An Introduction to Wine Tasting

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An Introduction to Wine Tasting

• Claus Brabrand
• brabrand_at_daimi.au.dk

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Agenda

• Background
• France and Bordeaux
• The 57 A.O.C.s
• Optimal circumstances

• Wine Tasting
• I) Visual Examination sight
• II) Olfactory Examination smell
• III) Gustative Examination taste

3
Background

• - France and Bordeaux
• - The 57 A.O.C.s
• - Optimal Circumstances

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France and Bordeaux

• Production
• France 12 (of world production)
• Bordeaux 13 (of French production)

Bordeaux

• Ideal climate
• Gulf stream, Forrest shield
• Moist spring, sunny summer,warm fall, and rare
  frost
• 45N

45N
Bordeaux

• Underground
• Chalky Geological diversity

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The 57 A.O.C.s
Médoc Graves Libournais Côtes
Entre-2-Mers Bordeaux
A.O.C. (Appellation dOrigine Contrôlée
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Classifications (Region-Specific!)

• Le Classement de 1855
• 1. Crus gt 2. Crus gt 3. Crus gt 4. Crus gt 5. Crus
• 60 Crus de Médoc
• 1 Cru de Graves
• AOC Pessac-Léognan, Château Haut-Brion Matrix II

• Le Classement de Saint-Émilion
• Premiers Grands Crus Classés A gt
• Premiers Grands Crus Classés B gt
• Grands Crus Classés

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Optimal Circumstances (1/2)

• External factors
• Lighting conditions (lots of white light)
• Noise (no noise)
• Smells (no food smells, no perfume, )
• Room temperature (aprox. 20C)
• Wine temperature (mature Bordeaux red 15-17C)
• Decanter (only for younger wines 1-7 years!)
• Background color (white for color identification)
• Glas (tulip-shape for Bordeaux red)
• Only 1/3 full! (for visual examination)

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Optimal Circumstances (2/2)

• Internal factors
• Hunger (not too full)
• Fatigue (not too tired)
• Taste interference (no coffee, tobacco, cheese,
  )
• Time-of-day (optimal around 11 am)

• Note
• Highly culture-dependent
• - depends on what you have been exposed to so far

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Structured Tasting

• Organized
• 3-4 wines (max. 5-6 wines)
• 2-4 people

• Vertical Tasting
• Same vintage (year)
• Different region (AOC)

Better ? Worse

• Horizontal Tasting
• Same region (AOC)
• Different vintage (year)

Younger ? Older
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Wine Tasting

• - I) Visual Examination
• - II) Olfactive Examination
• - III) Gustative Examination

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I) Visual Examination (1/2)

• v1 Color/nuance (? general age)
• Oxidisation process
• Blueish ? Orangeish

Purpleish red
Cherry red
Brownish red
Orangeish red
1-2 years
3-5 years
7-10 years
10 years
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I) Visual Examination (2/2)

• v2 Color/intensity (? specific vintage)
• Lots of rain ? clear wine
• Little rain ? dark wine

• v3 Limpidity (? A.O.C. or non-A.O.C.)
• A.O.C.s are always limpid
• They have used glue (egg whites) or barrel
  storage

• v4 Brilliance (? age / still good?)
• Brilliant youthful
• Matt brilliance mature
• Dull brilliance on the decline!

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II) Olfactive Examination (1/2)

• The 11 Aromatic Families
• Animal (fresh/dried meat, blood, musk, urine)
• Balsamic (pine, rasin, turpentine)
• Woody (woody, damp wood, pencil, tobacco,
  cork)
• Chemical (alcohol, iodine, petrol, eggs,
  metal)
• Spicy (dill, anis, cinamon, nutmeg, garlic,
  oignon)
• Empyreumatic (smoke, toast, caramel, coffee,
  cocoa, rubber)
• Etheral (apples, bananas, pear, acetone,
  soap,beer)
• Floral (acasia, rose, tulip, citronella, honey,
  broom)
• Fruity (grapes, raisins, cherry, prunes,
  berries, melon)
• Mineral (flint, quartz, schist, limestone)
• Vegetable (herbs, pepper, leaves, peas, mud,
  cabbage)

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II) Olfactive Examination (2/2)

• o1 First nose
• Calm glass
• Aromas
• and aromatic intensity

• o2 Second nose
• Swirl glass to aerate (and release more aromas)
• Aromas
• and aromatic intensity

Note always best first time you smell (then it
converges on alcohol)
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III) Gustative Examination (1/2)

• 4 Taste bases (4 taste buds)
• Sweet (only moelleux wines)
• Salty (not really for wines)
• Sour
• Bitter

Impacts tasting sequence

• Feel (middle of tongue)
• Mechanical (rough, structured, thick, silky,
  tanins)
• Thermal (hot, cold)
• Chemical (co2, alcohol burn)

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III) Gustative Examination (2/2)

• Interaction
• Synergy (constructive interference)
• Masking (destructive interference)
• Contrast (no interference)

• g1 Taste
• Swirl to stimulate all taste buds

• g2 Retro-olfaction
• Breathe air in through mouth out through nose

• g3 Persistence (in seconds)
• Important that it finishes in a good way (lasting
  impression!)

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Personal Comments

• Wine preference is
• Culture dependent
• Fashion dependent
• Subjective!
• The wine is good vs. I think the wine is
  good

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Fin

• Questions?

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Wine Tasting
Wine Tasting
Date A.O.C. Château Vintage
Date A.O.C. Château Vintage
--------------------------------------- ----------
----------------------------- --------------------
------------------- ------------------------------
---------
--------------------------------------- ----------
----------------------------- --------------------
------------------- ------------------------------
---------
Visual Examination Nuance Intensity Limpidity
Brilliance
Visual Examination Nuance Intensity Limpidity
Brilliance
--------------------------------------- ----------
---------------------------- ---------------------
---------------- ---------------------------------
----
--------------------------------------- ----------
---------------------------- ---------------------
---------------- ---------------------------------
----
Olfactive Examination 1st nose - Intentity 2nd
nose - Intentity
Olfactive Examination 1st nose - Intentity 2nd
nose - Intentity
--------------------------------------- ----------
-------------------------- -----------------------
--------------- ----------------------------------
--
--------------------------------------- ----------
-------------------------- -----------------------
--------------- ----------------------------------
--
Gustatory Examination Aromas Retro-olfaction Pe
rsistence
Gustatory Examination Aromas Retro-olfaction Pe
rsistence
--------------------------------------- ----------
-------------------- -----------------------------
------
--------------------------------------- ----------
-------------------- -----------------------------
------
Overall
Overall
---------------------------------------
---------------------------------------
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Let the Tasting begin!

• Horizontal Tasting
• - Médoc 03, 01, 97, 93

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II) Olfactive Examination (1/3)

• Aromas
• Primary aromas
• From the grapes
• Secondary aromas
• From the fermentation process
• Tertiary aromas
• From the barrel/bottle
• This blend of aromas The bouquet
• Lots of primary aromas ? Good potential
• absence of primary aromas ? Not good potential

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Let the Tasting begin

• 1 Médoc 2003 60 kr
• Château Leboscq
• 2 Médoc 2001 50 kr
• Château Cabanieu
• 3 Moulis 1997 120 kr
• Château Haut-Franquet
• 4 Médoc 1993 109 kr
• Château Lafitte-Tramier

These are all Cabernet-Sauvignon grapes