Definition: Taste analysis

Principles of wine tasting: taste analysis

Putting wine in your mouth is the ultimate pleasure, the heart of the art of tasting. But above all, it is a perilous exercise in which you must distinguish the constituent elements of this explosion of flavours, perceive a balanced structure, differentiate between the attack, the mid-palate and the finish, and even smell the tannins. Quite a challenge!

In our previous article on olfactory analysis, we marvelled at the incredible organ that is the human nose. But our tongue is no less prodigious. Thanks to its thousands of taste buds, this muscle is capable of synthesising complex sensations and rendering them to us in the form of a particular taste.

One taste, multiple sensations

The four basic tastes:

These are sweet, salty, sour and bitter. Each is perceived by a specific area of the tongue. The sweetest notes are perceived on the tip of the tongue, acidity on the sides and gums, and saltiness and bitterness peak at the back of the tongue. It is because of this "geographical" peculiarity that the taster must swirl the wine in their mouth in order to irrigate the different taste buds and analyse the balance of the wine.

• The olfactory sensation

Here too, the nose plays an important role, via the retronasal passages. These "mouth aromas" are essential because they are more complex and define the true signature of the wine. To convince yourself of their importance, try tasting food or wine with your nose blocked...

• The tactile sensation

This is quite subtle but also important. When tasting red wine, the perception of tannins (and more specifically astringency) comes from the grain, structure and texture of the wine. This sensation is directly linked to the fluidity and viscosity of saliva: too many tannins dry out the mouth.

• Thermal sensation

It is said that wine should be "brought to temperature", or left to stand at room temperature, in order to fully appreciate its aromas. The temperature of the wine can also be influenced by its alcohol content: the higher the alcohol content, the warmer the wine will be.

The balance of red wines

The balance of a wine is determined by the relationship between its various chemical components. In this sense, the balance between aromas and flavours is important for the taster because it allows them to synthesise the flavours perceived by the mouth and the aromas received by the nose. While for a white wine, the balance is fairly easy to understand as it only has two axes, acidity and sweetness, red wine adds a^third component: astringency.
For example, at the same alcohol level, a wine with low tannins can withstand higher acidity than a wine rich in tannins. A wine with high acidity, on the other hand, must be balanced by a high alcohol level.

From the attack to the finish: a three-step tasting

Step 1

This involves putting a small amount of wine in your mouth. Taking a breath of air allows the already warmed wine to release its aromas in the mouth. The sweet taste, which is always pleasant, will be felt first, during the 2 or 3 seconds that correspond to the "attack" during a tasting.

Step²

Swirl the wine around in your mouth to allow it to develop. This will enable you to perceive the temperature of the liquid, its viscosity, any carbon dioxide content and its astringency. The sensations become more complex and reveal relationships that allow you to appreciate the harmony and volume of the wine.

Step³

The 'finish' or 'aftertaste' tells you everything about the structure of the wine, which should be assertive without being aggressive or too harsh. The air filled with wine vapours in the mouth cavity creates the "mouth aroma". When tasting a great wine, the sensations linger long after swallowing the small sip: we say that the wine has an appreciable "persistence" or that it is "long on the palate".

Vocabulary

Wine experts can be recognised by the complex and precise vocabulary they use to describe the wine they are tasting. It is through practice and study that they can master this particular "language" and convey the identity and character of the wine. A wine can be characterised according to its acidity (flat, fresh and lively, sharp, tart, dry, etc.), sweetness (supple, rich, smooth, creamy, syrupy, etc.), alcohol content (low, flat, light, balanced, warm, powerful, full-bodied, etc.), or tannins.

Highly recommended source and website:

http://www.grand-francais.com/