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早已聽說 Aglianico 是意大利三種 noble grapes 之一（Sheldon Wasserman 語）。但好的 Nebbiolo（Barolo 與 Barbaresco ）和 Sangiovese （Chianti 與 Brunello）相對易求， Aglianico 則不多見，成熟的 Aglianico 更如恒河沙數。

最近踫上好運，讓我找到一瓶 1973 的 Mastroberardino Taurasi ，我們便約好 Kevin 與好友一起品試。

Taurasi 是位于南部省份 Campania 以 Aglianico （“g”不發音）為主的 DOCG 產區（規定佔 85% 以上），最好的 Aglianico 幾乎都出自此。我們當晚同時試了另外三瓶比較新年份的 Taurasi 作比較﹕

 

1999 Mastroberardino Taurasi Radici Riserva 

 

1999 Feudi di San Gregorio Taurasi Riserva Piano di Montevergine

2004 Mastroberardino Taurasi Naturalis Historia

 

 

 

Taurasi 素有 Barolo of the South 之稱，原因是 Aglianico 與Nebbiolo 同樣丹寧極為強悍，需要經過長時間陳年才顯露出 power 與 elegance 兼備的特性，所以我打算用處理新 Barolo 的長期緩慢供氧的辦法（long slow-O）來處理2004 ，兩天前我率先把他開了，讓他在原瓶慢慢透氣。

 

我發現這瓶新 Taurasi 比 Barolo 還要堅硬。

頭一天晚上開瓶，之後的一個小時可以說是漆黑一片﹕氣味如 black fruits, black tea, meat, rubber ，味道含混不清， smoky tannins ，好像在礦坑下面。

第二天有所發展，漆黑仍然是他的最大特徵，果味開始慢慢冒出來，但最驚人的是他龐大的體形。我這樣記下我的印象﹕Tight and massive fruit but not revealing sweetness: just a big MASS.  Fruit hiding underneath a thick blanket of tannins ?

第三天與其他幾瓶酒一起品試。今天酒才步入「正常」: a spicy nose of beautiful red fruits, bears lineage to the other two Mastroberardinos in a style of “restrained elegance”, but there’s more slickness here (more barriques?).  Taste is like melted fruit, has shed the lock of tannins on the first day.  Beautiful!

第四天﹕Full of fruit, even jammy!  Tannins are now hiding behind a wall of fruit now — a complete reversal from the first 2 days.  Amazing!

這四天的經歷，令我絕對相信 Taurasi 確是 Barolo of the South 。如果 Barolo 像京官，Taurasi 應該是他留在鄉下的老弟，比Barolo 多了一兩分粗豪。

 

 

但讓我們最期待的還是Mastroberardino 的1973 Taurasi 。這不過是中等好的年份，但看酒的顏色很深黑，氣味完全沒有老化或氧化的跡象，這鶴髮童顏的奇觀已先讓我吃一小驚。早上剛開瓶時是乾花與 cherries 的氣味，結實的酒體，melted fruit ，丹寧完全融化了，成熟但完全沒有老態。到晚上我們正式品試時，酒已經進一步發展， Kevin 說像「涼茶」，我則覺得像陳年普洱茶，這時有很好的酸度，而且酒體變得豐滿了，是一種很獨特的成熟美，與 Barolo 完全不一樣，我的感覺他是很硬朗的一種風味，我上面說 Barolo 是京官， Taurasi 是鄉下老漢，這裏是另一例子。

這次品試以後，我才看到 Antonio Galloni 最近原來品試了Mastroberardino 從 1928 到 2004 年跨越 ¾ 個世紀共 29 個年份的 Taurasi ！他給第一個 Taurasi 年份的1928 打了 95 分，他的評語令我驚訝異常﹕

It’s difficult to find words to describe the 1928 Taurasi. Where should I start? The color, a translucent red, is wonderfully intact. But that is just the beginning. The wine flows onto the palate with an extraordinary range of dried roses, berries, licorice and leather, all of which come together in stunning style. There is incredible brightness and purity throughout, while the finish shows remarkable grip. The 1928 Taurasi will live to see its 100th birthday, making it a nearly immortal wine of monumental standing. Readers lucky enough to have tasted this gem know exactly what I mean. Anticipated maturity: 2010-2030.

