Grape markers Flashcards
Sight: deep ruby.
Nose: black fruits (berry, black cherry and cassis) with green olive, cedar, pencil lead, violet-floral, and
green herbs. Wines from cooler vintages can display more red fruit character as well as more
pronounced herbal notes, pyrazine and green pepper characters. Elements of clay, dried leaves,
mushroom and turned earth can often be found. Leather and game are common in older wines. Oak
aging adds smoke, toast, sweet baking spice notes.
Palate: medium-to-full bodied and bone dry to dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high in warm vintages; acidity: medium-plus; tannin: mediumplus
to high.
Left Bank Bordeaux Blend
ID Keys: the combination of deep black fruits, green herbs, earth/forest floor, and bright acidity.
Some wines can be bone dry with considerable herbal elements and pronounced earthiness.
Sight: deep ruby.
Nose: ripe even jammy black fruits (berry, cherry, cassis and currant) with green olive, cedar,
chocolate and green herb notes. Cooler climate wines can display red fruit characteristics and more
herbal notes. Oak aging adds smoke, toast, sweet baking spices and sawdust notes.
Palate: full bodied and dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium-plus to
high.
New World: California Cabernet Sauvignon
ID Keys: generally much riper and richer in style than Bordeaux without the prominent earth/mineral
component
Sight: deep ruby.
Nose: blackberry, black cherry and black currant fruit with pronounced mint/eucalyptus and notes of
green olive and herbs, also a ferrous, ironstone note. Oak adds vanilla, baking spices and toast.
Palate: full bodied and dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high; acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium-plus to
high.
New World: South Australia - Coonawarra
Cabernet Sauvignon
ID Keys: Coonawarra Cabernet is very distinctive with classic Cabernet black fruits but with a strong
presence of mint and eucalyptus.
Sight: light to medium ruby.
Nose: red fruits—cherry, raspberry, strawberry–with tea, floral, herb, and earthy complexity. With
age the wines take on gamy-vegetal-earthy complexities difficult to describe. Oak aging adds smoke, vanilla, sweet spice and wood notes to the wines.
Palate: 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 during fermentation giving the wines a green woody quality
on the nose and palate as well as firmer tannins.
Burgundy: Cote de Nuits Pinot Noir
ID Keys: although deceptively light in colour the wines can be quite concentrated in flavor. Lightbodied,
supple, and elegant with bright red fruits (not black fruits!), tea-spice, earthy complexities,
and new oak.
Sight: light to medium ruby.
Nose: tart or ripe red fruits depending on the quality of the vintage; cherry, raspberry and cranberry
are common. Non-fruit aromas include green herb, black tea, rose floral, and clay/earth/mineral
notes. As with wines from the Cote de Nuits, age can add gamy—savory-vegetal-earthy complexities.
Oak aging adds aromas of vanilla, baking spices and toast.
Palate: medium-bodied and dry to bone dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus; tannin: medium-minus to
medium.
Burgundy: Cote de Beaune Pinot Noir
ID Keys: generally, wines from the Cote de Beaune tend to be relatively earthier and firmer in tannins
than those from the Cote de Nuits; they also tend to have less forward fruit.
Sight: medium to deep ruby.
Nose: ripe red fruits (black fruits in warm vintages or regions), herb, floral, tea and more. Oak aging
adds smoke, sweet spice and wood flavours.
Palate: medium-minus to medium-plus bodied and dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium to
medium-plus.
New World: California and Oregon Pinot Noir
ID Keys: supple red berry fruit, spices and new wood. Stem tannins often present but a relative lack
of earthiness when compared to Burgundy.
Sight: light to medium ruby.
Nose: red fruits—both fresh and dry with considerable herb, floral, tea and mineral/soil. Oak aging
adds smoke, sweet spice and woody flavours.
Palate: medium to medium-plus bodied and dry.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium to
medium-plus.
