Common wine aromas

Wine, or more specifically the fruit of the vine, takes on the characteristics of the elements that surround it. Within the earth, air and water are aromatic compounds and essences of plant and floral life, layered over centuries. Aromas can give us an indication of a wine's country, region & vineyard of origin, grape varietal and the winemaking techniques and aging conditions that contributed to the vintage.

Here's a categorization of some of the tasting terms that are used most commonly for smells and flavors. They are put into groups but their real use is as a possible help in blind tasting (if a mature red wine smells strongly of strawberries, for example, chances are it's a traditional rioja) and a personal guide to developing a wine vocabulary of your own. None of us tastes in exactly the same way so your impressions and most obvious vocabulary are likely to be subtly different.

Not all of these terms are positive. The negative attributes are marked with an asterisk. In fact even the first attribute, butteriness, can be unattractive if present in excess - in wines subjected to clumsy malolactic fermentation, for example.

Microbiological

•    Lactic
•    Buttery - rich Chardonnay, malolactic fermentation
•    Yeasty

   1. Bread yeast - some champagne
   2. Flor yeast - Manzanilla, Fino

Chemical

•    Other

   1. Acetaldehyde - sherry, oxidation*
   2. Pear drops - Beaujolais Nouveau, carbonic maceration

•    Papery

   1. Wet cardboard - dirty filter pads*
   2. Dry cardboard - glasses from a cardboard box*

•    Sulphury

   1. Struck match - free sulphur* (especially for asthmatics)
   2. Rotten eggs - hydrogen sulphide/mercaptan* (aeration can help)

Mineral

   1. Flint - Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre
   2. Wet stones - Chablis
   3. Petrol/kerosene - aged Riesling

Earthy

   1. Undergrowth - mature, full reds
   2. Mould - TCA, 'corkiness' or other taint*
   3. Dirty dishcloth - dirty glasses*

Woody

   1. Wet wood - dirty cooperage*
   2. Oaky - any oaked wine, most obvious on Chardonnay
   3. Cigar box - red bordeaux
   4. Pencil shavings - Cabernet Franc
   5. Pine - Retsina

Burnt

   1. Smoky - Alsace whites
   2. Burning rubber - Syrah
   3. Coffee - madeira, Banyuls, old reds
   4. Burnt toast - old Hunter Valley Semillon
   5. Toasted bread - fine oaked Chardonnay

Sweet

   1. Biscuit - old champagne
   2. Honey - Chenin Blanc, Riesling
   3. Barley sugar - Sauternes
   4. Caramel - ripe reds
   5. Molasses - Piedmont reds
   6. Chocolate - Shiraz

Nutty

•    Almondy

   1. Almond - Soave
   2. Marzipan - Marsanne


•    Other

   1. Coconut - American oak
   2. Chestnut - Some Portuguese reds
   3. Hazelnuts- white burgundy

Fruity

•    Citrus

   1. Lemon - acidified whites
   2. Lime - Australian Riesling
   3. Grapefruit - English wine, Scheurebe
   4. Orange - marsala, sweet Italians

•    Tropical

   1. Pineapple - cool fermented whites
   2. Melon - Mâcon Blanc
   3. Banana - Beaujolais
   4. Lychee – Gewürztraminer

•    Tree

   1. Peach - eastern European whites
   2. Apricot - Viognier/Condrieu
   3. Apple - young Chardonnay
   4. Pear - Piedmont whites
   5. Black cherry - mature Pinot Noir

•    Berry

   1. Mulberry - Shiraz
   2. Blackberry - North Rhône
   3. Raspberry - young Pinot Noir
   4. Strawberry - red Rioja
   5. Blackcurrant - Cabernet Sauvignon
   6. Gooseberry - Sauvignon Blanc
   7. Grape - Muscat

•    Dried

   1. Raisin - Banyuls, Liqueur Muscat
   2. Prune - Recioto, concentrated reds
   3. Fig – port

Vegetal

•    Fresh

   1. Grassy - Sauvignon, under ripe grapes
   2. Nettles - Sauvignon
   3. Green pepper - less than ripe Cabernet
   4. Eucalyptus - ripe Cabernet
   5. Mint - New World Cabernet
   6. Geranium leaves - sorbic acid*
   7. Currant leaves - Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc


•    Processed

   1. Canned asparagus - New Zealand Sauvignon
   2. Boiled cabbage - botrytis (noble rot)


•    Dried

   1. Tobacco - Châteauneuf-du-Pape
   2. Straw - Chenin Blanc
   3. Tea - young port

Floral
•    Vaguely floral - Riesling and crosses
•    Violet - top quality mature reds
•    Elderflower - young, cool climate whites
•    Rose - Nebbiolo, Muscat
•    Orange blossom - Muscat

Spicy
•    Spicy - Alsace whites, Southern Rhône reds
•    Liquorices - dense red wines, especially Syrah
•    Black pepper - Syrah
•    Vanilla - American oak


 Animal
•    Raw

   1. Cat's pee - Sauvignon Blanc
   2. Mousey - Brettanomyces*
   3. Meaty - Pomerol
   4. Game - mature red burgundy, Rhône


•    Processed

   1. Bacon fat - ripe Alsace

   2. Leather - wood-aged reds, especially Australian