????回顧我在2011年大量的品酒筆記和經歷，有一件事顯得格外突出。里奧哈正在出產的許多葡萄酒皆是當下的上上之選，其價位足以讓蘇格蘭人汗顏。在我看來，里奧哈是2011年最佳葡萄酒產區。這個位于西班牙北部的葡萄酒之鄉已經證明，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、價位更高的葡萄酒還要出色。葡萄酒陳化及其裝瓶后繼續蛻變、日臻醇厚的能力是葡萄酒這種物質之所以如此富有吸引力、令人著迷的核心元素之一。

????如同許多葡萄酒產區一樣，里奧哈在上世紀最后十年經歷了一段狂飆突進的時期。大規模投資，技術誘惑，以及一個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，使得許多生產商難以抗拒加入現代化陣營的誘惑。正如幾乎所有目睹其鐘擺蕩過鼎盛時期的葡萄酒產區一樣，我們現在看到它正有所回潮，其速率或許比上升期慢，但毫無疑問的是，里奧哈的潮流正在改變。我在這里先陳述一個事實：雖然我贊賞好的勒德分子，但我本人并不是一個厭惡技術的人。但在一個產地成功實施不同種類的葡萄酒風格，至少是一個穩妥的商業選擇，也是我個人非常贊賞的做法。

????我贊賞里奧哈并不僅僅是因為它具備單純的金融優勢，還因為并非每個人生來就是做傳統釀酒商的料。做一個老派的釀酒商需要某些特性，更不用提風土條件（這個術語指的是生產葡萄酒的環境）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我們所青睞的風格，比如說“天然風格”，許多廠商恐怕都得倒閉，少數成功者將獨霸市場。到那時，消費者在喝什么方面將別無選擇，而且將承受更高的價位，我們將由此喪失我們的集體自我。里奧哈不僅生產超傳統和超現代風格的葡萄酒，還生產介于兩者之間的所有風格，它幾乎能夠滿足所有的口味。

????最后一個因素（也是Snooth品酒網站之所以選擇里奧哈作為2011年最佳葡萄酒產地的重要依據）非常簡單，即價位。我今年品嘗過許多30美元及不到這一價位、產自里奧哈的葡萄酒，其他相同價位的葡萄酒根本無法與其媲美。甚至在更高的價位上，里奧哈葡萄酒的品質優勢依然顯而易見。在低價位領域，它根本就沒有敵手。

????比如，想象一下你掏出20美元，購買一瓶2004年出產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為你精心陳化了一段時間的葡萄酒。沒錯，里奧哈的部分吸引力在于該產地的一項要求：甚至在顧客掏錢購買之前，里奧哈的釀酒商就已經開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特例。

????里奧哈是2012年必須關注的葡萄酒產區。里奧哈葡萄酒太好了，簡直無法忽略，而且還在持續改善。釀酒商正在探尋如何對里奧哈作出更富現代氣息的詮釋，從而增添葡萄酒的種類，人們對葡萄栽培和窖藏越來越關注，這些方面也日益得到改善。甚至傳統主義者也不能否認，他們同樣從這種變化中得到了實惠。

????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.