悲惨的2012年

Vintage 2012 will go down in history as quite extraordinary for all the wrong reasons. And, for the first time in half a century, the world may have a shortage rather than a surplus of wine.

2012是悲惨的年份，悲惨到足以被载入史册。另外，今年还出现了产量不足的情况——要知道，近五十年来，世界葡萄酒市场一直处于供大于求的状态。

Europe’s growing season has been horrible – unlike the west coast of America. Late January and early February, when many vignerons were in the vineyards pruning before the arrival of spring, came that viciously cold snap all over Europe. Temperatures were almost low enough to kill vines – most unusual in supposedly Mediterranean climates. Spring arrived tentatively, but without usefully plentiful rains to replenish water tables. And then, disastrously for quantity, there was extremely unsettled weather in June for the all-important flowering. The result was an exceptionally small, uneven fruit set and relatively few bunches.

比起美国西海岸来说，欧洲的生长季节简直可以用糟糕来形容。一月底和二月初期间，当很多种植者为迎接春季的到来而在葡萄园中剪枝时，猛烈的冷空气席卷了欧洲，温度居然骤降到足以冻死葡萄植株的地步，如此的低温在地中海气候下实属罕见。春季虽然犹抱琵琶半遮面地缓缓到来，但与之同来的降雨量却未能有效地对水位提供足够的补偿；六月是葡萄植株生长阶段中最重要的开花期，结果天公却频频变脸，对产量造成了灾难性的影响。这样恶劣的天气情况造成的后果可想而知：葡萄果粒小得可怜，座果非常不均匀，果串数量也相对较少。

Since considerable work in the vineyards on quality-conscious estates nowadays consists of snipping off surplus bunches in order to make the final crop more concentrated, you would think this could be a good thing. But the problem was that the uneven setting of the fruit resulted in berries of very different sizes on the same bunch that ripened at inconveniently differing rates, making it difficult to decide when to pick.

众所周知，为了保证出品的水平，很多非常注重品质的葡萄酒庄园在葡萄种植过程中都会投入大量劳动，包括剪去多余的果串来保证最终果实的浓郁度。因此，可能会有人想当然地认为恶劣天气造成的产量降低也可以提高果实的质量。但实际情况并非如此，因为座果不均匀导致了同一果串上的果粒大小不一，成熟度相差很大，采摘时间难以确定。

But that was far from the biggest problem. The flowering was followed by an extended period of muggy weather that was perfect for the development of the two mildews to which vines are perennially prone. It was a great year for agrochemical merchants and the vines needed close attention and multiple sprayings. Those hoping to visit Burgundian vignerons in late June found their appointments cancelled while their hosts frantically tried to keep the mildew at bay. On June 30 came hailstones the size of ping-pong balls that ravaged some vineyards in Volnay. This was an expensive and demanding vintage to make.

可这些还远不是最大的问题。开花阶段之后尾随而来的是没完没了的闷热潮湿天气，这对于葡萄最容易沾染的两种霉病可以说是再好不过的气候条件，所以为了保护葡萄植株，酒农们不得不更加仔细地照料葡萄园并且加大喷药力度。正所谓几家欢喜几家愁，农药商倒赚了个盆满钵盈。以法国产区勃艮第为例，种植者们不得不取消所有前来拜访的预约，转而把宝贵的时间用在抑制霉病上；六月三十日突如其来的一场颗粒大小堪比乒乓球的冰雹对华纳(Volnay)地区的一些葡萄园造成了毁灭性的破坏。看来这将是一个对酿酒师技术要求很高的年份，葡萄酒的价格也必将高企。

Some warm, dry weather was sorely needed but was in short supply in July. Leaves were stripped from around some bunches to maximise the ripening effect of what sunshine there was. August was a bit warmer but not nearly as hot as usual, and by mid-September red wine grapes still seemed a long way from full ripeness at a time when vignerons would often already be hard at work in the cellar instead of the vineyard. A major part of the problem throughout southern Europe was the drought, which always reduces volume anyway. The plants were gobbling up what little water there was for survival rather than using it for grape ripening. The result was that the grapes tended be short of the all-important phenolics that are responsible for flavour. In England’s much-vaunted vineyards, acid levels were generally still worryingly high and sugars way below the legal minimum to make wine.

