A primer on wine aromas, flavours
In tastings of thousands of global wines, I’ve discovered specific aromas and flavours that can signal a country of origin for a wine.
Mind you, these signatures are not always dominant, but can be mere notes in the symphony of other elements going on in the wine.
Here are a few of the major ones to guide you through your next fun blind tasting with friends.
Eucalyptus: Frequent in Chilean reds. On visits, I often found eucalyptus trees bordering vineyards whose sticky essence transfers to the vine leaves and soil in rain storms.
It also shows up in Aussie reds planted near gumwood trees. It’s only nice in moderation.
Sandalwood and spearmint: A signature of Spanish Riojas, it’s reminiscent of those heady sandalwood incense days of “be-ins” and “happenings” of the late 1960s. It’s extremely seductive in Tempranillo-based Spanish reds, especially when the wine is also silky and ultra smooth.
Petrol: Common among German rieslings grown on steep slate slopes. No relation to nearby autobahns and diesel Mercedes driving by vineyards. Sometimes Ontario rieslings from steep Bench vineyards hint of this, too, adding a subtle complexity.
Limestone: Think of a gravel driveway after a spring rain. Prominent in white Burgundies (a.k.a. chardonnays) from Chablis and the perfections of Chassagne Montrachets. It seems related to calcaire, the fossiliferous mineral-rich soil that underlies the best sloping vineyards. Fab with shellfish dishes!
Black/red licorice: A signature of Italian reds, from Tuscany and Ve- neto in the north to Sicily in the far south. The hint of licorice shows up mainly in native or indigenous red grapes. This anise note can be pronounced or very subtle.
Rubber/ latex: This shouts Bordeaux reds, prominent in entry level to $50 reds. It tends to vanish in great first growths. To my taste buds, it’s not very pleasant if it is dominant.
Cat pee/litter-box: Otherwise known as gooseberry, whose bushes give off this rank odour, and is a signature especially of New Zea- land sauvignon blancs. Thankfully, the best Kiwi savvies also show tropical guava, papaya, mango, passion fruit, etc. French sauvignon blancs often hint of grapefruit rind instead, and California examples show wet hay, cut grass or peapod character. Those are a few egregious elements to guide your next blind tasting. Of course, there are hundreds of such traits, this is merely a surface glimpse into the hidden depths of wine detecting. stimmell@sympatico.ca