10/21/05 兩款Syrah (Columbia Crest 2001 Grand Estate Syrah V.S Chat. Ste. Michelle 2001 Syrah) 的飲後感想與酒款的解讀-故事二

Chateau st Michelle 2001 Syrah
Columbia Valley, Washington State, USA
WE:88
Price: $7.99
Dealer: Ralphs

Content Info:
90% Syrah,
7% Cabernet Sauvignon,
3% Grenache
Acidity: 0.58 g/100 ml
pH 3.73
Alcohol 13.9%

Food Pairing:
Foods: beef, grilled salmon, strongly flavored cheeses
Herbs: basil, oregano, rosemary, thyme

Background Story:
(Cited from大同亞瑟頓) Ch. Ste Michelle 成立於 1934 年，其釀酒歷史可追溯至美國禁酒令解除後，始於西北部初次嘗試釀酒，是美國華盛頓州最古老的酒莊。1967年在酒評家 Leon Adams 及加州傳奇釀酒大師 Andre Techelistcheff 的鼓勵下，醞釀了第一支以聖蜜雪兒城堡為名的品種酒。Chateau Ste Michelle 生產的酒品數量龐大且種類繁多，包括 Chardonnay、Merlot、Cabernet Sauvignon 等等，在許多國際大賽中，贏得專業人士好評；其中 Cold Creek、Indian Wells 和 Horse Heaven 單一葡萄園酒更是代表之作，酒廠並榮獲 Wine Enthusiast 評選為 2004 美國年度風雲酒廠。
Columbia Crest 和 Ch. Ste Michelle 同屬美國 Ste Michelle 葡萄酒集團

Official Commnet:
The Chateau Ste. Michelle Syrah offers exotic spice aromas and rich flavors of raspberry, plum and cola. This is a complex Syrah with a full mouth feel, balanced by soft tannins for a supple finish.

WE Comment:
"An engaging, quaffable style, which sports pretty berry/cherry fruit and a nice peppery middle. It doesn''t overpower the palate with fruit or oak, but shows good varietal character. Taste this and you will see why Syrah is the most exciting new red wine in the Columbia Valley."
"Deep garnet hue. Aromas of stewed plum, dust and new oak with hints of licorice and nutmeg. Dense flavors of blackberry, chocolate and black pepper. Black pepper-spiked finish."

Personal Comment:
Bright crimson red with inky powders staying in the bottom of the bottle. It needs to be filtered before being decanted. The aroma is somehow very conservative at the beginning. Few mins of decanting, there exists aroma of light berry with pepper flavors. Taste like spicy and sweet berry with pepper favor, too. It seems like tannins didn’t perform itselt enough. Actually couple days later, it tastes much better than first day of trying. I think the score from WE is slightly high. It should adjust down a little bit. Price is affordable as a table wine. Unnecessary to try it second time.
試Columbia Crest’s Syrah的同時, 也打開這款Chat. Ste. Michelle的Syrah, 在相對比較之下, 這款酒顯得比較沉悶, 需要更多的時間去decant它, 酒的色澤帶點亮麗的深紅色, 杯底累積著些微的沉澱物, 這也是第一瓶酒讓我喝的滿嘴唇的墨色, 舌頭更是不用講的inky啊!! 蠻有趣的第一次. 香味上並沒有非常顯著的特色, 可以說是莓果的氣味攜帶著少許的辛辣, 可說是有點沉重以致於呼吸困難, 口感也如其香味般似的, 無法脫離相同的範疇, 整體上那些WE似乎給于這款酒過高的分數, 這瓶酒也是作餐酒嫌太貴, 單品又得考慮是不是搆得著那等級. 總而言之, 這次的Syrah品嚐並不如預期的理想, 希望不會因此就對Syrah不報任何希望.
As a result, like Kevin Yen said: " 花在失敗的酒,不滿意的酒錢,可以讓你喝好多次的五大,滿足一些虛榮心了..." Thus, I am going to concentrate on good quality wine as much as I can


飲葡萄酒的歷史, 又翻開新的一頁...