Western Australia has only 50 years of winegrowing history but its Chardonnay has already captured the attention of international wine critics. Glenn attributed this to the unique Chardonnay clone， Gingin， that was brought to Western Australia in late 1950 as virus indicator. This clone is associated with negative growth including poor fruit set， millerandage （uneven berry size within bunch） and low yields. However， when made into wine， this low yielding clone with high skin to juice ratio give wines great depth and intense flavours.

Glenn has his own way of making Chardonnay. He only uses wild fermentation in barrels with frequent lees stirring to create the creamy yogurt mouthfeel but no malolactic fermentation to retain the fresh acidity. He also uses barrels of different toasting level that he referred as white barrel（light toast） and black barrel （high toast） to create wine of all kinds of shadows. He compares the resultant wine texture with al dente pasta - chewy in the middle but creamy outside.

We tasted three 2017 Chardonnays： DJL （in honour of Xanadus founder Dr John Lagan） is bright with crunchy acidity and white stone fruit. The Estate Chardonnay has layers of citrus and stone fruit flavours supported by a creamy texture and crisp acidity - my favourite pick. The Reserve Chardonnay， made from grapes from the oldest vineyard， is tight and has an added savoury note that will develop further in bottle for 3-5 years.

Apart from the clone， the other success factor that makes Margaret River ideal for winegrowing is its climate and geology. The Indian Ocean on three sides of the region provides a maritime climate that minimises vintage variation. Its mosaic soil type allows the region to grow different grape varietals. Margaret River was identified as the closest to Bordeaux back in 1967.

Hence Cabernet Sauvignon. Unlike its counterpart at the other side of Australia， Margaret Rivers Cabernet Sauvignon has its own footprint of blue fruits， dry Mediterranean herbs and rounder tannin that Glenn credited to the Houghton clone introduced from South Africa and is recognised for producing Margaret Rivers premium Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2016 Estate Cabernet Sauvignon made from this clone blended with a touch of Malbec and Petit Verdot displayed generous bright fruits supported by a well-defined structure and a lingering finish. No wonder it won the prestige Jimmy Watson Trophy in 2018.

Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon are the flagship grapes in Margaret River. Cabernet Sauvignon is obvious if the region is similar to Bordeaux but how about Chardonnay which is not grown in Bordeaux？ Glenn shrugged and said perhaps Bordeaux never has the opportunity to try Chardonnay！ Well， this is the perhaps the downside of Old World appellation control.