托倫特斯女王的佳釀再度回歸！首先，任何喜歡Sauvignon Blanc的人都應該嘗試提升自己的品味，試試Susana釀造的托倫特斯（Torontes）。她的Crios（Children）版本最接近紐西蘭風格的Sauvignon Blanc，而Ben Marco則更接近法國風格，擁有豐富的質地以及荔枝和橙子的香氣，這些香氣呼應了托倫特斯的一位祖先——亞歷山大麝香葡萄（Muscat of Alexandria）。托倫特斯已經成為阿根廷的代表性白葡萄品種，而Susana Balbo被譽為托倫特斯女王，正因為她的創新。在Susana Balbo之前，托倫特斯只是一種餐桌葡萄，因果肉過於堅硬而無法釀酒。Susana靈機一動，使用用於蘋果酒的酵素來分解托倫特斯的果肉，結果大獲成功，創造出令人驚豔的成果。對我來說，Torontes的標誌特徵必定是它的口感，那種神奇的圓潤感在她的Signature Torontes中最為明顯，這款酒經過未烘烤的法國橡木桶熟成，展現出極致的風味。
或許在我們的世界中名氣稍遜，但同樣具有鮮明特色的NOSOTROS，正在努力跻身南美最偉大的葡萄酒行列。每一年，Susana和她的家人都會盲選出150個地塊中的最佳酒液，用於這款Malbec調配酒，每年選出的葡萄園都不同。這款酒令人讚嘆，充滿新世界葡萄酒的果香和清新，入口則展現出歐洲葡萄酒難得一見的豐腴口感，但卻同時保有優雅的平衡感和大方的表現力，憑藉其宏偉的結構，承諾著未來幾十年的發展潛力。我必須坦白，第一次聞到這款酒的香氣時，立刻聯想到Seña，雖然我敢肯定阿根廷人可能不太認同這個比較。如果您負擔得起這款酒，務必親自品嚐。
感謝ENOTECA Taiwan一如既往地提供如此精彩的葡萄酒品鑒體驗，教導我們如何享受頂級美酒，也感謝Ignacio Gonzalez不遠萬里飛來，帶領我們深入Susana Balbo這些傑出葡萄酒的世界。
Wines from the Queen of Torontes are back, and first of all, anyone who enjoys Sauvignan Blanc should up their game with one of Susana’s Torontes expressions, where the Crios (children) version is most reminiscent of Sauvignan Blanc from New Zealand, and the Ben Marco is closer to a French profile, with rich texture and notes of lychee and orange that nod to one of Torontes’ ancestors, Muscat of Alexandria. Torontes has become the flagship white variety of Argentina, and the reason Susana Balbo is called the Queen of Torontes is that she invented it. Before Susana Balbo, Torontes was a table grape, impossible to press for wine because its flesh was too firm. Susana had the idea of adding enzyme used for apple cider to break down the flesh of Torontes, and voila, brilliant. For me the marker for Torontes has to be the mouth feel, a magical roundness, most evident in her Signature Torontes, aged in untoasted french oak.
Less famous in our world perhaps but just as distinctive, NOSOTROS aims for a place among the greatest wines of South America. Every year Susana and her family choose the best wines blind from 150 blocks for this Malbec blend, and every year it comes from different vineyards. It is marvelous, joyfully shouting its new-world fruit and freshness, and with a luscious palate you never taste in Europe, but all elegantly balanced and generous, promising decades of development from its monumental structure. I confess, with my first wiff of this wine I flashed to Seña, though I’m sure the Argentines would not approve of the comparison. If you can afford this one, see for yourself.
Thanks to ENOTECA, for always putting up magnificent flights of wines to teach us how to enjoy the best, and thanks to Ignacio Gonzalez for flying half way around the world to lead us into the heart of these magnificent wines from Susana Balbo.
