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懶惰之過，一直沒有完成Shiraz試酒會的文章，今天就來一個了斷。第三組Shiraz的價格由港幣二百八十元至四百多元不等，包括Tam Shiraz 1996、Penfolds St. Henri 1996和Elderton Command Shiraz 1996。結果是大部分參加者最愛Elderton Command Shiraz 1996，唯獨小弟一人喜愛港產釀酒師Simon Tam獨門釀製的Tam Shiraz 1996。

當日試酒次序如上，先喝Tam，再喝Henri，然後幹掉Command。可能是先入為主的問題又或者我的舌頭不中用，試酒會隨後數天我再拿這三瓶酒與友人品評，結果也只有我獨愛Tam，喜歡溫和的醬油鹹味，是中菜常用的生抽，香氣帶隱約的黑胡椒，輕微的草本香，入口則中度豐厚，用木不過份。她絕不是果香澎湃的酒，而是平衡婉約的Shiraz。

至於Henri的醬油味更濃，但香氣稍弱，各人對此酒沒有多大意見，當揭曉這是Henri時，不少人感到錯愕，我輩初哥奉為神明的Penfolds也不過如此，相信是希望越大，失敗越大使然。Command呢？我感到她的果，她的單寧就像牛郎織女般遙遙相對，但又未到七夕相聚，青澀而口感重，明顯感受到Parker型Big Wine的張力，就是張開口也困難，現在喝不及Tam的成熟。其實今次想談談Tam Shiraz 1996，但資訊不足，唯有找機會問問釀酒師Simon再和大家報告。如今只有先寫一點Elderton的資料吧。

1984年始成立的Elderton酒莊位於Barossa Valley北部，由Ashmead家族擁用和管理，顧問則是鼎鼎大名的James Irvine 。Elderton被喻為質素十分優異的精品莊園，葡萄年齡由四十至八十不等，品種包括Shiraz、Cabernet Sauvignon及Merlot，還有一些用以釀製白酒的葡萄品種，Command Shiraz是此莊的旗艦紅酒，由百分百老樹Shiraz釀製。http://www.eldertonwines.com.au

Elderton自1984年開始生產Command Shiraz，1992年的Command便獲Robert Parker選為世界八十大酒之一，當然一朝成名，需求和價格急升似是必然的結果。Command的Shiraz葡萄精挑細選，部分更是九零年代初種稙的，而存釀時間達三年以上，帶有濃烈的果子香氣和口感，酒體豐厚，酒精含量達14%，勁度十足。1996 Command Shiraz更於去年六月在London International Wine & Spirit Competition獲選為Best Shiraz/Syrah in the World。此外，各酒評人對1996 Command Shiraz均推崇備至，但身為澳洲人James Halliday卻幫理不幫親，只給予85分的標準分數（獲James Halliday評90分以上的澳洲酒多的是，我看85分已幾乎是他的底線，很少酒劣至85分也沒有）。我個人認為這無疑是澳洲Shiraz的佼佼者，也是重木桶味的佼佼者，現在還很青澀，如不考慮她的陳年價值，我偏向James Halliday的評分，相信要待兩，三年後才會出現較平衡的果味和單寧。世界酒評如下：

Wineaccess
My first experience with Command Shiraz was truly a memorable event. Before I even entered the tasting room, its perfume had me salivating. This vintage is big in every sense of the word; the wine smacks of over ripe blackberries, prunes, and cassis. You'll swear it's thick as fence post and burlier than the rancher who stuck it in the ground. Toasty vanilla notes attest to the lengthy wood program the wine undergoes, so beware of splinters. If The Incredible Hulk came to dinner, this would be the wine you would use to tame him.
Scott Torrance, Oct/Nov Newsletter, October 15, 2000

Wine Spectator: 94
"Rich, ripe and amazingly concentrated, this wine is almost explosive in the way it offers up its spicy blackberry, black cherry and dark plum flavours, shaded with fascinating nuances of liquorice and herbs."

Robert Parker: 94
"...lavish quantities of smoky, toasted wood and oodles of this jammy cassis, blueberries, raspberries, is a decadent, hedonistic, opulently textured fruit bomb that coats the mouth with thrilling levels of extract, glycerine and alcohol. its huge aromatics and bold flavours make a dramatic statement..."（真是誇張得要命，倒不如喝濃縮葡萄汁加漿糊吧！）

James Halliday: 85
Medium red, starting to show some development. The bouquet is scented, with plush leathery, oaky aromas. The palate is complex, with that ultra-ripe, ultra-minty fruit which is undoubtedly one of the regional characteristics of ripe Barossa Shiraz, and which seems to be intensified by the vanilla oak.

澳洲網上酒商Vintage Direct:
Opaque black crimson colour. Magnificent complex super ripe fruit nose. Smoky oak, ripe plums, liquorice, chocolate mocca and vanillin spice all fill the nostrils creating a heady sniffing experience. The palate displays the superb counterpoints of flavour expression and delivers an explosion that is difficult to match. Total concentrate of ripe Shiraz fruit, not a corner of the mouth is left in doubt that this is a great wine. Superb ripe plum, smoky oak, vanilla, spice, liquorice, cedar and hints of tar, exceptional and without any evidence of being hot or jammy. This is the skill, this is the unique quality that pushes this wine into the Shiraz, "Hall of Fame". Perfect balance, fine grained, yet evident tannins, exceptional length and an aftertaste of ripe plum, blackberries, mocca, vanilla and liquorice that lingers for at least five minutes. An outstanding wine of world class standing. Cellar 5-8 years.