Hi All,
Welcome to another edition of The Devon Wine Guy blog.
So you have placed your nose fully in the glass and explored how swirling the glass can give more intense aromas which you are now starting to name....
'I get some red fruits'
'I can smell cherry but then there is something else there'
'I can't put my finger on it, there is too much going on'
All these are common remarks, so lets move on to the next stage of 'smelling the wine' - defining what we are smelling which will also tell you if the wine you are drinking is what we call 'complex' or 'simple'.
Simple wines, despite that description (i'm never a big fan of the word simple) - doesn't mean it is a bad wine, it purely means in wine terms that it has only PRIMARY characteristics in a wine.
So what are primary, secondary and tertiary aromas/flavours in wines?
So to break it down in its simplified form to start with, PRIMARY aromas are the most apparent flavours in the wine, such as cherry, raspberry, wild strawberry, blueberry etc - it is typically the first fruits that you can smell in a wine that are prominent. This can be a long list or short list depending on the structure of the wine. For example, something like a New Zealand orientated Sauvignon Blanc - is in most cases, ALL primary flavours in the wine - ie this is not something that you want sitting on the shelf at home, it has zest, gooseberry, limes, lemon peel, possibly a bit vegetative too but by and and large this is all primary flavours which you don't want to dub down by leaving for too long, you want to drink when fresh. The way I look at it in my mind, its like you having lovely fresh vegetables and herbs out of your garden or fresh from the supermarket - you want to eat these at your pinnacle, which is pretty much as soon as you get home!
SECONDARY - what are these? Ok so we are moving from simple primary aroma wines to a more complex wine. This is where a wine is 'developing', it is no longer just 'youthful' - both terms that are used in wine education but don't worry too much about that for now (if you want to know more, we can discuss wine courses - both face to face and online in the future).
If you are smelling something other than primary fruit, such as maybe herbaceous notes? Woody tones? Floral or earthy elements? These could all be with regards to tannins in the wine or a winemaker technique (such as blending to add complexity). Woody / vanilla / coconut - all signs of oak barrel ageing or oak contact at some point, there is also the question of potential bottle ageing which has added complexity (typical in high tannic wines).
Thirdly, we have yet another level of complexity. TERTIARY - typically only seen in a wine designed for ageing for some time. These are slightly more subtle in infancy and can develop further over years. You are looking at notes of tobacco, coffee, nuttiness - it would be typical to see these in an aged red wine that has decent structure and has started to lose its colour turning more to garnet for example (see a future blog for colour differentiation over time).
This is a very quick guide to primary, secondary and tertiary smells and tastes within wine. For further information and further differentiation, give us a shout / comment / ask questions - that is what we are here for and for everyone to learn in a relaxed environment.
Until next time, keep drinking and let us know of any great smells and flavours you have tried of late. We always want to try more wine so recommendations are always welcome too!
Best Regards
The Devon Wine Guy
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