Tersina Shieh

澳大利亞國土遼闊。澳大利亞西部的珀斯和印度尼西亞的巴厘島之間，僅有2600多公里的距離，但從珀斯到悉尼則有4000多公里。因此，澳大利亞西部所產的葡萄酒與澳大利亞東南部有如此大的差異也就不足為奇了。

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，我們有幸在格倫·古道爾的指導下品嘗了西澳大利亞州的葡萄酒，格倫是瑪格麗特河產區(qū)仙樂都酒莊的高級釀酒師。仙樂都酒莊有全面的產品組合，從長相思、桃紅、設拉子，到加強型葡萄酒都有，但格倫只給我們展示了霞多麗和赤霞珠，這自有他的道理。

西澳大利亞州的葡萄種植歷史只有50年，但是這里的霞多麗已經吸引了國際葡萄酒評論家的注意。格倫將及歸因于獨特的霞多麗克隆品種：Gingin，它于20世紀50年代末被帶到西澳大利亞州作為病毒指示品種。這個克隆品種身上有著種種不良的生長特點，包括：不良的坐果率、成熟不均（一束果實葡萄大小不均）以及低產量。然而在釀酒方面，這種低產量的克隆品種卻有很高的皮汁比例，使葡萄酒有良好的深度和強烈的風味。

格倫釀造霞多麗自有一套。他只采用桶內自然發(fā)酵并頻繁地攪拌酒糟，以此創(chuàng)造出酸奶油般的口感，但不使用蘋果酸乳酸發(fā)酵，以保持新鮮的酸度。格倫還會使用不同烘烤程度的橡木桶來影響葡萄酒，他稱之為白桶（輕度烘焙）和黑桶（深度烘焙）。格倫將這種葡萄酒的口感與意大利面食作比較—中間有嚼勁，外面有奶油味。

我們品嘗了3款2017年份的霞多麗：DJL葡萄酒（為了紀念仙樂都酒莊的創(chuàng)始人約翰·拉根博士）口感輕盈，酸度爽脆，有白色核果氣息。莊園霞多麗葡萄酒有一層層柑橘和核果味道，還有奶油般的口感以及清爽的酸度—這是我最喜歡的。珍藏霞多麗葡萄酒的釀酒葡萄產自最古老的葡萄園，酒體緊實，附帶有細微的咸味，這樣它在未來的3-5年中可以在瓶內進一步發(fā)展。

除了這個克隆品種外，瑪格麗特河產區(qū)成為葡萄酒理想種植地的另一個成功因素，是它的氣候和地理條件。印度洋三面環(huán)繞，為產區(qū)帶來了海洋性氣候，將葡萄年份的變化降至最低。星羅棋布的多樣土壤類型允許這里種植不同的葡萄品種。早在1967年，瑪格麗特河就被認為是最像波爾多的河流。

正因為這樣，赤霞珠有完全不一樣的表現。與澳大利亞另一邊的赤霞珠不同，瑪格麗特河產區(qū)的赤霞珠有藍色水果、地中海香料氣息和圓潤的單寧等特征。格倫將此歸功于南非引進的克隆品種：Houghton，它被公認為能釀造出瑪格麗特河的優(yōu)質赤霞珠葡萄酒。2016年份的莊園赤霞珠葡萄酒采用這種克隆，再加一點馬爾貝克和小味兒多混釀而成，展現出豐富的鮮果味道，酒體結構良好，回味悠長。難怪這款酒贏得了2018年吉米沃爾森杯（澳大利亞葡萄酒界最具聲譽的獎項之一）榮譽。

霞多麗和赤霞珠是瑪格麗特河的旗艦葡萄品種。如果說這個產區(qū)與波爾多產區(qū)相似，那么最顯而易見的一定是赤霞珠。那么不產于波爾多的霞多麗呢？格倫聳聳肩說道：“也許波爾多從沒有機會去嘗試霞多麗。好吧，這也許就是舊世界原產地控制的缺點?！?/p>

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.