In a previous blog, I outlined the basics of flavor notes. Now, we’re going to dive a little deeper into the topic and cover common wine flavor notes.

Fruit Notes

Some of the most common descriptors in red wine are black and red fruits. Dark fruits can include blackberry, blueberry, and plum; while, red fruits include notes of strawberry, raspberry, and cherry. These fruits describe tannic full-bodied reds with both sweet and tart flavors. Fruits with pits, those that grow on trees, and citrus fruits like lemon, lime, and grapefruit are often used to describe white wines. A wine that has more citrusy flavors are likely made with grapes that are less ripe. Mango and pineapple, tropical fruit flavors, can allude to a wine that was made with riper grapes that were grown in a hotter climate.

Floral Notes

You may get floral scents in certain wines such as chamomile and white jasmine. These come through due to compounds like polyphenols and terpenes. Such compounds are found in flowers, certain teas, and grapes. Grapes that have a high concentration of these compounds will produce more floral wines. Another common floral note, honeysuckle, comes from noble rot which sounds gross but, it’s a type of fungus that dries out the berries and ultimately adds sweetness to the wine.

Herb Notes

A grassy note can indicate a wine was made in a cooler climate. Herbs like fennel and grass indicate a savory bitterness in the wine. Wines that have pyrazines are known to have a green streak. So, depending on the climate where the wine was produced, the flavor could taste like green bell pepper or roasted red pepper.

Spice Notes

A common flavor for spice notes is black pepper, a savory, spicy note found in wines like Syrah and Shiraz. Other spice notes include cinnamon, anise, and nutmeg are the result of a wine that has been aged in oak.

Earthy Notes

If a wine has notes of black tea, this typically means that the wine has bold and pleasant tannins. Tannins are polyphenols that leave a drying effect in the mouth. This note may be used in bold reds such as Sangiovese and Cabernet Sauvignon. Now, earthy is more of an umbrella term that can have a double meaning, either positive or negative. You may notice a Pinot Noir often described as earthy, meaning that fruit flavors are balanced by a scent much like a wet forest floor. However, if a wine contains too much of the compound geosmin, the earthy aromas can overwhelm fruity notes, resulting in an unpleasant sip. Additionally, tobacco is used to suggest the pleasant, woodsy scent of tobacco leaves–not the smell of cigarette smoke.

Minerality

Minerality notes in wine can be named from chalk, graphite, and saline to name a few. Wines with a chalky description often come from cool climates with stony soils. Wines with a salty note more likely come from places where salty ocean air surrounds grapevines.

Notes from the Winemaking Process

Flavors that come out of the fermentation process can include almonds and beeswax. Almond can describe a fruity bitterness in the wine. An almond scent comes from the compound benzaldehyde, which can form during fermentation or carbonic maceration. Notes of beeswax come through when there’s a lot of ethyl acetates – a byproduct of fermentation. Lastly, buttery notes can come from malolactic fermentation, or as the result of oak aging.

Notes from Oak & Bottle Aging

Wines that have been aged in oak typically develop notes of vanilla. Vanilla is used to describe a sweet spicy aroma and can be found in both red and white wines that have been aged in American oak. Similarly, the presence of certain lactones gives off a toasted coconut aroma. Caramel notes can result from noble rot or oak aging. Oak-aged wines with the compound furfurylthiol will have a smoky coffee aroma. Chocolate or cocoa can describe oak-aged red wines. When described as cocoa instead of chocolate the wine may have ripe, sweet tannins.

I don’t think you’ll ever look at a wine label or taste wine the same again! As you fill your vocabulary with more flavor notes, you’ll be well on your way to being an expert wine taster, if there ever was such a title.

Cheers,
Natalie