Common wine aromas

I've put these common tasting terms for aromas into groups, but their real use, I hope, is to help you when blind tasting. (If a mature red wine smells strongly of strawberries, for example, chances are it’s a traditional rioja.) This is also a personal guide to developing a wine vocabulary of your own. None of us tastes in exactly the same way, so your impressions and most obvious expressions are likely to be subtly different from mine.

Chemical

Other

Acetaldehyde
Sherry, oxidation
Peardrops
Beaujolais Nouveau, carbonic maceration

Paper

Dry cardboard
Glasses from a cardboard box
Wet cardboard
Dirty filter pads

Sulphur

Rotten eggs
Hydrogen sulphide / mercaptans (aeration can help)
Struck match
Free sulphur (especially for asthmatics)

Nutty

Almondy

Almond
Soave
Marzipan
Marsanne

Other

Chestnut
Some Portuguese reds
Coconut
American oak
Hazelnuts
White burgundy

Fruity

Tree

Apricot
Viognier / Condrieu
Black cherry
Mature Pinot Noir
Peach
Eastern European whites
Pear
Piedmont whites

Tropical

Banana
Beaujolais
Lychee
Gewürztraminer
Melon
Mâcon Blanc
Pineapple
Cool fermented whites

Berry

Blackberry
Northern Rhône red
Blackcurrant
Cabernet Sauvignon
Gooseberry
Sauvignon Blanc
Grape
Muscat
Mulberry
Shiraz
Raspberry
Young Pinot Noir
Strawberry
Red Rioja

Dried

Fig
Port
Prune
Recioto, concentrated reds
Raisin
Banyuls, Liqueur Muscat

Citrus

Grapefruit
English wine, Scheurebe
Lemon
Acidified whites
Lime
Australian Riesling
Orange
Marsala, sweet Italians

Animal

Processed

Bacon fat
Ripe Alsace
Leather
Wood-aged reds, especially Australian

Raw

Cat's pee
Sauvignon Blanc
Game
Mature red Burgundy, Rhône
Meaty
Pomerol
Mousey
Brettanomyces

Sweet

Barley sugar
Sauternes
Biscuit
Old champagne
Caramel
Ripe reds
Chocolate
Shiraz
Honey
Chenin Blanc, Riesling
Molasses
Piemonte reds

Spicy

Black pepper
Syrah
Liquorice
Dense red wines, especially Syrah
Spicy
Alsace whites, Southern Rhône reds
Vanilla
American oak

Vegetal

Processed

Boiled cabbage
Botrytis (noble rot)
Canned asparagus
New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc

Fresh

Currant leaves
Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon Blanc
Eucalyptus
Ripe Cabernet Sauvignon, especially Australian
Geranium leaves
Sorbic acid
Grassy
Sauvignon Blanc, underripe grapes
Green pepper
less-than-ripe Cabernet Sauvignon or Franc
Mint
New World Cabernet Sauvignon
Nettles
Sauvignon Blanc

Dried

Straw
Chenin Blanc
Tea
Young port
Tobacco
Châteauneuf-du-Pape

Microbiological

Yeast

Bread
Some Champagne
Flor
Manzanilla, Fino

Lactic

Buttery
Rich Chardonnay

Burnt

Burning rubber
Syrah
Burnt toast
Old Hunter Valley Semillon
Coffee
Madeira, Banyuls, old reds
Smoky
Alsace whites
Toasted bread
Fine oaked Chardonnay

Woody

Cigar box
Red bordeaux
Oaky
Any oaked wine, most obvious on Chardonnay
Pencil shavings
Cabernet Franc
Pine
Retsina
Wet wood
Dirty cooperage

Earthy

Dirty dishcloth
Dirty glasses
Mould
TCA, 'corkiness' or other taint
Undergrowth
Mature, full reds

Floral

Elderflower
Young, cool climate whites
Orange blossom
Muscat
Rose
Nebbiolo, Muscat
Vaguely floral
Riesling and crosses
Violet
Top quality mature reds

Mineral

Flint
Pouilly-Fumé, Sancerre
Petrol/kerosene
Aged Riesling
Wet stones
Chablis