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本期雜誌 　NO.10 Apr.-May. 06 上一期 下一期
 
Rare and Fine ： Egon Muller TBA
 
當代珍罕新義 Text by 劉永智 Jason LIU • Photo by 劉永智 Jason LIU 陳添壽

德國葡萄酒種類，略分為 Tafelwein （一般餐酒）及Qualitatswein（優質酒）兩種；後者又按照葡萄成熟程度分為6級，由低而高分別為：

1. Kabinette （卡比內特）：由正常熟度葡萄釀成；清爽微甜，多果味。

2. Spatlese （晚摘酒）：比Kabinette晚1週收成，甜香較之更重。

3. Auslese （精選酒）：將釀Spatlese的葡萄再篩檢過，熟度更上一層，常帶有些微「貴腐霉」。

4. Beerenauslese （BA，貴腐精選）：精挑出沾染「貴腐霉」的葡萄粒，極甜，量少。

5. Eiswein (冰酒)：由冬日結凍葡萄釀成，酸甜度皆高，釀製不多。

6. Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA，枯葡精選)：最稀罕，在沾染貴腐霉的葡萄裡，嚴選出完全?縮枯萎的「葡萄乾」進行釀製。甜度最高。

譽滿全球的 Egon Muller（艾貢•米勒）莊園，位於德國Trier（特里爾城）郊外約半小時車程，屬於Mosel-Saar–Ruwer產區之Saar流域區段。Trier是古羅馬帝國最北、最重要之據地，也是德國最古老城市之一。Carl Max（馬克思）於1818年出生於此.

2005年秋，葡萄採收前，我依約來到Egon Muller的居所Scharzhof，一座建於19世紀初、著乳黃色澤的深宅大院，釀製酒窖以及地下陳釀窖都藏身其後。門扉開啟，現身的是西裝筆挺、短髮削臉、軍戎氣概的Egon Mulller四世。古宅裡，古畫遍懸，壁上高掛野外獵狩獎牌、糜鹿首，整牆的線裝古版書，意境非常。

www.vintage-luxe.com

2004佳釀初試

在 Egon家試酒，一貫是在前廳的圓形黑色大理石桌上舉行。順著圓桌，環立10款綠瓶細頸的2004年份鮮取的試樣，皆由Riesling（麗絲伶）葡萄釀成。第1款是與家宅同名的Scharzhof Riesling，算是初階酒，葡萄來自其他園地，自種自釀，蜜香、橙香逸散，風格頗具。

第 1 款是與家宅同名的 Scharzhof Riesling ，算是初階酒，葡萄來自其他園地，自種自釀，蜜香、橙香逸散，風格頗具.接下來，是來自精華園區 Scharzhofberg 、同為 2004 的 Kabinette 、 3 款不同的佳釀。等級酒。其實，這一直是 Egon 家的傳統，雖然葡萄成熟度一樣，但因園區中的各小區塊所產果實仍有差異，故分桶釀製，而在酒標上也有暗號可資識別。這三款分別為桶號 6 、 7 、 8 號；一果香顯著，一礦石風格明顯，一圓潤帶辛香，各具風情。

第 5 款則是 Wiltinger Braune Kupp 園區釀造的 Spatlese ，距 Scharzhofberg 有 3 公里遠。是 Muller 家族與 Le Gallais 家族共有資產，由 Muller 全權釀造，圓潤有漬橘甜香，頗引人。

接下來是 2004 Scharzhofberg 的 Spatlese 兩款，分為桶號 15 、 13 。後者更具深度，稠美露 甘、韻美而生津，有清酸紅漿果墊底。最後 3 款是 Auslese 成套品試。第 1 是桶號 14 的 Scharzhofberg Auslese 、第 2 是 Wiltinger Braune Kupp 園的 Auslese Gold Cap 、第 3 是 Scharzhofberg Auslese 的 Gold Cap （指的是 Auslese 中的高級嚴選）。後者風味繁複，勁力綿柔，花香、辛香、核仁交雜，甜爽不膩，著實攫人心魂。

