Grape profiles master Flashcards
Merlot grape profile
Dry wine
Tannin:medium
Acid:medium
Climate: Moderate to warm. Riper style neds warmer climate or later harvest in moderate climate
Merlot flavor profile
Flavors: depends on ripeness
Just ripe produces light-medium body wine w/ fresh red fruit flavors (strawberry, red plum) and herbaceous notes (green bell pepper/capsicum)
Riper grapes produce wines w/ medium to full body and cooked blackfruit flavors (blackberry, black plum)
Merlot winemaker options
Usually single varietal, often blended w/ Cab Sauv to moderate heavier tannin and add red-fruit flavors letting them be drank younger.
Lighter style doesn’t get oaked, full bodied style is oaked, developing dried fruit and tobacco over time.
Merlot regions - France
France Moderate climate in Bordeaux
- Left Bank Bordeaux
- Medoc
- Graves
- Sauternes
- Right Bank Bordeaux- most fameous Merlot dominated wines
- St Emilion AOC
- Pomerol AOC
- Languedoc-Roussillion - warmer southern region. Labeled Pays d’Oc IGp. Single varietal across all quality levels and blends w/ CS, Grenache, Syrah.
AOCs
- Bordeaux AOC or Bordeaux Superior AOC come from anywhere in Bordeaux
Outstanding versions are full bodied w/ aromas of black fruit and flavors from oak maturation. Can age in bottle, developing dried fruit and tobacco.
Merlot Regions
France (Bordeaux)
US (Napa and Sonoma)
Chile (Central Valley)
Merlot regions - non-France
US
- Blends and single varietals across all quality levels from areas across California.
- Fruity, medium bodied wines labeled “California”
- Concentrated, full-bodied examples come from Sonoma and Napa.
- Flavors from oak (vanilla, coconut, smoke) added from oak. New barrels for very good wines, staves or chips from high volume producers
Chile
- Warm/dry Central valley gives high yields of Merlot. Taste is soft, medium bodied for high volume/immediate consumption. Altitude can allow for fresher styles.
South Africa
- Stellenbosch area has moderate to warm climate depending on altitude and sea breeze. Can make complex, age worthy Merlots.
Australia
- typically blended with Cab Sauvignon in the Margaret River Region
New Zealand
- Mostly comes from Hawke’s Bay in the North Island. Moderate climate w/ lots of rainfall. Styles range from light and fruity to full bodied and long lived. Single or blend.
Cab Sauv grape profile
Dry wine
Tannin: high
Acid: high
Body: medium to full
Climate: moderate to warm
Thick skins.
Deep color.
Cab Sauv taste profile
Flavors: Pronounced black fruit (black currant, black cherry and usually herbal (mint) or herbaceous notes (green bell pepper/capsicum. In warm climates, flavors can become cooked
Climate: moderate to warm, but in moderate climate, it can struggle to ripen in all but ripest sites. Need long growing season.
Body: medium to full
Deep color
Gamay grape profile
Tannin: Low to medium
Acid: high
Body: light to medium
Climate: moderate.
Cab Sauv winemaker options
Sometimes single, often blended w/ Merlot to soften tannins, lower acid, add fresh red fruit flavor and let the wine be drank earlier. Blending is important in cooler vintages in moderate climate.
New CS is unpleasantly tannic. Aging in oak barrels adds smoke, vanilla, cloves, cedar. Can be aged for a long time.
Grenache/Garnacha grape profile
Thin skin, best flavors when yields are carefully controlled
Tannin: Low to medium
Acid: Low
Sugar: high
Climate: needs warm
Gamay taste profile
Flavors: red-fruit (rasberry, red cherry, red plum). Aged in inert vessels, rarely have oak taste.
Very good cru’s have medium to pronounced red fruit and medium to long finish.
Usually served chilled to emphasize fresh fruit flavors
Carmenere taste profile
Flavors if harvested unripe have pungent herbaceous flavors like green bell pepper, capsicum, tomato leaf.
When ripe, fresh black-fruit flavors (blackberry)
Often oaked, develops tertiary flavors of leather/earth
Blended w/ CS or Merlot
Gamay winemaker options
Boujolais (south of Burgundy) winemakers use techniques to maximize color and minimize tannin extraction.
This can give aromas of banana and candy.
Grenache/Garnacha taste profile
Flavors: Red fruit (strawberry, red plum, red cherry) sometimes spice (white pepper, licorice)
Can be used to make dry to medium sweet rose intended to be consumed chilled when young.
Grenache/Garnacha winemaker options
Often a blend w/ Syrah, Tempranillo, Mouvedre, They add color, acidity, tannin.
Most are unoaked, but v. good quality Grenache are matured in barrels. Typically new oak so as not to kill the red-fruit flavors.
Can develop complex flavors of earth, meat, dried fruit.
Carmenere grape profile
Native to Bordeaux, grown in Central Valley Chile
Tannin: high
Acid: medium to high
Body: full
Deep color
Climate: Needs long sunny season, and warmest sites.
