Proefnotities

Tasting notes — English

Engelstalige proeftermen. Ook Italiaans. Waar mogelijk gekoppeld aan het woordenboek. Definitions in English.

A

Accessible, approachable

Flavours and feel of the wine are harmonious, easily recognised; it is ready to drink.

Aftertaste

The lingering flavours and impressions of a wine; its persistence — the longer, the better.

Alcoholic

Hot'or, in excess, burning character caused by imbalanced or excessive alcohol. Also simply spiritous.

Aroma

Smells in the bouquet, or nose, especially the odours associated with the grape rather than the winemaking process.

Astringent

Mouth-puckering sensation in the mouth, associated with high tannin and sometimes acid; also bitter, sharp.

Attack

First sensations on palate/nose - pungent, aggressive, quiet etc.

Austere

Usually meaning unyielding, sometimes harsh. Sometimes, more favourably, to imply a notable restraint/refinement.

B

Backbone

The wine is well formed, firm, not flabby or insipid.

Baked

‘Hot’, earthy quality. Usually from scorched/ shrivelled grapes which have been exposed too long to the sun, or from too warm a barrel fermen-tation, especially in some whites.

Balance

Desirable attribute. The wine's chief constit-wents-alcohol, acid, tannin, fruit and wood (where used) — are in harmony.

Bead

Bubbles in sparkling wine; a fine, long-lasting bead is the most desirable. See also Mousse.

Big

Expansive in the mouth, weighty, full-bodied, as a result of high alcohol or fruit concentration.

Bite or grip

Imparted by tannin, acid and/or alcohol, important in young wines designed for ageing. If overdone can impart undesirable bitterness, harshness or spirity glow.

Bitter

Sensation perceived mainly on the back of the tongue, and in the finish of the wine. Usually unpleasant, though an accepted if not immediately admired character of certain Italian wines. Sometimes more positively associated with the taste of a specific fruit or nut, such as cherry-kernel or almond.

Body

Fullness on the palate.

Bottle-age

Negative or positive, depending on con-text. Positively describes development of aromas/ flavours (ie complexity) as wine moves from youth to maturity. Much-prized attribute in fine whites and reds. Negatively, bottle age results in a wine with stale, empty or even off odours.

Buttery

Flavour and texture associated with barrel-fermented white wines, especially chardonnays; rich, creamy smoothness.

C

Claret

Another name for a dry red Bordeaux or Bor-deaux-like red.

Classic

Showing characteristics of the classics of Bor-deaux, Burgundy etc; usually implying balance, ele-gance, subtlety. Coarse Rough, unbalanced tannins, acid, alcohol or oak.

Complexity

Strong recommendation. A complex wine has several layers of flavour, usually developing with age/maturation. See Bottle age. Concentration See Intensity. Confected Over-elaborately constructed, artificial, forced; sometimes overly sweet.

Corked, corky

Wine is faulty; its flavours have been tainted by yeast, fungal or bacterial infections, often but not necessarily from the cork. It smells damp and mouldy in its worst stages -but sometimes it's barely detectable. In a restaurant, a corked wine should be rejected and returned immediately; producers are honour-bound to replace corked wine.

Creamy

Not literally creamy, of course; more a silky, buttery feel and texture.

Crisp

Refers to acidity. Positively, means fresh, clean; negatively, too tart, sharp.

D

Deep and depth

Having many layers; intense; also descriptive of a serious wine.

Dense

Well-padded texture, flavour packed.

Deposits (also sediment or crust):

Tasteless and harmless tartrates, acid crystals or tannin in older red wines. Evidence that wine has not been harshly fined, filtered or cold-stabilised.

Dried out

Bereft of fruit, harder constituents remain-ing; tired.

E

Earthy

Usually positive, wine showing its origins from soil, minerals, damp leaves, mushrooms etc.

Easy

Undemanding (and hopefully inexpensive.

Elegant

Stylish, refined, 'classic. Esters Scents and smells usually generated by alcohols and acids in wine. A wine may be 'estery when. these characteristics are prominent.

Extract

An indication of the 'substance of a wine, expressed as sugar-free or total extract (which would include some sugars). 18g/L would be low, light; anything much above 23g/L in whites is sig-nificant; the corresponding threshold for reds is around 30g/L.

F

Fat

Big, full, ample in the mouth.

Finesse

Graceful, polished. Nothing excessive.

Finish

The residual sensations - tastes and textures - after swallowing. Should be pleasant (crisp, lively) and enduring, not short, dull or flat. See also Length.

Firm

Compact, has good backbone.

Flabby

Usually, lacking backbone, especially acid.

Flat

Characterless, unexciting, lacks acid. Or bubbly which has lost its fizz.

Fleshy

Very positive, meaning a wine is well fleshed out with texture and grape flavours.

Flowery, floral Flower-like

the smell of rose, honeysuckle, jasmine etc. Distinct from fruity, smell/taste of papaya, cantaloupe, grape! etc.

