Wine - Grapes - Tasting Notes

Question 1

Chardonnay - unoaked

Answer 1

light, tart apple, lemon, (sometimes) pear

Question 2

Chardonnay - lightly oaked

Answer 2

melting butter, baked apple, nutmeg, oatmeal

Question 3

Chardonnay - heavily oaked

Answer 3

vanilla, lemon curd, butterscotch, praline, bacon fat, woodsmoke

Question 4

Cabernet Sauvignon - warmer climate

Answer 4

purple-skinned fruits, black currants, black plumbs, brambles, damsons; often with a note of fresh mint or even eucalyptus

Question 5

Cabernet Sauvignon - cooler climates

Answer 5

chopped green peppers, whiff of bitterness

Question 6

Cabernet Sauvignon - oaked

Answer 6

mineral austerity, cigar boxes, cedarwood, pencil shavings

Question 7

Cabernet Sauvignon - well aged

Answer 7

aromas of well-hung game, plum tomatoes, warm leather, dark chocolate, soft indian spices like cardamom; preserved fruit

Question 8

Sauvignon Blanc

Answer 8

fruit (anywhere from gooseberry, tart apple, or pear to passion fruit or mango), nose of black currants; vegetal flavors (green peas, asparagus, sweet red bell peppers)

Question 9

Sauvignon Blanc - cool climate

Answer 9

pungent animal quality such as cat’s pee or male sweat; acrid smoke

Question 10

Pinot Noir - young

Answer 10

light aromas of red fruits, typically raspberry, strawberry, redcurrant, and cherry; beef stock

Question 11

Pinot Noir - some regions in California and Australia

Answer 11

faint note of coffee bean or mocha

Question 12

Pinot Noir - aged

Answer 12

well hung game, black truffle, barnyard

Question 13

Semillon - dry

Answer 13

lime peel, exotic honey, sometimes gooseberry; often with hard mineral purity, slightly metallic

Question 14

Semillon - Hunter Valley

Answer 14

deceptive woodiness even when unoaked, turning to burnt toast with age

Question 15

Semillon - sweet

Answer 15

exotic fruit, overripe peach or apricot, barley-sugar, honey, allied to a vanilla custard, creme brulee richness from oak aging.

Question 16

Semillon - Australian sweet

Answer 16

can have emphatically medicinal tinge to it

Question 17

Syrah

Answer 17

can smell of almost any dark purple fruit - blackberries, black currants, black cherries, plums; exotic flavors like licorice, ginger, dark chocolate, often with distinct floral notes (like violets)

Question 18

Syrah - Northern Rhone

Answer 18

freshly ground black pepper

Question 19

Syrah - South Australian

Answer 19

often includes a cool topnote of mint

Question 20

Syrah - aged

Answer 20

gaminess (like an old Pinot Noir)

Question 21

Riesling

Answer 21

nearly always smells of lime (bitter zests or fresh juice); riper varieties will also include softer fruit such as peaches or apricot and a gentle floral aroma

Question 22

Riesling - Alsace

Answer 22

austere mineral quality; texture of sharpened steel on the palate

Question 23

Riesling - aged (and sometimes young Australians)

Answer 23

scent of gasoline

Question 24

Merlot

Answer 24

soft purple fruits (blackberries, black plums); may have hint of dried fruits

Question 25

Merlot - cool climates

Answer 25

vegetal - haricots verts, asparagus

Question 26

Merlot - Pomerol and California

Answer 26

often aged in oak, giving it rich texture and overtones of melted chocolate or turkish delight

Question 27

Chenin Blanc - young and dry

Answer 27

tart green apple, pear, sometimes passion fruit or other exotic fruit; mineral, maybe metallic and hard on the palate; honey undertones; walnuts, old newspaper, wet woolens.

Question 28

Chenin Blanc - sweet

Answer 28

get sweeter without losing the crisp apple acidity

Question 29

Viognier

Answer 29

apricot; white peach, ripe pear; may have spice notes such as cardamom, cinnamon and ginger; texture is close-grained and thick like clotted cream.

Question 30

Viognier - hotter regions

Answer 30

honey and lemon throat soothers

Question 31

Gewerztraminer

Answer 31

lychees, overripe peach or nectarine; ground ginger, cinnamon, sometimes whole cloves or white pepper; floral (violets or rose petals), scented bathroom products (bath salts, perfumed soap, talcum powder)

Question 32

Gewerztraminer - regions outside of Alsace

Answer 32

toned down versions usually, which is relieving to some

Question 33

Gamay - at ripest

Answer 33

wild strawberries

Question 34

Gamay - young

Answer 34

synthetic smell of boiled sweets, crunchy acidity in mouth; pear fruits, banana flavoring, bubblegum

Question 35

Gamay - mature cru wines

Answer 35

can take on the characteristics akin to an aged Pinot Noir after five to six years