11つの悪いワインからみた良いワイン !?
テイスティングというのは確かに主観的なものであり、ピカソやベートーベンを好きになることを強制されるべきではないのと同様、ラトゥール1961年についてはなおさらである。しかし、人生で出会う多くの最上のものと同じく、高品質が何かということについては、多くの人の意見は一致するようだ。
良いワインとはどういったワインか、味の観点からもう少し考えてみたいと思います。
良いワインのコメントはしばしば聞きますが、悪いワインのコメントはあまりきいたことがありません。
そこで、ロバート パーカーがこれまでに「容認できないと思われるワイン」 (50-59点: A wine deemed to be unacceptable) としたアメリカ赤ワインを調べてみますと、11つありました。
具体的なワインにはふれませんが、有名なものも含まれていました (コメントは下に)。
そしてその中で、何回か用いられている言葉が以下のとおり6つあることがわかりました。
「lean」(やせた)
「no fruit/fruitless」(果実味がない)
「tea」(茶)
「diluted」(薄い)
「volatile acidity」(揮発酸(酢酸))
「no bouquet/absence of any bouquet」(香がない)
Teaには注意が必要ですが、確かに、彼が好みとしていた「凝縮感」と「熟した果実味」に対義するものが多いと感じます。
そして、やはりBLICが大事と感じました (Balance, Length, Intensity, Complexity)。
また、これらは飲み頃によって大きく左右されるとも思いました。
パーカーのコメント内に、笑えないフレーズがありましたので、3つ抜粋してご紹介します (括弧内はわたしの訳です)。
If this bottle is representative, this wine has both feet in the grave.
(このボトルが見本ということであれば、このワインは両足が墓に埋まった状態だ)
I would rather chew my way through a cardboard box than put this wine down my gullet.
(このワインをのむくらいなら、段ボール箱をかみ砕くほうがましだ)
I remember stating that the barrel sample had “a hole in the middle, and may be in an awkward stage,”…..
(バレルサンプルは「真ん中に穴が開いていて、やっかいな段階にあるかもしれない」と言ったのを覚えている)
ここまで言わなくとも….と思いますが、 エリン・マッコイの「ワインの帝王 ロバート・パーカー」によれば、彼は温かい人柄で、周囲に気を配る人間なのだそうです。
[11つのワインに対するコメント］
#1
A diluted, medium ruby color with some amber and rust at the edge makes for an unpromising introduction. The bouquet reminded me of whiskey, stale ginger, and strong herbal tea. In the mouth, tea-like flavors and a short, acidic, spicy finish made for a medicinal smelling and tasting wine. If this bottle is representative, this wine has both feet in the grave.
#2
There is little to admire in this wine. The color was light brown, the aroma smelled of musty tea bags, and on the palate, the wine was angular, acidic, and diluted.
#3
An unattractive aroma of moldy fruit was followed by a disjointed, almost sickeningly, grapy, bizarre wine that clearly displayed the problems encountered by many vintners in this vintage.
#4
I found the stench of decaying vegetation and fecal aromas to be appalling. The wine tasted extremely high in acidity, very lean, and frightfully unpleasant.
#5
A medium ruby/garnet color with amber at the edge is acceptable for a twenty year old Cabernet. The absence of any bouquet suggests sterile filtration was practiced at bottling. Hard, lean, fruitless, and devoid of any extract or flavor, only a skeleton of acidity (most of it probably added) and tannin remains.
#6
The quintessential non-wine - no bouquet, no fruit, no flavor, and no finish. This wine, a hallmark to the excesses of modern day technology and those wonderful micropore sterile filters, is devoid of any personality, not to mention pleasure. I would rather chew my way through a cardboard box than put this wine down my gullet.
#7
The 1982 is even worse than the 1985.
#8
I have said before that 1984 was the last impressive vintage for Diamond Creek's Cabernet Sauvignons, but never would I have believed that the 1985 Volcanic Hill, Red Rock Terrace and Gravelly Meadow would show so miserably. Perfectly stored, with excellent fills and no signs of heat abuse, the 1985 Volcanic Hill was the worst wine of the entire tasting. It exhibited a medium purple color, a sour, oaky aroma with a noticeable vegetal character, painfully tannic, harsh flavors, and a hollow, fruitless personality. I remember stating that the barrel sample had "a hole in the middle, and may be in an awkward stage," but this is a disappointing, thin, harsh Cabernet Sauvignon with no future. For me, Diamond Creek's 1974s, 1976s, and 1978s remain among the most extraordinary Cabernet Sauvignons I have ever drunk, making these performances shocking.
#9
Tasted But Not Recommended
#10
Huge levels of volatile acidity are totally unacceptable. This wine is disjointed, badly made, flawed, and virtually undrinkable because of the volatile acidity. That’s a shame as the wine certainly has plenty of personality.
#11
Aggressive notes of volatile acidity are beyond what I am willing to tolerate. Notes of plum liqueur intermixed with tea, soy, Asian spice are accompanied by a lean, disjointed, flawed Pinot Noir.
(Photo by Mathilde Langevin on Unsplash)