In a previous post about blind tasting white wines, I mentioned that making the conclusion was the most challenging part of the process. Getting the correct grape variety creates more anxiety in students than any other part of tasting exams. To help remedy the challenge, I came up with a system that uses a series of questions to narrow down the possible grape varieties. In doing so, make the conclusion easier and more manageable.
This post is a companion guide focusing on making conclusions when blind tasting red wines. The approach is similar to the one I use when tasting white wines, in that I ask myself several questions that hopefully lead me closer to deducing the possible grape variety from which the wine was made. Here are those questions with explanations.
Question I: Was the wine made from a thinner or thicker-skinned grape?
When tasting red wines, the first thing I note is the depth of color, knowing that color in red wines comes from pigmentation compounds in the grape skins. Some grapes like Pinot Noir and Gamay have thinner skins, making them lighter in color. In contrast, grapes like Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon are deeper in color because they have thicker skins. The depth of color in a red wine can quickly narrow down the possible variety into families of thinner vs. thicker-skinned grapes:
- Lighter color from thinner-skinned grapes/wines such as Pinot Noir, Gamay, Tempranillo, Grenache, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo.
- Deeper color from thicker-skinned grapes/wines such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot, Malbec, and Syrah.
Another thing to remember about wines made from thinner-skinned vs. thicker-skinned grapes is that the color alone can set up expectations about the wine’s fruit character, climate of origin, and structure. This may sound far-fetched, but consider the following:
- A lighter-colored red wine made from a thinner-skinned grape grown in a cooler climate place suggests the wine will be red fruit-dominant and have more savory notes with less alcohol, higher acidity, and moderate tannins.
- A deeply colored wine made from a thicker-skinned grape grown in a warmer climate suggests the fruit is riper and darker in character, with the wine having less savory notes, higher alcohol, less natural acidity, and more tannin.
All the previous expectations will either be confirmed or nullified when I smell and taste the wine. Otherwise, after I note the depth of color on the wine, I also ask myself other questions about its appearance:
- Does the wine show a youthful ruby (red) or purple color? Or is the color of the wine garnet (reddish brown), suggesting age?
- If the wine is garnet in color, was it aged for an extended period of time in new barrels, and has spice notes as well as an oxidative character?
Question 2: Does the wine have obvious earth and mineral—or not?
Like tasting white wines, the next question I ask is whether the wine shows obvious earth and mineral qualities. If so, the wine is probably from the Old World/Europe. If the wine is fruit-dominant, has little earth or mineral, and shows new oak, it’s probably from a non-European region.
Question 3: Does the wine show impact compounds that can help me identify it?
As I mentioned in the previous post, impact compounds are a subset of aromas and flavors important for identifying classic wines. These compounds are derived from several sources, including grape chemistry, vineyard environment, and winemaking techniques. Needless to say, knowing impact compounds and their respective grapes/wines is key for students in blind tasting exams, and is also valuable for industry professionals when judging wine quality and typicity. Here are the impact compounds I look for in red wines.
Carbonic maceration
Does the wine show candied/artificial fruit qualities? If so, it could be:
- Gamay (France – Beaujolais-Villages): Candied and confected red fruits with stem inclusion, stony-earth, and little or no oak.
Stem inclusion
Does the wine show green stemmy tannins, especially on the palate? If so, it could be one of the following:
- Gamay (France – Beaujolais-Villages): Candied and confected red fruits from carbonic maceration with stony-earth, and little or no oak.
- Pinot Noir (France – Burgundy): red fruit-dominant with savory notes, earth/mineral, and wood.
- Pinot Noir (California, Oregon, Australia, New Zealand): red fruit-dominant with savory and herbal notes, and wood.
Pyrazines
Does the wine show pronounced green pepper, vegetal, and herbal notes? If so, it’s probably one of the Cabernet Sauvignon-family grapes/wines:
- Cabernet Sauvignon (California, Washington, and Australia): ripe dark fruit, green herb notes, and considerable tannin. Australian Cabernet (Coonawarra) is the most pyrazenic of all.
- Cabernet Sauvignon blends (France – Bordeaux): dark and red fruits, savory herb and possible vegetal notes, earth/mineral, wood, and medium-plus to high tannins.
- Merlot (California, Washington, etc.): dark and red fruits, savory green herb and possible vegetal notes, softer tannins.
- Merlot blend (France – Bordeaux): dark and red fruits, savory green herb and possible vegetal notes, earth/mineral, and medium-plus tannins.