通常情况下，葡萄植株在七月需要比较炎热且干燥的天气条件，但今年显然条件没有达到要求。为了让果实吸收足够的阳光来达到足够的成熟度，人们对果串周边的树叶进行了修剪。八月时，虽然温度略有升高，但比起往年同期仍然有差距。到九月中旬，红葡萄品种还远远没有成熟，酒农们只好无奈地继续辛勤劳作在地头田间，将本该已经开始的发酵工作无限期搁置。今年，干旱是欧洲南部遇到的大问题，这种灾害对于产量有很大的影响，植株得到的水分少得可怜到仅供生存需要，而根本无法满足生长和成熟的需求，最终的结果是葡萄无法积累足够的酚类物质，而这些酚类物质对于形成葡萄酒的香气来说至关重要。在英格兰最富盛名的葡萄园中，果实的酸度之高令人提心吊胆，而其糖度却又低得甚至都无法达到法律规定的最低要求。

Eventually, and much later than usual, most grapes have been picked, the only exceptions being those left in the (possibly vain) hope of being turned into top-quality sweet wine. But some producers have already announced that they will not be producing a 2012 vintage at all. Nyetimber, funded by the apparently bottomless pockets of Dutchman Eric Heerema, caused consternation in the burgeoning English wine industry by announcing that there would be no Nyetimber 2012. The owner of the Médoc Cru Bourgeois Ch Hourtin-Ducasse has done the same, citing rampant mildew as the culprit.

尽管比往年推迟了很久，绝大多数葡萄最终仍然得以采摘，与此同时，人们还故意在植株上保留了一些果实，希望通过刻意推迟采摘来酿造顶级的甜葡萄酒（不过从现在的状况来看，这希望最终换来的也只是失望罢了）。不过也有一些酿酒者已经宣布，他们的酒庄将不会酿造2012年份的葡萄酒：由荷兰巨富埃里克·贺雷玛(Eric Heerema)建立的尼丁博(Nyetimber)酒庄就表示在该年份将不会出品，此消息一出，英国葡萄酒界哗然一片；位于梅多克(Médoc)的中产庄园(Cru Bourgeois)雾亭-都卡斯(Ch Hourtin-Ducasse)也作出了与尼丁博酒庄相同的决定，酒庄主人将这一切归咎于肆虐的霉玻

Throughout Europe quantities are way down, with the head of the OIV, the United Nations of wine, announcing last week that in 2012 global wine production will be at its lowest level since 1975. Thanks substantially to a lack of rainfall, the amount of grape juice and therefore wine produced in virtually every European country is even lower this year than it was in 2011, itself not a generous vintage. All this just as global wine consumption has started to rise after decades of decline. The shortages will be most marked in basic blending wines, not least thanks to the effectiveness of the European Union’s policy of shrinking acreage of the most ordinary vineyards. But it is likely that the small crop will be used as an excuse for widespread price rises. Pricing of the 2012 vintage of Bordeaux en primeur will be an even more delicate art than usual, not least because of the lack of demand for the 2011s.

产量下降的其实不仅仅是整个欧洲——有“葡萄酒界的联合国(the United Nations of wine)之称的国际葡萄与葡萄酒组织(OIV)在上周称2012年全球葡萄酒产量将会达到1975年以来的最低点。因为雨水不足的关系，2012年份欧洲葡萄酒的产量将会低于本来就低产的2011年份——但愿从今以后的产量将会与消费量一样，结束已持续了数十年的低迷。产量的缺口主要集中在基础级别的混调酒上，出现这种情况的主要原因是欧盟非常有效地贯彻了一项政策，即消减那些质量最为一般的葡萄田。从目前看来，酒商们很有可能以低产量为借口而提高葡萄酒的价格，比如2012年份波尔多期酒价格的定位将会比以往年份受到更多复杂因素的影响，而首要因素就是去年期酒的需求呈疲软状态。

Americans can brace themselves for a return to robust pricing of California wine. The glut there is well and truly over and all West Coast vignerons, in Oregon and Washington as well as in the dominant wine state of California, report the best-quality harvest they can remember, with decent quantity too. But this is truly a global exception.