原來除了 Biondi Santi 的 Brunello ，意大利還有另一瓶比人還長壽的 Mastroberardino Taurasi ！ （參看﹕“My brother Brunello”: 仰望 Biondi Santi ）

 

兩瓶 1999 很有趣，也可以說很 Italian ，是傳統與現代釀酒法的對峙。

對 Barolo 有點認識的人都知道，由于 Nebbiolo 的丹寧較強，有些 winemakers 為了適應國際口味，嘗試在發酵過程中縮短浸泡期，並且在陳年期使用法國小木桶，雙管齊下的目的是讓酒更早可以喝。這在 Taurasi 也一樣。

Mastroberardino 是百年老店，是傳統派的旗手。Taurasi Riserva 的葡萄浸泡期一般從 20-30 天，陳年起碼30個月，大木桶與小木桶並用。在1990年代，他們曾嘗試把葡萄浸泡期縮短至 15 天左右，但2000年開始又回復到 20-30 天。所以我們試的 1999 是「改良」的傳統法。

Feudi di San Gregorio 是設備現代化，比較新的酒莊，近年的釀酒顧問是著重果味的Riccardo Cotarella ，他可以說是南方的現代派旗手，最出名的作品包括Falesco、Montevetrano 與 Terra di Lavoro 。

Taurasi Riserva Piano di Montevergine 產自單一葡萄園，三個星期發酵期，18個月在 medium toast 的法國小木桶陳年。

兩者比較的結果似曾相識﹕

 

現代派的Feudi di San Gregorio 鮮艷，果味濃郁，開始的時候甚至有點 jammy ，很國際口味，很 La Morra ，但比較缺乏 Taurasi 的野味，收結也較短。

 

傳統派的Mastroberardino 則典雅，有種內斂的力量，酸度適中，收結也較長，他的帶黑胡椒和香料的香氣透露著 Taurasi 的個性。當晚我們的一致結論認為兩瓶中以這瓶較好。如果要批評的話，他似乎稍欠 Aglianico 那種硬朗的身段，這可能是上述「改良」傳統法的影響。用我上面的比喻，這個改良把村夫變為鄉紳了，所以反為不美！

前面介紹的那瓶 2004 Mastroberardino Taurasi Naturalis Historia 是另一葡萄園所出，經過 18 個月在法國小木桶陳年，是Mastroberardino 比較近年推出的新派制作，憑他第三、四天的表現，與 1999 Taurasi Radici Riserva 比較，一點都不遜色，甚至更好。所以我很期待 2004 Taurasi Radici Riserva 這回歸傳統的新作。

 

如果要我總結 Mastroberardino 或 Taurasi 的個性，我覺得他是一種 “rustic elegance”。很矛盾的組合，但這正是他吸引人之處！無怪乎 Radici Riserva 早已被意大利酒專家評為意大利的殿堂級葡萄酒。見﹕最偉大的 18 瓶意大利酒。

 

 

 

附錄﹕ Antonio Galloni 的Mastroberardino Taurasi 品試

 

My recent tasting with Piero Mastroberardino was a once in a lifetime experience, and not just for me. This was the largest comprehensive vertical the estate had ever staged of their wines. The tasting covered 29 wines (the 30th was corked!) spanning an unbelievable eight decades, going back to the inaugural 1928. All of the wines were brought over from the estate’s cellars, which guaranteed perfect provenance. None of the bottles had ever been reconditioned or recorked. The bottles were opened a few hours prior to serving. Mastroberardino is the royal family of Campania. The estate’s Taurasi, first produced in 1928, is a legendary wine that can rival the best from any region. The Taurasis from the 1960s, 1970s and 1980s, all made in a staunchly traditional style, remain benchmarks for the entire region. After a period of inconsistent results in the 1990s Mastroberardino seems to have found its way again with a largely traditional approach to winemaking. Although many of today’s leading producers in Campania have chosen to pursue a more modern approach, there is little question that Mastroberardino paved the way for all important wines in Campania. Today Mastroberardino releases as many as three separate Taurasis in any given vintage. The regular Taurasi Radici is made predominantly from vineyards in Mirabella Eclano, but occasionally incorporates fruit from Montemarano as well, while the Radici Riserva is produced from vineyards in Montemarano. Both Radici Taurasis are aged in a combination of French oak barrels and larger Slavonian oak casks. The term Radici refers to the family’s long-running research into clonal selection, rootstocks, site selection and a host of other variables rather than identifying a single vineyard. The Taurasi Naturalis Historia comes from vines in Mirabella Eclano but is made with a more modern view of oenology and is aged exclusively in French oak. Mastroberardino’s 1968 Taurasis are legendary. That year the estate released three single-zone Taurasi Riservas from vineyards in Montemarano, Pian d’Angelo and Castelfranci in addition to their regular and Riserva bottlings. To be clear, these aren’t single-vineyard Taurasis, rather Montemarano, Pian d’Angelo and Castelfranci are best described as zones. Oddly, despite the huge success of their 1968s, Mastroberardino never made the single-zone Taurasis again. While I have tasted the single-zone Taurasis in the past, they weren’t part of this retrospective.