Egon Muller 莊園

Scharzhof 大宅之後，便是坡度逾 50 度的名園 Scharzhofberg （夏茲霍夫堡）。 Mosel-Saar – Ruwer 產區的質佳園區均有多量板岩，但惟此園富有質軟易碎的黑色板岩，其崩裂瑣屑混入土中，形成多礦物的優質土壤，是 Egon Muller 成功的母土。

18 世紀末，拿破倫佔領萊茵河地區，也將法國大革命所揭櫫的自由風氣帶入，許多教會及貴族財產被充公拍賣。 1797 年時， Egon 的曾、曾、曾祖父便趁勢購下原屬「聖瑪莉亞修道院」的葡萄園。幾經分產、加上 1970 年代的園區擴增，目前 Scharzhofberg 共有 67 公頃，但 Egon Muller 手上的 8.5 公頃依舊是最精華區塊，質素超倫。

Egon Muller (艾貢•米勒)莊園位於Trier郊外約半點鐘車距，屬於Saar流域區段，生產「有行無市」之TBA甜酒。
  The world renowned Egon Muller Winery is situated about half hour drive from Trier in the Saar
  Section of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area.

一般德國酒莊以每公頃 10,000 公升的產量製酒， Egon 的標準則是4,000 公升，相差2.5 倍。另以釀製 Eiswein 為例。一般收成時，將健康葡萄故意留在藤上，待冬季某日清晨氣溫驟降至零下 8 度以下，便可申請採收冰葡萄。只是這些晚收葡萄，甜美味佳，常也是飛鳥、野豬最嗜口的點心。為防止葡萄損傷或被偷食，有關法令允許在葡萄串上套上塑膠袋；但是於 Egon 來說，這樣的產品便無法稱為 100% 的天然 Eiswein 了。他是寧可果粒耗損、產量減少，也定要恪守原則。其實 Egon 也說，套上袋的並不一定就較遜色，但是他還是依然故我。

從葡萄園下來，穿過松柏、池塘、雞鴨鵝、青蔬、自耕草莓，越過後院，踏下石梯，便來到陳年酒窖裡。 Egon Muller 只用陳年大型橡木桶儲酒，把酒桶當作陳釀呼吸的容器，並不希望桶中木味透入酒中。酒窖黯淡沉晦，連木桶也顯得老舊。與法國的某些華麗的酒窖相比，這顯得寒酸了！但是酒的本質才是重點，何況全球最貴的甜酒便誕生於此。

極致罕物 TBA

酒莊所在的 Mosel-Saar – Ruwer 河谷，秋冬之際，清晨起總有霧氣圍繞，氣候極濕，有利黴菌孢子生長。所幸，秋日午陽眷顧著葡萄樹，使得原本籠罩在葡萄果粒上的黴菌孢子，無法順利轉化成「灰黴菌」以真正侵害葡萄（稱之為 Noble Rot 貴腐霉）；而孢子也僅以千百菌絲，在果皮上鑽出無數細孔，使果粒裡的水分蒸發殆淨，形成奇特的「腐爛葡萄乾」現象。葡萄粒內水分極少，所以糖分奇高，酸度微增，芳香物質也濃縮。這超甜的「貴腐葡萄」在搾汁精釀後，便成為「貴腐甜酒」，即 TBA 了。

Egon Muller 的極致罕物 TBA 甜酒，只有遇有優質葡萄好年才釀，自第 1 瓶 1959 年起，僅有 13 個年份成功產出，每年只得 200 至 300 瓶，所以至今其 TBA 總量不足 4,000 瓶。全世界酒痴朝思暮想，也難以一親芳澤。每次出品，待德國上流人士捷足先登後，再分予美日歐等地，已所剩無幾。有心人仕或可親赴（或派員） Trier 城的年度葡萄酒拍賣會（ The Grosser Ring Auction ）競標，否則只好透過知名酒商多方訪購了。

酒藝新章

近午， Egon Muller 夫人留我們午膳。先端來的是「蕃茄鮮奶泡暖湯」，鮮奶泡涼滑微甜，搭颯爽清酸、帶辛香的茄湯，是極佳之開胃。配酒是 1990 Scharzhofberg Spatlese ，清酸細緻而不甜，與湯食相對，酒中的可人紅漿果氣息挺昇，極盡挑逗。