今年值得美国人欢庆，因为加利福尼亚葡萄酒价格已经重回坚挺状态，供大于求的市场状况已经如云烟般消散。包括了俄勒冈、华盛顿以及加利福尼亚的西海岸(West Coast)产区形势一片大好，种植者们纷纷表示2012是当地有史记载以来的最佳年份（当然产量也有所下降）。但不得不承认，这样的好情况全球独此一处。

In the southern hemisphere, where grapes were picked more than six months ago, there is also a shortage of volume. Crop levels were down 22 per cent for the biggest southern hemisphere producer, Argentina, thanks to frost, and rain at flowering time. Chile, which has been planting vineyards faster than any other country on earth, saw the results of this in an increase in wine production in 2012, but not by enough to compensate for Argentina’s shortfall. And an exceptionally hot, very dry summer caused many berries to shrivel and may result in wines that will be difficult to marry with the nation’s aim of making increasingly subtle, appetising wines (a phenomenon that is currently observable in just about every wine-producing country).

今年，南半球产量也有所降低（由于地理位置的关系，这里的采收时间比北半球早半年）。以南半球最高产的阿根廷为例，由于霜冻以及开花期间降雨的关系，该国损失了22%的产量。作为世界上种植面积增长速度最快的智利，凭借着种植面积的增长实现了产量的提高，但其提高量也并不足以弥补阿根廷的降低量。不仅如此，由于智利在2012年份中的夏季过于炎热和干燥，多数葡萄果实萎缩严重，从而导致葡萄酒的品质与该国目前追求精美可口风格佳酿的酿酒理念格格不入（目前，世界上每个产酒区都在追求精美可口的风格，这已经成为了一个值得注意和研究的现象）。

The South Africans, for example, are thrilled with their 2012s because not only was the crop 7 per cent higher than the previous year, and almost a record in terms of volume, but grapes reached full and rather glorious phenolic ripeness early, without having to wait for very high sugars that would have resulted in high alcohol levels.

2012年份让南非的酿酒人心惊胆颤，因为其产量较2011年高出了创纪录的7%。除此之外的另一个重要原因是，由于酚类物质早在糖含量达到理想值之前就已经完全成熟甚至是极为成熟，所酿造出的葡萄酒将会体现出单宁非常丰厚而酒精度却相对不足的特点。

Some Australians, on the other hand, suffered their own annus horribilis with rain blighting wine production throughout New South Wales, although quality was good in the much more important wine state of South Australia. Australia and New Zealand have both had their own glut of wine in recent years but the 2012 crop seems to have brought supply and demand, as in the rest of the world, into much improved balance.

尽管作为重要产区的南澳出品质量较好，但不少澳大利亚酿酒人还是体会到了可怕的一年，以新南威尔士为例，其产量由于降雨的关系而大大萎缩。近年来，澳大利亚和新西兰一直饱受供大于求的困扰，而从2012年份产量的萎缩情况来看，这个问题倒可以迎刃而解。

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Jancis’s pick

简希丝之选：

Robertson Winery Chardonnay 2012 is from the co-op in South Africa’s Robertson district. With its famous limestone, it may not be the finest 2012 produced in the world but it is surely one of the best value. Just ￡5.50 from The Wine Society (01438 740222) with very light oaking and lots of refreshing tension. For drinking, not keeping.

2012年份罗伯森酒厂(Robertson Winery)霞多丽(Chardonnay)白葡萄酒。生产者：南非罗伯森区酿酒合作社，该产区以石灰岩土壤而闻名。虽不能妄论此酒为世界上最好的2012年份产品，但将其称为最具性价比的产品之一则一点都不为过。特点：有轻微的橡木桶味道和充满张力的清爽感，适合现在饮用，不适于长期保存。该产品购于英国酒协(The Wine Society)，价格为5.5英镑（联系方式为：01438 740222）。