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Barolo Conti della Cremosina 1970 Bersano… There is a sense of the romantic in drinking a bottle that age. A time capsule, testament to a simpler time, vision of rural life in 1960s Piedmont, the worthy fruit of honest labour from before the internet, before this pandemic, representing pure intentions from bygone times.
It was affordable, the seller was reputable, it is easy to convince yourself, especially during a pandemic – this wine is needed, for education, for joie de vivre, to survive the soul-draining year of disease and fascism creeping into everything sacrosanct.
While considering the purchase, I had asked a knowledgeable friend about it:
“Ach, depends on producer. The Chianti unless it’s Biondi Santi DON’T DO IT! Amarone probably not a good idea either. Let me know the Barolo producer/vintage… Also — Do you trust person selling them? Barolo 1970, ‘71, ‘78, ‘82, ’89… If the prices are low enough you could luck out, but it’s always a crapshoot”
Ignoring her advice, I bought a 64’ Amarone (for a friend) and the 1970 Barolo. The order was placed, the bottles arrived. The Barolo was hidden away, gazed at lovingly from time to time, and now the right occasion that arisen. A friend had survived three weeks of quarantine (albeit in a luxury hotel) and his father had unfortunately left this world while he was stuck in limbo. This was the time.
1970 was punched on the bottle like a lottery ticket; There are many steps to opening an old bottle like a sommelier would – I pretty much skipped them all. The top had a mouldy, waxy seal that fell apart as I opened the bottle, next up, the cork collapsed and fell into the bottle. Not a good start.
No need to panic! Taking a flash light to look for sediment and a sieve to catch any coming out, the wine was poured into a decanter, and an unholy amount of black and brown grunge came out. The wine itself was BROWN, a pale brown you might get from a leaky toilet. Immediately, a whiff of vinegar, stale deathly airs, and no fruit to speak of … which could be the result of a number of faults such as cork taint trichloroanisole (TCA), being out of condition, or volatile acidity (this is ripped straight out of my wine course textbook – most people say “OFF”).
Hoping that the dream had not died, I took a swig, because, FUCK IT. The wine reminded me of church wine that had gone off in the pastor’s cupboard and been left to rot away during a Hong Kong summer. “Maybe you can rest it and try later?” a friend suggested. Yes, I convinced myself that some deity would help with transforming this off Barolo into the best wine I ever tasted while I was at work.
Unfortunately, no improvement occurred, it just seemed to get worse. I contemplated making a salad dressing from it, but instead, this relic from the rolling hills of Piedmont, made during the swinging 60s, ended up in a Hong Kong sewer circa 2021.
You know what they say: Enjoy the journey, not the result.
Barolo Conti della Cremosina 1970 Bersano……飲呢種年份嘅紅酒感覺特別浪漫。飲嘅並唔係單純一支酒，而係一個見證著昔日簡單純樸嘅時間囊；一份對60年代皮埃蒙特鄉郊生活嘅情懷；一個喺未有互聯網、未有疫情嘅時代之中，一番辛勞過後嘅成果——一點一滴都代表證昔日人們仍然坦誠相待嘅時光。
當日買呢支酒嘅時候，價錢唔算貴，商家亦都有信譽，所以喺呢個疫情之下就更加容易說服自己，要繼續喺呢個疫症同法西斯肆虐嘅年頭之下掙扎求存，絕對有需要開呢支酒——為咗見識又好，為咗「今朝有酒今朝醉」亦好。
喺落手買呢支酒之前，我請教咗一位對酒頗有研究嘅朋友：
「呃……視乎個釀酒商啦。Chianti嘅話除非係Biondi Santi，如果唔係千祈唔好買！Amarone都通常都麻麻哋。俾我睇睇支Barolo個釀酒商同年份先……仲有，你信唔信得過賣酒嗰個人先？Barolo有70年、71年、78年、82年、89年……好彩嘅話真係可能會遇啱平靚正，不過通常都係伏嘅多。」
最後我都係冇聽佢嘅勸告，買咗支64年嘅Amarone（送俾朋友）同70年嘅Barolo。單已落，貨已到。我搵咗個地方好好收藏支Barolo，時不時欣賞下佢，而今日就係品嚐佢嘅時候。話說有個朋友終於捱完三個禮拜嘅疫監（雖然佢所謂嘅「隔離」係喺一間高級酒店），而佢爸爸不幸地喺佢隔離嘅過程中過身，睇嚟真係係時候開佢啦。
支Barolo樽身有個打窿打出嚟「1970」嘅字樣，十足十印喺外國彩票上面嘅數字咁。一般品酒師開呢種舊樽會有幾個步驟，我基本上就全部skip晒。開樽嘅時候，樽頂霉霉地立立地嘅封樽膠爛咗，連帶個酒塞都散埋，跌咗落個樽入面。真係唔多「老黎」。
鎮定啲先！攞支電筒照一照，拎走啲大塊嘅碎片，再搵個篩，一路倒啲酒落decanter一路隔，倒倒下就倒出一嚿嚿啡黑色嘅物體。酒本身就啡色嘅，廁所渠漏水漏出嚟嗰種淡啡色。隨即撲鼻而來嘅係一陣醋味，夾雜著足以攞命嘅霉味，唔講都唔知佢係由水果製——呢種情況可能由幾個問題產生，例如酒塞被trichloroanisole（TCA）霉菌污染、儲存不當，或者「揮發性變酸」（呢個詞語係上品酒堂偷師返嚟嘅，通常啲人形容為「聞落怪怪地」）。
成日都話「生命滿希望」，我就即管抱著一絲希望乾咗一杯，心諗：「話之佢啦！」呢杯飲落去令我諗起教堂入邊嘅祝聖酒，不過係就咁擺咗喺神父個櫃桶，經過香港一個漫長嘅夏天不斷腐壞再腐壞嘅祝聖酒。 朋友話：「不如試下rest下佢吖。」啱嘅。耶穌都試過變水為酒，我堅信呢壺「甘露」等一陣就會趁我做緊嘢嗰陣變成我呢世人飲過最好飲嘅酒。
好可惜，神跡最後都係冇出現，仲好似難飲咗。我有認真諗過當佢係紅酒醋咁整返個沙律dressing，不過到咗最後，呢支源自皮埃蒙特山丘、喺歌舞昇平嘅60年代所出產嘅古董，到頭來嘅終點係2021年香港嘅污水渠。
都係俗語講得好：「不問結果，只問過程。」
Drunken master 