Malbec grape profile
Native to Bordeaux, grown in high altitude region of Mendoza, Argentina
Tannin: high
Acid:
Deep color
Body: full
Warm climate
Malbec taste profile
Flavor: black fruit (blackberry, black plum)
Maturation in new oak adds softness and spicy clove/vanilla flavors)
Good versions add dried fruit/meat.
Common to blend w/ CS and/or Merlot
Pinotage grape profile
Developed specifically for warm/dry South Africa (Western Cape). Similar to Pinot Noir
Tannin: medium
Acid: high
Climate: warm
Pinotage flavor profile
Flavors: red-fruit flavors (strawberry, red cherry) in fruity medium body style, full body style add concentrated red and black fruit flavors (red plum, blackberry)
If oaked, it adds coffee, chocolate, smoke.
Single varietal or blend w/ CS/Merlot known as Cape Blend
Pinot Noir grape profile
Tannin: low to medium
Acid: high
Climate: cool to moderate
Thin skin, fragile
Pinot Noir taste profile
Flavors: red fruit (strawberry, raspberry, red cherry), range from fresh to cooked depending on ripeness.
Best have subtle oak aromas (smoke, cloves, vanilla)
Usually consumed young, but older varieties get tertiary flavors (forest floor, mushroom)
Pinot Noir winemaker options
Usually single varietal
Exception is sparkling, usually matured in larger/older oak. Best have subtle oak aromas (smoke, cloves, vanilla)
Usually consumed young, but older varieties get tertiary flavors (forest floor, mushroom)
Nebbiolo taste profile
Foothills of the Alps, protected by mountains of the north and broad variety of slopes/soils. Climate is moderate. Steep south facing vineyards help growth.
Flavor: red-fruit (red cherry, red plum) notes of dried herbs and sometimes floral characters (rose, violet)
Tannin is oaked in both new and old barrels. Best examples add mushroom, tobacco, leather.
Nebbiolo only variety permitted in the Barolo DOCG in Piemonte.
Smaller region of Barbaresco DOCG NE of Barolo DOCG makes similar wines.
Good aging potential.
Nebbiolo grape profile
Tannin: high
Acid: high
Full Body
Climate: moderate
Barbara taste profile
Tannin: low to medium
Acid: high
Climate warm
Flavor: red fruit (red cherries, red plums) sometimes black pepper
Wines can be unoaked/fruity while some are oaked/aged.
Barbera d’Asti DOCG likely best. Lower tannin than Nebbiolo, so usually drank younger.
Barbera grape profile
Tannin: low to medium
Acid: high
Climate warm
Corvina taste profile
Tannin: Low to medium
Acid: high
Flavor: red cherry, red plum
Most important grape in Valpolicella, Veneto region of NE Italy.
Usually blended.
Valpolicella DOC is typically light bodied, fruity and simple. Rarely oaked, consumed when young
Valpolicella DOC Classico from hillier region and has more body/complexity.
Appasimento dries grapes indoors to intesify sugar, acid, tannin, flavors. Amarone della Valpolicella DOCG is dry to off dry, full bodied wine w/ high alcohol, high tannin and fresh fruit (red cherries) and dried fruit (prunes, raisins, figs). Good examples can age
Recioto della Valpolicella DOCG is a sweet wine that has such high sugars the yeasts can’t ferment them.
Corvina grape profile
Tannin: Low to medium
Acid: high
Syrah/Shiraz taste profile
Flavor: moderate climate is medium body and has fresh black-fruit (black cherry, blackberry) herbal notes and black-pepper aroma (signature Northern Rhone)
Warm climate (Australia) full bodied high alcohol, ripe /cooked black fruit and licorice.
Syrah/Shiraz grape profile
Thick skin, small grapes
Tannin: medium to high
Acid: medium to high
Climate moderate (northern Rhone) to warm (Australia)
Syrah/Shiraz winemaking options
Used to add color, black fruit flavors/tannins to blends, but is often single variety. “Rhone Blends” add Grenache.
Usually has oak maturation to softn tannins and add smoke/spice. Some can be bottle aged for 10 years +. This adds leather, meat, earth.
Sangiovese/Montepulciano taste profile
Flavor of red fruit (red cherries, red plums)
Herbal (dried herbs)
Inexpensive ones not oaked, simple, not aged.
Chianti Classico DOCG is medium bodied and red-fruit aromas and dried herb notes. Oak aging softens tannin and ads cloves, cedar. Best ones develop meat/leather
Chianti Classico DOCG Riserva gets stricter aging requirements.
Brunello di Montalcino DOCG is a powerful, full bodied wine from Montalcino in southern Tuscany. high acid and tannin and must mature in oak.
Montepulciano - Deeply coloured with medium acidity, high tannin, black fruit flavors (black plum, black cherry). Montepulciano d’Abruzzo DOC. Mostly simply/fruity wines for early drinking.
Sangiovese/Montepulciano grape profile
Dry wine
Tannin: high
Acid: high
Medium to full body
