????回顧我在2011年大量的品酒筆記和經(jīng)歷,，有一件事顯得格外突出,。里奧哈正在出產(chǎn)的許多葡萄酒皆是當(dāng)下的上上之選，其價(jià)位足以讓蘇格蘭人汗顏,。在我看來(lái),，里奧哈是2011年最佳葡萄酒產(chǎn)區(qū)。這個(gè)位于西班牙北部的葡萄酒之鄉(xiāng)已經(jīng)證明,，其葡萄酒的成熟度堪與任何其他葡萄酒相媲美，甚至比許多名氣更大,、價(jià)位更高的葡萄酒還要出色,。葡萄酒陳化及其裝瓶后繼續(xù)蛻變、日臻醇厚的能力是葡萄酒這種物質(zhì)之所以如此富有吸引力,、令人著迷的核心元素之一,。

????如同許多葡萄酒產(chǎn)區(qū)一樣，里奧哈在上世紀(jì)最后十年經(jīng)歷了一段狂飆突進(jìn)的時(shí)期,。大規(guī)模投資,，技術(shù)誘惑,，以及一個(gè)似乎一心想用橡木力量替代之前所有的葡萄酒品種的市場(chǎng)，使得許多生產(chǎn)商難以抗拒加入現(xiàn)代化陣營(yíng)的誘惑,。正如幾乎所有目睹其鐘擺蕩過(guò)鼎盛時(shí)期的葡萄酒產(chǎn)區(qū)一樣,，我們現(xiàn)在看到它正有所回潮，其速率或許比上升期慢,，但毫無(wú)疑問(wèn)的是,，里奧哈的潮流正在改變。我在這里先陳述一個(gè)事實(shí)：雖然我贊賞好的勒德分子,，但我本人并不是一個(gè)厭惡技術(shù)的人,。但在一個(gè)產(chǎn)地成功實(shí)施不同種類(lèi)的葡萄酒風(fēng)格，至少是一個(gè)穩(wěn)妥的商業(yè)選擇,，也是我個(gè)人非常贊賞的做法,。

????我贊賞里奧哈并不僅僅是因?yàn)樗邆鋯渭兊慕鹑趦?yōu)勢(shì)，還因?yàn)椴⒎敲總€(gè)人生來(lái)就是做傳統(tǒng)釀酒商的料,。做一個(gè)老派的釀酒商需要某些特性,，更不用提風(fēng)土條件（這個(gè)術(shù)語(yǔ)指的是生產(chǎn)葡萄酒的環(huán)境）了，這種條件可遇不可求,。要是我們迫使所有的釀酒商都生產(chǎn)我們所青睞的風(fēng)格,，比如說(shuō)“天然風(fēng)格”，許多廠商恐怕都得倒閉,，少數(shù)成功者將獨(dú)霸市場(chǎng),。到那時(shí)，消費(fèi)者在喝什么方面將別無(wú)選擇,，而且將承受更高的價(jià)位,，我們將由此喪失我們的集體自我。里奧哈不僅生產(chǎn)超傳統(tǒng)和超現(xiàn)代風(fēng)格的葡萄酒,，還生產(chǎn)介于兩者之間的所有風(fēng)格,，它幾乎能夠滿足所有的口味。

????最后一個(gè)因素（也是Snooth品酒網(wǎng)站之所以選擇里奧哈作為2011年最佳葡萄酒產(chǎn)地的重要依據(jù)）非常簡(jiǎn)單,，即價(jià)位,。我今年品嘗過(guò)許多30美元及不到這一價(jià)位、產(chǎn)自里奧哈的葡萄酒,，其他相同價(jià)位的葡萄酒根本無(wú)法與其媲美,。甚至在更高的價(jià)位上，里奧哈葡萄酒的品質(zhì)優(yōu)勢(shì)依然顯而易見(jiàn),。在低價(jià)位領(lǐng)域,，它根本就沒(méi)有敵手。