「家常白灼牛肉搭辣根蘿蔔泥」是當日主食，也是 Egon 夫人親炙。牛肉溫香彈牙，沾些微甜辣根泥；就算再如何滯悶的胃口，也難檔這平民美食。搭的酒是 1976 Scharzhofberg Kabinette ，顏色已轉成清亮琥珀色，入口，這近 30 年的光陰竟無法令紅顏老，成熟老蜜、 ? 柏漬果、肉桂沁入鼻竅，飲來甘冽爽口，轉韻千迴，飲之入神無語，呼之美釀！一般的 Kabinette 強調 5 年內飲盡即可，可是這資深飲家視為初階的 Kabinette 卻真是讓我懾服，底韻深厚，真是練家子。

餐後， Egon 自酒窖起出 1975 TBA ，替這夢幻的品試寫下甜蜜終章。色琥珀深褐，稠繆纏綿；普洱老茶、蜂膠、黑糖、葡萄乾、林下濕葉與野蕈，不一而足的美韻，兀自發散；難得口感依舊雅致，毫無老態蹣跚、粘糊悶滯的樣態。

移坐書房舊牛皮沙發，續酌琥珀甜美光暈。 Egon 以略帶興奮的語氣說，他與兩位投資者在澳洲試驗的酒就要在 2006 春產出，如果這 5 年計畫成功，他更將在當地購買自有葡萄園。

看來這 Egon 四世，承襲傳統之餘，不曾懈怠。為了稍稍逃離德國沉悶的政經氛圍，他正跨步建立新象。期望不久後，這支以梵文命名的 Riesling 白酒 Chateau Kanta ，將成為 Egon Muller 對愛酒人的新獻。

Publisher ' s Notes ： Egon Muller TBA 甜白酒，譽滿天下；凡我豪富人家，必當訪求蒐藏。七旬華誕之日，與家人密友分飲，人生至樂也
 

酒窖黯淡沉晦，陰濕霉灰。與法國的一些精緻華美的酒窖相比，這顯得寒酸了，但是酒的美質才是重點，此小巧酒莊的精神都盡耗於研製酒中精魂了。
The cellar is very dark but the quality of the wine is the main issue here,
 

Egon夫人精備「蕃茄鮮奶泡暖湯」，是極佳之開胃，配酒是1990Scharzhofberg Spatlese (晚摘酒)，與湯食相對，酒中的可人紅漿果氣息挺昇，極盡挑逗。
Around noon Mrs Egon Muller invited us to stay for lunch. The warm soup is truly appetizing.
 

接待廳內，堅實木梯、野獵油畫、璧爐、深紅絲絨椅，一派貴族氣息。
In this ancient dwelling there are many old paintings、hunting trophies and moose's head hanging on the wall.

 

In the German Wine ' s Qualitatswein category it is further classified into six smaller categories according to the ripeness of the grape at harvest, and from lowest to highest they are:

1. Kabinett: made from grapes harvested at normal sugar level; the wine is crisp, fruity and slightly sweet

2. Spatlese: made from grapes harvested a week after Kabinett, the sweetness is higher

3. Auslese: made from selection of grape harvested for Spatlese, the sweetness is even higher

4. Beerenauslese (BA): made from grapes affected by botrytis, it is very sweet.

5. Eiswein: made from frozen grapes in winter, both acidity and sugar level are very high and very few are made.

6. Trockenbeerenauslese (TBA): rarest of all and has the highest level of sweetness.

The world renowned Egon Muller Winery is situated about half hour drive from Trier in the Saar Section of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer area. With prior arrangement In autumn 2005 just before the harvesting I came to Egon Muller ' s residential place Scharzhof, the manor house in creamy yellow which was build in 19th century, for a visit. As the door opened Egon Muller IV stood before us and led us into his house. In this ancient dwelling there are many old paintings 、 hunting trophies and moose ' s head hanging on the wall and a wall full of old books, such image of tranquility.