New World: New Zealand Pinot Noir
ID Keys: New Zealand Pinots are similar in style to California and Oregon with its supple red fruit,
spices and new wood qualities. However, the wines are distinct with their pronounced
herbaceousness; many display a chalky mineral quality.
Sight: very deep ruby.
Nose: red and black fruits, green herb, forest floor, violet floral, earth-mineral. Oak aging 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.
Right Bank Bordeaux Blend Merlot
ID Keys: Generally,
Merlot-based right bank wines tend have softer tannins than their Cabernet-based left bank
counterparts as well as more herbal/vegetal characteristics.
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 rich and ripe. New oak.
Structure: alcohol: medium-plus to high, acidity: medium to medium-plus; tannin: medium to high.
New World: California, Australia and Chile
Merlot
ID Keys: generally Merlot 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.
Sight: medium to deep ruby.
Nose: tart red and black fruits (sour cheery, 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.
France: Loire Valley Chinon or Bourgueil Cabernet Franc
ID Keys: similar in weight to many to lighter right Bank Bordeaux wines but with a pronounced leafy
green herb (and stemmy) quality and chalky
minerality.
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.
V. Gamay: Beaujolais Villages
ID Keys: look for the candied fruit-basket quality with herbal and stony qualities.
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.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Sancerre/Pouilly-Fumé
ID Keys: the combination of tart citrus, herbal notes with the minerality often taking center stage.
Look for oak in Pouilly-Fumé but not in Sancerre. Not easily confused with New Zealand Sauvignons
because there’s less fruit and less aggressive grass/herb/vegetal notes and striking minerality.
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.
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc
ID Keys: intense citrus and herbal/vegetal flavours combined with tart acidity are keys to recognizing
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Some wines have an impression of “sweet” tropical (passion fruit) and
pink grapefruit notes as well. Other wines can be overtly vegetal with canned green bean or
asparagus notes.
Sight: pale to medium yellow with green 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 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.
California/Australia
Chardonnay
ID Keys: though there are an increasing number of exceptions New World Chardonnay tends to be all
about winemaking. Look for the combination of ripe fruit and medium-high to high alcohol along
with the classic Chardonnay treatment of barrel fermentation, lees contact, malolactic
fermentation and new oak. Also note that with warmer vintages and richer wines the distance
between New World Chardonnay and White Burgundy is getting closer together. But classic examples
of the latter tend to have less overt fruit and a more pronounced earth/mineral quality than their
New World counterparts.
Sight: pale to medium straw with green highlights.
Nose: tart green apple, lemon-citrus fruit with pronounced chalky seashell minerality. Some
producers use new oak imparting spice and wood aromas. Malolactic fermentation is also sometimes
used.
Palate: medium-bodied and very dry to bone dry. Flavours include tart green apple, lemon peel, and
chalky minerality. The intensity of flavour and quality varies with producer and the specific appellation. Theoretically, the better the appellation the more intensity of minerality and overall flavour.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Chablis
ID Keys: textbook Chablis is an austere, bone dry, high acid white with pronounced chalky minerality.
The fruit is often overshadowed by the minerality in all but the ripest vintages. Traditionally made
wines display little, if any, oak although winemakers are increasingly using more wood.
Sight: light to medium straw with green highlights.
Nose: apple/pear and citrus fruit with mushroom-earth and mineral notes; also butter/cream aromas
from malolactic and vanilla, baking spices, toast, and wood notes from oak aging.
Palate: medium to full-bodied and dry to bone dry. The wines can be quite powerful depending on the pedigree of the vineyard and quality of the vintage.
Structure: alcohol: medium to medium-plus; acidity: medium-plus to high.
Côtes de Beaune
Chardonnay
ID Keys: the combination of tart apple/pear fruit with bright citrus, hazelnut, earth and new oak
flavours is key to recognition. Generally, the style of Chassagne-Montrachet tends to be rich and fullbodied
with Puligny-Montrachet known for elegance and Meursault for pronounced earthiness.
Again, these are very broad generalizations and exceptions occur often.