- Cabernet Franc (France – Loire Valley): red and dark fruits with savory green herb and vegetal notes, earth and chalky mineral, and medium tannins.
- Carménère (Chile): dark and red fruits, pronounced herbal, vegetal, and green peppercorn character with earth, oak, and medium tannins.
Pepper (rotundone)
Does the wine show white or black pepper notes? If so, it’s probably one of several Rhône grapes such as Syrah and Grenache. It could also be Zinfandel from California.
- Syrah (California, Australia): dark, red, and raisinated fruit, savory-meaty notes, savory herb, leather, and oak spice. Mint and eucalyptus notes are common for Australian Shiraz.
- Syrah (France – Northern Rhône): dark and red fruits, gamy-meaty notes, savory herb, earth-mineral, and used or large barrels.
- Grenache blend (France – Southern Rhône): ripe-baked red fruits, pepper-savory herb, game/meat, earth-mineral, elevated alcohol, medium-plus tannins.
- Grenache/blend (Australia): ripe-baked red fruits, savory herb, mint-eucalyptus, little earth-mineral, used or no wood.
- Zinfandel (California): a wide range of fruits from ripe/overripe to tart red and even green, as well as peach, apricot, yogurt, savory herb, and oak. The latter sometimes American oak. Speaking of which…
American oak
If the wine shows pronounced vanilla, spice, coconut, and dill notes, it could have been made with American oak and be one of the following:
- Tempranillo (Spain – Rioja): traditional Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva that are often aged in American Oak, and show the spice, vanilla, and other notes as well as dried red and dark fruit, dried floral, and dusty earth.
- Zinfandel (California): a wide range of fruits from ripe/overripe to tart red and even green, as well as peach, apricot, yogurt, savory herb, and oak.
- Shiraz (Australia): dark, red, and raisinated fruit, savory-meaty notes, savory herb, leather, and oak spice. Mint and eucalyptus notes are common.
Brettanomyces
If a wine shows leather, earth, barnyard, and medicinal notes, it could be one of the following:
- Cabernet Sauvignon blend (France – Bordeaux): dark and red fruits, green pyrazenic notes, earth-mineral, wood, and medium-plus to high tannins.
- Merlot blend (France – Bordeaux): dark and red fruits, savory green herb and possible vegetal notes, earth/mineral, wood, and medium-plus tannins.
- Syrah (France – Northern Rhône): dark and red fruits, gamy-meaty notes, savory herb, earth-mineral, and used or large barrels.
- Grenache blend (France – Southern Rhône): ripe-baked red fruits, pepper-savory herb, game/meat, earth-mineral, elevated alcohol, and medium-plus tannins.
- Tempranillo (Spain – Rioja): traditional Rioja Reserva and Gran Reserva, often aged in American Oak, and show spice and vanilla as well as dried fruit and floral, and dusty earth.
Volatile acidity
If a wine shows pronounced acetic/balsamic notes, it could be the following:
- Corvina blend (Italy – Veneto – Amarone): raisinated fruit, high alcohol, earth mineral, and possible residual sugar.
- Nebbiolo (Italy – Barolo-Barbaresco): ripe-dried red and dark fruits, rose-floral, dried herb, and earth-mineral with high alcohol, high acidity, and high tannin.
Terpenes
If a wine shows pronounced floral qualities, it could be the following:
- Nebbiolo (Italy – Barolo-Barbaresco): ripe-dried red and dark fruits, rose-floral, dried herb, and earth-mineral with high alcohol, high acidity, and high tannin.
Question 4: Is there anything about the wine’s structure I should note?
After looking for any important impact compounds, I review the structure of the wine and note extremes. For example, I make special note if the wine has high tannins versus low tannins, or high acidity versus a lack of acidity.
Alcohol
Higher alcohol wines from a warmer climate like California, Washington State, Australia and the Southern Rhône. Noting also the presence of earth/mineral or lack thereof.
Lower alcohol wines from cooler climates like the Loire Valley, Germany, Oregon, and New Zealand.
Acidity
Confirming lower acidity in wines with high alcohol from warm climate places. Also looking for signs of acidulation in warm climate wines with ripe fruit.
Likewise, confirming higher natural acidity in wines from cooler climate places.
Tannin
Higher tannin reds from grapes such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese, and Nebbiolo.
Lower tannin reds from grapes such as Gamay and Pinot Noir.
View the White Wine Decision Tree here.
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