Egon Muller Vineyard

Behind Scharzhof's manor is the famous 50 degree slope Scharzhofberg vineyard. This vineyard contains brittle black slate which cracks and mixes into the ground and creates mineral-rich soil, and this soil is the mother earth for the success of Egon Muller. There are 67 hectares in Scharzhofberg and Egon Muller owns 8.5 hectares. Those owned by Egon Muller are regarded as the best site of the vineyard .On top the special terroir, Egon Muller has also set very high standard for its wine. Normally German wineries produce 10,000 liter of wine per hectare, but Egon Muller produces 4,000 liter only, 40% of average production. Also when making eiswein grape growers deliberately leave healthy grapes on vines until such time in winter when the morning temperature dropped below minus 8 degree the grape growers can then apply for the harvesting of frozen grape. To prevent birds and animals from eating the fruit the authority has allowed grape growers to cover the grape with a plastic bag, but Egon Muller believes that if such action is done wine made from these grapes are not 100% natural Eiswein, so he take the risk of possible damage to grapes and potential loss of production and stick to the principle of exposing grapes in the open air.

Walking down from the vineyard and walking across the pond, thentrespassing the backyard and walking down the pebble stairs we arrived at the cellar at last. Egon Muller only uses large wooden vat for wine storage and although he uses vats as the storage vessel he has not intention of imparting any taste of oak into wines. Although the cellar is very dark but the quality of the wine is the key issue here, and let us not forget the most expensive sweet wines in world are here.

西裝筆挺，短髮削臉，軍戎氣概的Egon Mulller四世，在其父去世前，生性羞怯靦腆，現除了精釀酒品外，能以流利法語、英語、?語闡述理念。
Egon IV, who has been followed the tradition endlessly, is moving forward rapidly from the dull political and economical environment in Germany.

Rarity TBA

In the valley of Mosel-Saar-Ruwer where the winery is situated, the humidity born of misty autumnal mornings is ideal for the development of botrytis (Noble Rot), however the mid afternoon sunshine prevents the fungal spore from turning into Noble rot and actually damages the grape, but instead perforating the fruit's skin so that the water content of the grape is reduced, thus the “noble rot” phenomenon. As the grape shrivels and the sugar concentration increases, the acidity and the aroma also increase. The nectar extracted from these grapes is the base wine for TBA.

Egon Muller TBA are only made in good vintages and since the first bottle made in 1959 only 13 vintages TBA were made and each vintage only made 200 to 300 bottles, so in total there are less than 4,000 bottles ever made. Every wine connoisseur in the world dreamt of tasting it but not many people actually had the chance。Anyone who is interested in obtaining this wine can (or appoint someone to) attend the annual wine auction (The Grosser Ring Auction) at Trier or to find a reputable wine merchant to search the wine for you.

New Chapter in the art of wine

Around noon Mrs Egon Muller invited us to stay for lunch and the main dish for the day was “poached beef with horseradish sauce” which she prepared personally. The beef was tender and with slightly sweet horseradish sauce even someone with feeble appetite cannot resist such gourmet. The wine to match this dish was 1976 Scharzhofberg Kabinett, this wine had bright amber colour and it was hard to believe that after 30 years such wine still taste fresh. With honey. fig and clover seeping into nasal cavity and very crispy and smooth with long aftertaste in the mouth this wine is truly amazing. Usually Kabinett should be consumed within 5 years after release but this kabinett got me flabbergasted.

After the meal Egon Muller took out 1975 TBA from the cellar for the ending of such marvelous sweet tasting. Dark amber color and dense Pu'er, propolis, black sugar、wet leaves and mushroom taste all showing their distinct beauty; the taste was still elegant and there was no sign of over-the- peak flabbiness.

Moving to his old leather sofa in the library and devouring the remaining precious nectar, Egon Muller told me that the wine he experimented in Australia with two investors will be releasing in spring 2006 and if this five year plan succeeds he will be purchasing his own vineyard there.

So it seems that Egon IV, who has been followed the tradition endlessly, is moving forward rapidly from the dull political and economical environment in Germany. It is our hope that this wine made from Riesling Chateau Kanta, a name with Hindu origin, will be Egon Muller's new offering to wine lovers around the world. Publisher's note: Egon Muller TBA is rare and famous and it is a must for rich and famous. To enjoy this wine with the family and close friends at 70th birthday is definitely the joy of life.

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