Dry white wines
Aromatic and sweet white wines
Light red wines
Medium-bodied red wines
Dry
white wines Meursault 1998 Louis Latour
Clean, limpid medium yellow with a hint of green, quite
rich, a really lovely colour. Touch of new wood
on the nose, ripe melony fruit, slightly exotic, stylish
and very expressive. Fine, floral, honeysuckle
fruit on the palate, with hazelnut overtones, rich and
quite buttery, yet good lemony acidity, very elegant
but still young. Very good balance, oak and fruit well blended in, an
excellent example of grape variety dominated by terroir, great persistence,
very good future
limpid
Literally transparent, like clear water, while retaining its colour
rich
Showing ripeness and viscosity, usually from the legs or "tears"
that form on the sides of the glass than from depth of colour
new wood
The vanilla-vanillin aroma of new oak, whether French or American
melony
Signifies ripe, slightly exotic fruit, usually referring to Chardonnay.
More exotic fruits could be pineapple, guava
expressive
Expressive of either its grape variety, terroir or both. Stylish + expressive
would be a finely turned out wine with character
floral
Usual on the nose, but on the palate means the blend of florality and
flavour
honeysuckle/hazelnut
Typical expressions of a the Chardonnay grown in Meursault, rounded and
attractive
buttery
The impression of ripeness with a certain fleshiness, often the result
of barrel fermentation or barrel ageing
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Aromatic
and sweet white wines Ch. Lafaurie-Peyraguey 1985 1er Cru Classe
Sauternes
Pure gold in colour, with hints of yellow still and no
amber. Floral, honeyed bouquet, with
hints of peach and apricot, an impression
of great sweetness but not over- heady . Honey and lanolin
flavours on the palate, rich barley sugar sweetness,
great fruit extract, good botrytis, luscious, classy
finish. A fully sweet Sauternes from a fine year, tasting superbly at
15 years, with as long again in front of it.
gold
a golden colour indicates both original ripeness and sweetness as well
as maturity. In 10 years time the golden colour will have taken on an
amber glow, and the colour will progress from gold to amber as it matures
further floral
on the nose the smell of flowers or blossom as opposed to the smell of
fruits
honeyed
many sweet wines do literally smell of honey, but hear it refers to ripe
concentration and richness that is epitomised by the smell of honey
peach / apricot
the aroma of these stone fruits is also found in aromatice wines from
the Viognier grape, and denotes warm, summery ripeness
heady
concentration of richness that literally goes to one's head. An over-heady
wine would be over-powering and unbalanced
lanolin
a smooth, creamy impression often associated with the Semillon grape at
advanced ripeness, the opposite of tart
barley sugar
concentrated sweetness, but not sugary
botrytis
the effect of reducing the water in the grapes, thus increasing the sugars,
when they are attacked by pourriture noble, or noble rot
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Light
red wines Valpolicella Classico Superiore 1998 Allegrini
Brick red colour, very fresh and young looking. Fine,
rose-like like bouquet, some sweetness in attack,
drier on the second nose Clean, cherry-like
fruit flavours on the palate, a hint of wood and a touch
of bitter almonds , good balance, long, dry finish. Fine
long flavour despite the liveliness, natural acidity present, a wine for
food
Brick red
denotes the absence of violet or purple colours of some very young wines,
more a lack of intensity than a sense of maturity
rose-like
a delicate aroma, yet with a certain ripeness, always floral
attack
the strong first impression, one that jumps out of the glass
second nose
the more studied reflection gained by swirling the wine in the glass to
release more than it does on the first impression
cherry-like
unless cited as 'black cherries' which carry a definite impression of
ripeness, cherry-like indicates firm, vibrant fruit with a touch of acidity
and none of the sweetness of, say, blackcurrants
wood
a sense of firmness and tannin, as opposed to 'oaky', which refers to
the new casks in which the wine will have been aged
bitter almonds
often associated with cherries, a certain fruity bitterness, more refreshing
than unpleasant
food
wines with exuberant, unrestrained fruit do not go well with food, for
their fruitiness dominates. A 'food wine' is one that complements a meal
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Medium-bodied red wines
Ch. Leoville-Barton 1990 2eme Cru Classe Saint-Julien
Deep colour, velvety red, no real sign of ageing, still
very youthful and firm looking. Concentrated red
berry fruits on the nose, heavily Cabernet in style, blackcurrant
leaf, with a cedar wood / cigar box spice coming through,
concentrated fragrance followed by rich fruit. Same concentrated, tightly
knit fruit on the palate, wonderful ripeness, still showing youthful
black currants and blackberries, firm backbone but ripe
tannins, superb structure. Overall,
a classic Medoc from a top chateau in a great vintage. Ripe enough to
enjoy now, but still a long way off its best, which should be during its
3rd decade.
velvety
a deep, rich smooth looking colour that always denotes very good ripeness
at vintage time
firm
reserved and with potential to develop, a positive description, not to
be confused with "hard", which is generally negative
berry fruits
small red fruits, covering the berry, cherry and the currant families.
Individual red varietals tend when young to be dominated by one or two
of these red fruits
cedar wood / cigar box
cedar wood is a characteristic of semi-mature and mature Cabernet-dominant
wines especially from the Medoc, owing more to the style of wine than
to oak ageing. Cigar box is similar - found in many Cabernet & Merlot
wines
tightly knit
flavours that are firmly woven together, not loose or diffuse, shows good
potential for development
backbone
an essential element for a well-structured wine
tannins
substance existing in the skin and pips of a grape that is necessary for
the long development of a red wine. Tannin can also be obtained from the
oak barrels in which such wines are matured
structure
a sense of solidity that has more to do with each element holding together
than with weight
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