????比如,，想象一下你掏出20美元,，購(gòu)買(mǎi)一瓶2004年出產(chǎn)的里奧哈格蘭華美葡萄酒（Rioja Gran Reserva）之后所獲得的東西,。你獲得的是一瓶已經(jīng)為你精心陳化了一段時(shí)間的葡萄酒。沒(méi)錯(cuò),，里奧哈的部分吸引力在于該產(chǎn)地的一項(xiàng)要求：甚至在顧客掏錢(qián)購(gòu)買(mǎi)之前,，里奧哈的釀酒商就已經(jīng)開(kāi)始為顧客陳化葡萄酒。這不是期貨騙局,，這只是官僚主義的一個(gè)特例,。

????里奧哈是2012年必須關(guān)注的葡萄酒產(chǎn)區(qū)。里奧哈葡萄酒太好了,，簡(jiǎn)直無(wú)法忽略,，而且還在持續(xù)改善。釀酒商正在探尋如何對(duì)里奧哈作出更富現(xiàn)代氣息的詮釋?zhuān)瑥亩鎏砥咸丫频姆N類(lèi),，人們對(duì)葡萄栽培和窖藏越來(lái)越關(guān)注,，這些方面也日益得到改善。甚至傳統(tǒng)主義者也不能否認(rèn),，他們同樣從這種變化中得到了實(shí)惠,。

????譯者：任文科

????Looking back on my reams of tasting notes and experiences, one thing really stuck out in 2011. Rioja is producing some of the finest wines available at prices that can make a Scotsman blush. Rioja is my region of the year for 2011. The northern Spanish wine region has proven that its wine ages as well as any other, and can age even better than many more famous and costly examples. The ability of a wine to age, to improve in the bottle while morphing into something profound, is one of the core elements that makes wine such an attractive and enthralling subject.

????Like many wine regions, Rioja went through a rather convulsive final decade of the last century. With massive investments, technological temptation, and a marketplace that seemed intent on replacing all that had come before it with oaken power, it was difficult for many producers to resist the urge to join the modern set.As with almost all wine regions that saw their pendulum swing past their apex, we are now seeing it come back down, perhaps more slowly than on the way up, but without a doubt, Rioja's tides are changing. Let me just state for the record that while I appreciate a good Luddite, I am not myself a practicing member. But having a variety of wine styles successfully implemented in a region is, if nothing else, a safe and secure business choice and one that I applaud.

????Not only do I applaud the region for the simple financial advantages it offers, but also because not everyone is cut out to be a traditionalist winemaker. Being an old-school winemaker takes certain attributes, not to mention terroirs (a term for the environment in which a wine is produced), of which there are simply not enough to go around. If we forced all winemakers to make the style we preferred, say "natural" for example, I am afraid that many would fail and the few who succeeded would have the market all to themselves. We would be kicking our collective selves as consumers would be given little choice as to what to drink and would be paying more. With wine made in hyper-traditional and hyper-modern styles and all that falls between, Rioja is able to satisfy nearly all palates.

????And the final factor, the keystone of Rioja's choice as Snooth's region of the year in 2011, is simple. It is pricing. I tasted so many $30-and-under wines from Rioja this year that simply blew away almost all other wines at the same price point. Even at higher price points, the values are still there. And at lower price points, there is simply no competition.

????Think of what you get when you plunk down $20 on a 2004 Rioja Gran Reserva, for example. You're getting a beautiful wine that has been lovingly aged for you. Yes, part of Rioja's appeal is the regional requirement that Rioja producers age your wine for you, before you even pay for it. This is no futures scam, it's a bureaucratic anomaly.

????Rioja is a region you must explore in 2012. The wines are simply too good to ignore and they are continuing to improve. Producers are learning where to join the line with more modern interpretations of Rioja, and even the traditionalists can't argue that they benefit from increasing awareness and improvement of viticultural and cellaring concerns.