酒鬼的讀書報告 (4) - THE WINES OF BURGUNDY

書名: THE WINES OF BURGUNDY

編者: CLIVE COATES, MW

版本: 2008年





書籍簡介:

全書878頁，再加13頁 CONTENTS 及 PREFACE，第 851 頁開始是 INDEX 及 BIBLIOGRAPHY。

全書分開了幾個部份。內文分三部份，分別為：

1. INTRODUCTION；
2. PART ONE：THE VILLAGES，THE VINEYARDS，THE DOMAINE；
3. PART TWO：THE VINTAGES

之後到附錄(APPENDIX)，由第825頁開始，全書有7個附錄，分別為：

1. VINTAGES RATING；
2. VINEYARDS RATING；
3. DOMAINES RATING；
4. PRODUCTION OF DIFFERENT VILLAGES；
5. VINEYARDS AREA OF DIFFERENT VILLAGES；
6. PRICE MOVEMENTS；
7. CONVERSION TABLE

INTRODUCTION 由頭開始至第35頁。主要介紹布根地的簡單歷史及整個布根地酒業的持份者的角色及功能。

PART ONE 由36頁到310頁，主要是由北至南，逐一條村介紹整個布根地，但去到 CHALONNAISE 為止，並沒有介紹MACONNAISE 及 BEAUJOLAIS。每一條村都會先講其位置，之後是村莊的歷史，然後是葡萄園及其葡萄酒的特色，最後是介紹及推介一些酒莊，大部份的村莊更有彩色地圖 列出所有葡萄園及公路。

311頁開始 PART TWO。由2006年開始講返轉頭，逐年講直至1985年，之後就跳住講了，有1983、1978、1976、1971、1969、1966、1964、 1962、1961及1959年。最後係講(其實應該係估計)2007年。每一年都會先講當年天氣，之後會講下當年對做酒有什麼利好或不利因素及酒莊如果 應對這些因素。然後會講那條村的酒較出色及失色，與及那年的酒的大約市適飲期。在2003年開如亦有作者的品酒筆記可以看。

附錄部份最主要是提供一些市場資訊。頭3個附錄會先列出一些作者的評估準則，之後的純粹是市場數據了。

讀後感:

本書的安排好有架構，簡直係地(Village)、人(Domaine)、天(Vintage)咁講。成本書層次分明，井然有序。各個村落都配以頗詳盡的地 圖顯示出葡萄園位置，唯一欠缺的是等高線，所以在地圖上看不到葡萄園的傾斜度及傾斜方向。在講解酒莊時他亦提供了一些佢建議的酒莊，並頗詳細講解酒莊做酒 的基本方法。這些種種都只能出自一個在布根地"蒲"了很多年的人的手，足見作者對布根地的熱情及認識。年份方面，此書亦很難得總結了近廿多年每一年的氣候 變化及酒莊相對的做法，足見作者對此地酒業認識之深。大部分近年份都配有大量的品酒筆記，可惜其筆記略為簡單。

編排方面，此書文筆流暢，簡潔易讀。校對方面亦好好，除了第 595 及 596 頁 的參考頁數因疏忽而打了  "0000"  之外都沒有其他錯處找到。

本書內容充實豐富，相對市面一些同類書較廣。可惜本書只講到 Chalonnaise 就停，並未幅及全個布根地。雖則如此，本書讀來仍然獲益良多，十分有趣。我十分欣賞作者對布根地的認識及熱情，睇怕亦很難找到另一位可以如此詳盡地寫布根地酒的人。此外，我亦十分認同作者對其他人就試布根地酒的一些睇法(以下摘錄自此書的第7至8頁，篇幅有點長，故我會省略部份)：

"Of increasing importance over the last 25 years - and an influence which is both beneficial and malign - is the wine writer. Wine writers can range from journalists who know nothing whatsoever about wine to those who wear another hat, that of wine professional, most of the time.

[Previously Burgundy wines'] reputation took time to expand, particularly in a region of reduced quantity....[toady] ....can achieve fame almost overnight.....The consumer is advised before he or she even receives his or her opening offer. On the face of it, this, surely, is to be welcomed: a good, honest, up-to-date opinion, informed and unprejudiced, is available to guide the private customers to spend his money in the best way possible. 

Sadly, however,.....Wine critics are often misinformed or just plain pig-ignorant. They are prejudiced. They set about doing the job of sampling Burgundy in the wrong way and at the wrong time. They try to imply that there is only one way to judge a wine .....The bad critics look at Pinot through Cabernet-tinted spectacles and so criticise it for being what it never set out to be. ....Moreover - and this is a situation which is almost universal in the United States...... the trade has allowed itself to be emasculated. Instead of continuing to buy and sell based on their own professional judgement,.....they buy what the Wine Spectator and the Wine Advocate score highly and then sell their wares by proclaiming the magazine's marks. It is totally crazy.

Burgundy has been much maligned....by certain elements of the media. Robert Parker proclaimed that the region was a dinosaur of poor quality and high prices: the exact opposite of the truth. The Wine Spectator has criticised the increasing bunch of estates that refuse to play ball with its modus operandi and submit samples for mammoth tastings. The magazine's representatives arrive in the region only a few months after the wines have been bottled, before they had a chance to recover, and attempt to rate every wine in percentage points out of 100........."

明顯作者是對現在坊間的一些酒評人的指控，但另一方面想，能作出如此嚴厲批評的人一定有"愛之深，責之切"的心態。作者既在此地區努力了數十年，由一位酒商 至現在做酒評，相信對此地區的種種現象十分了解而作出此評論。我亦見過及聽過很多人對同一款酒的評論，作者以上的睇法我相信對大部份酒評人都有一定的作 用。

本書不愧為大師級作品，對一些相更深認識布根地的人是不可多得的一本書。值得珍藏細讀。