Grape Markers Flashcards
Cabernet Sauvignon
Left bank Bordeaux blend
👁 deep ruby
👃🏻black fruits. Olive, cedar, pencil lead, violet, earth/soil. Pyrazine, green pepper. Leather and game in older wines
👄 med to full, dry, elegant
Med-med+ alcohol
Med + to high tannins
Med + acidity
Cabernet Sauvignon
Non European california
👁 deep ruby
👃🏻ripe even jammy black fruits. Olive, cedar, chocolate, mint, smoke, toasted coconut Leather and game in older wines
👄 Full-bodied and dry
Med+ to high alcohol
Med to med+ tannins
Med + acidity
Cabernet Sauvignon
New World: South Australia - Coonawarra
👁 deep ruby
👃🏻blackberry, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit with pronounced mint/eucalyptus and notes of olive and herbs, also a ferrous, ironstone, sanguine note.
👄 Full-bodied and dry
alcohol: medium-plus to high;
acidity: medium to medium-plus;
tannin: medium-plus to high
Coonawarra Cabernet is very distinctive with classic Cabernet black fruits but with a strong presence of mint and eucalyptus.
Pinot Noir
Burgundy: Côte de Nuits
👁: light to medium ruby
👃🏻 red fruits (cherry, raspberry, pomegranate, strawberry) with tea, floral, herb, and earthy complexity. With age the wines take on gamey-farmyard-earthy complexities. Oak ageing adds smoke, vanilla, sweet spice and wood notes to the wines, but usually only found in Premier Cru and Grand Cru.
👄medium to medium-plus bodied and dry to bone dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus;
tannin: medium-minus to medium.
Some winemakers use stems in the form of whole bunches. This may add a light camphor, aroma to the wines and firmer almost stalky tannins.
Often heavier than those from the CdB.
Pinot Noir
Burgundy: Côte de Beaune
👁: light to medium ruby.
👃🏻: tart or ripe red fruits depending on the quality of the vintage; cherry, raspberry and cranberry are common. Pomegranate in riper years. Non-fruit aromas include black tea, rose floral, and clay/earth/mineral notes. As with wines from the Côte de Nuits, age can add gamey—savoury-farmyard-earthy complexities. Oak ageing adds aromas of vanilla, baking spices and toast.
👄 medium-bodied and dry to bone dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus; tannin: medium-minus to medium.
Often lighter than those from the CdN (Pommard may be the exception).
Pinot Noir
New World: California and Oregon
👁: medium to deep ruby.
👃🏻: : ripe red fruits (black fruits in warm vintages or regions), herb, floral, tea and more. A sweet Cola aroma may also be present. Oak ageing adds smoke, sweet spice and wood flavours. Whole bunch fermentation often used which will - reduce alcohol and colour (as stems absorb both), increase tannin, add a herbal savoury note
similar to camphor (mothball).
👄 medium-minus to medium-plus bodied and dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium to medium-plus.
Pinot Noir
New World: New Zealand
Sight: light to medium ruby.
Nose: red fruits—both fresh and dry with considerable herb, floral, tea and mineral/soil. Oak ageing adds
smoke, sweet spice and woody flavours. Whole bunch aromas may be present.
Palate: medium to medium-plus bodied and dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium to medium-plus.
MERLOT
Right Bank Bordeaux Blend
Sight: very deep ruby.
Nose: red and black fruits, green herb, forest floor, violet floral, earth-mineral. Oak ageing adds vanilla, sweet spice and toast/smoke flavours.
Palate: medium-plus to full-bodied; supple, rich and lush; and dry to bone dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high in warmer vintages; acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium
to medium-plus tannins.
Merlot
New World: California, Australia and Chile
Sight: very deep ruby.
Nose: ripe black fruits, green herb, bitter chocolate, and oak. Mint and eucalyptus can also often found.
Palate: full-bodied and usually richer and riper than right bank Bordeaux wines with more new oak.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high, acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium to high.
Generally tends to be ripe and supple with lush fruit and herbal notes; full-bodied wines
display considerable alcohol with a relative lack of earthiness and considerable new oak. Tannins tend to be less angular than Cabernet Sauvignon although Cabernet is often blended with Merlot for added structure.
Merlot
CABERNET FRANC
Loire Valley Chinon or Bourgueil
Sight: medium to deep ruby.
Nose: tart red and black fruits (sour cherry, plum, raspberry, and cranberry) with a pronounced green tobacco leaf, herbal character and chalky minerality. Warmer vintages yield wines with more black fruit character. Oak
usage varies from old wood to noticeable new barrique.
Palate: medium to medium-plus bodied and very dry, sometimes austere in character.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high; tannins: medium to medium-plus.
GAMAY
Beaujolais Villages
Sight: medium to deep ruby with purple highlights
Nose: candied, artificial fruit basket derived from carbonic fermentation with confected red and tropical fruits,
pear drops, bubble-gum, floral, green herb and stony earth.
Palate: medium-bodied and dry to bone dry. Emphasis on candied fruit, herb and granitic soil
Structure: acidity: medium-plus; alcohol: medium to medium-plus, tannin: medium-minus to medium.
ID Keys: look for the candied fruit-basket quality with herbal and stony qualities.
SAUVIGNON BLANC
Sancerre/Pouilly-Fumé
Sight: pale to medium straw with green highlights.
Nose: grapefruit-lemon/lime citrus notes with pronounced chalky minerality, herbal-grass and white flower
notes.
Palate: light to medium-bodied and very dry to bone dry. Use of little or no wood typical is typical for Sancerre
while use of partial or all new wood can be found in Pouilly-Fumé.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Sauvignon Blanc
New Zealand
Sight: very pale straw with green and silver highlights.
Nose: pronounced grapefruit and lime citrus notes with gooseberry, grass, and green herb notes; some wines can be aggressively vegetal with elements of asparagus, green bean and bell pepper/jalapeño. Other wines have a touch of minerality while still others are pungently vegetal.
Palate: medium-bodied and dry with emphasis on mouth-watering, juicy citrus fruit. Oak is almost never used.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Chardonnay
California/Australia
Sight: pale to medium yellow with gold highlights; riper styles tend to be deeper in colour.
Nose: cool climate wines tend to display tart malic green apple/under ripe pear, tropical fruit (mango, papaya, pineapple), and tart citrus notes. Cool climate wines can also display a touch of Chablis-like minerality depending on the site. Warmer climate wines offer ripe (even baked or puréed) apple/pear fruit and other
aromas including floral, lemon/lime citrus and butter/cream/popcorn aromas from malolactic fermentation/conversion. Barrel fermentation and lees contact imparts aromas of cream and yeast as well as lending a richer texture on
the palate with aromas of vanilla, baking spices and wood.
Palate: medium to full-bodied depending on the climate and/or appellation and quality of the vintage. Styles range from lean, racy wines from cool climates with tart, malic fruit, to warm climate wines with ultra-ripe fruit and high alcohol. Malolactic fermentation/conversion imparts buttery, butterscotch flavours; oak makes its presence known in the form of vanilla, sweet spices, and wood tannins. Dry to off-dry to slightly sweet in style.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus.