Forward

rather than shy; advancing in age too; mature.

Fresh

Lively, youthful, invigorating. Closely related to the amount of acid in the wine and absence of oxidative character: a big, intensely sweet dessert without a backbone of acidity will taste flat and sickly, enough acid and the taste is fresh and uncloying.

Fruity

See Flowery

Full

High in alcohol and extract.

G

Gamey

Overripe, decadent, not universally unattrac-tive; also meaty, wild"

Gravel/ly

With suggestions of mineral, earthy qual-ity; also firm texture.

Green

Usually unripe, sour; also herbaceous; sometimes simply youthful.

Grip

Gripping, firm on palate, in finish. Acid, tannin, alcohol are contributors.

H

Heady

Usually refers to the smell of a wine. High in alcohol; intense, high-toned.

Herbaceous

Grassy, hay-like, heathery; can also indicate under-ripeness.

Hollow

Lacking substance, flavours.

Honey or honeyed

Sometimes literally a honey/ beeswax taste or flavour; a sign of developing matunty in some varieties or more generally a sign of bottle-age.

Hot

Burning sensation of alcohol in finish.

I

Intensity

No flab, plenty of driving flavour; also deep colour.

L

Lean

Thin, mean, lacking charm of ample fruit; also, more positively, compact, sinewy.

Lees/leesy

Taste-imparting dead yeast cells (with grape skins and other solid matter) remaining with wine in tank/barrel (or bottle in the case of methode champenoise sparkling wines) after fer-mentation. The longer the wine is 'on its lees' (sur lie the more richness and flavour it should absorb.

Light/lite

Officially wines under 10% alcohol by volume; also light in body and often short on taste); a health-conscious trend in both reds and whites.

Lively

Bouncy, fresh flavours.

Long or length

Enduring; wine's flavours reverberate on the palate long after swallowing.

M

Maderised

Oxidised and flat; colour is often brown-ish. Over-mature.

Meaty

Sometimes suggesting a general savourines; but also literally the aroma of meat - raw, smoked

Mousse

Fizz in sparkling wines; usually refers also to quality, size and effervescence of the bubbles. See also Bead.

Mouthfeel, mouthfilling

Texture, feel; racy, crispness (fine with appropriate dishes) or generous, supple, smooth.

N

Neutral

What it says, neither here nor there.

New World

Generally implies accessible, bold, often extrovert (in terms of fruit and use of oak). Old World embraces terms like subtle, complex, less oaky, more varied and generally more vinous (than fruity). See also Classic.

O

Oaky

Having exaggerated oak aromas/flavours (vanilla, spice, char, woodsmoke etc). Oak balanced by fruit in young wines may lessen with age, but over-oaked young wines (where fruit is not in bal-ance) will become over-oaked old wines.

P

Palate

Combination offlavour, taste and texture of a Pebbly See Gravelly.

Perfumed or scented

Strong fragrances (fruity. flowery, animal etc

Plump

Well fleshed in a charming, cherubic way.

Porty

Heavy, over-ripe, stewed; a negative in unfort- fied wine.

R

Rich

Flavourful, intense, generous. Not necessarily sweet

Robust

Strapping, full- bodied (but not aggressive).

Rough

Bull-in-a-china-shop wine, or throat sandpapering quality.

Round

Well balanced, without gawkiness or jagged edges.

S

Sharp or tart

All about acid, usually unbalanced. But occasionally sharpish, fresh wine is right for the occasion.

Short or quick

Insubstantial wine, leaving little impression.

Simple

One-dimensional or no flavour excitement.

Stalky

Unripe, bitter, stemmy.

Stewed

Over-ripe, cooked, soft, soggy fruit.

Structure

Vague word, usually refers to the wines make up (acid, tannin, alcohol) in relation to its ageing ability; if a wine is deemed to have 'the structure to age it suggests these principal preservatives are in place.

Stylish

Class, distinguished; also voguish.

Supple

Very desirable (not necessarily subtle), yield-ing, refined texture and flavours. See also Mouthfeel.

T

Tannic

Tannins are prominent in the wine, impart-ing, positively, a mouth-puckering, grippy, tangy quality, negatively, a harsh, unyielding character.

Tension

Racy, nervous fruity-acid play on the palate.

Terpene(s)/terpenoid

Strong, floral compounds influencing the aromas of especially riesling, gewürztraminer and the muscats; with bottle-age, terpenes offen develop a pungent resinous oiliness.

Texture

Tactile feel in the mouth: hard, acidic, coarse and alcoholic; or, smooth, velvety, 'warm'.63

Toasty

Often used for barrel-fermented or -aged wines showing a pleasant biscuity, charry character.

V

Vegetal

Grassy, leafy, herby - in contrast to fruity, flowery, oaky. Overdone, a no-no.

Y

Yeasty

Warm bakery smells, often evident in barrel-fermented whites and méthode champenoise sparkling wines, where yeasts stay in contact with the wine after fermentation.

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