Minerality in Wine: Fact, Fun or Fiction?

[Swiss Wino]

Dear Aussie Wine Gurus,

I am currently writing the research paper for the WSET Diploma in Wines and Spirits. I chose the topic "Minerality in Wine: Fact, Fun or Fiction?" because the word "Minerality" is becoming more and more frequently used in published wine assessments (that you and I rely on), but which is still struggling to find its place in the well understood wine descriptors basket. Some people use the expression excessively, while some wine experts refuse to use it at all. What makes this subject fascinating is that everybody uses the word but there are hardly any two people who can agree on exactly what it means. Robert Parker uses "wet stones", Ann Noble of Aroma Wheel fame at UC Davis University in California refused to include the word on her aroma wheel. However the German Riesling producers association have put it on their Riesling Aroma Wheel!!! As an Aussie student based in Switzerland - I need your help!

Part of my research involves collecting the opinions of wine buffs like you through an anonymous survey. If you would like to give me the benefit of your expertise (and hopefully contribute to a good mark!!!) just click the attached link below and complete the ten questions. No personal information of any kind is required or collected and the "Surveymonkey" webfacility is completely secure. I look forward to your learned views! And thanks for your help!

here is the link: https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/CGNT6K6

best regards

Graham Reddel
Switzerland

[Michael R]

Hi Graham

had a go at the survey. Would be very interested in any results that you end up using.
FWIW, i'm no expert in minerality, but the obvious wines that showcase it are dry Rieslings and particularly some NZ Pinot.

Good luck with the studies
Michael

[Graham R]

Michael,

Thank you for doing the Survey. In order to keep it a valid exercise, I obviously cannot start to spell out in threads my findings to date or otherwise try and influence the process of gathering information on people's perceptions, or the goal of the exercise exactly. In terms of the good and the great, Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson have done the Survey, or at least responsed to me on their thoughts. The word doesn't exist in any reference dictionary. It seems to have started to be used in the 90's but I haven't found any proof on that, yet. One commentator noted that it was mentioned in Roseworthy College wine appraisal notes in the 70's, but I have no proof, yet.(Possibly from Aussie winemakers coming back from France, with the new concept "Mineralité in their vocab).

Tintara Winery produced a red wine in the 1880s called "Ferruginous" - referring to a type of iron rich clay in the vineyard. So the concept of soil and wine being related is quite old. Link => http://www.tintara.com.au/heritage.html

I also found that Chateau Haut Brion had some reviews written about it in London in the 1660s which make obscure references to its vineyard topography, but not minerality - naturally.

Greetings from Zürich

Graham

[Mike Hawkins]

Hi Graham

had a go at the survey. Would be very interested in any results that you end up using.
FWIW, i'm no expert in minerality, but the obvious wines that showcase it are dry Rieslings and particularly some NZ Pinot.

Good luck with the studies
Michael

For me (and I put this in the survey), Blanc de Blanc Champagnes are the most obvious - especially those from Le Mesnil-sur-Oger, Cuis and Cramant....

[Graham R]

Mike,

with your experience of Minerality in Blanc de Blanc Champagne, is it more pronounced in Vintage versions versus blended years, or more associated with the grape source and type. Or just in particular years?

cheers

Graham

[Astrobloke]

Hi Graham,

For me I most often find minerality in chardonnays from Margaret River in WA, particularly Cullen. It's definitely something I taste rather then smell and it's very difficult to find the correct adjectives to describe it. Maybe granite or slate. Many would ask whether I've ever tasted granite or slate and the answer is no but I've been around both when they've been cut with a saw. The dust of both has a smell which doesn't tie in with what I said earlier...

Anyway, I completed the survey. Best of luck with it

[Graham R]

Hi Astrobloke,
I really appreciate your contributions to my project. You no doubt noted from the Survey that Question 3 specifically addressed the smell or taste experienced, and allowed for an "Other" for participants to contribute their own descriptors as the list was long and could not be exhaustive. On the whole the "Aussies" I am working with on this have been incredibly helpful and polite as well as positive and non-critical in a negative sense. Its a lucky country indeed!!

Just for fun, and for your information, a good podcast of a program from "Grape Radio" on this topic. It features Aussie Professor Robert White, the world expert on Vineyard Soils plus two prominent American experts.

http://castroller.com/Podcasts/GrapeRadio/332746



cheers from Zurich

Graham

[Michael McNally]

Good luck with the research. I look forward to seeing the results.

Kind regards

Michael

[dave vino]

I think Astrobloke makes a good analogy in that it 'tastes like the smell of' which we've all experienced at one time or another. I think one of the descriptors was austere - which was the closest for me. pure/acidic/refreshing/no oak.

[malliemcg]

I personally tend to find minerality (as a taste) in young Rieslings (and Semillon) that suit my palate, after doing the survey I now wonder if I'd say I sense the minerality in the nose because of the expectation it will have it on the palate. (I've experienced slate, granite, river stones and limestone on the palate, as rocks and in some wines). I wonder if also where I find it is just due to my budget and experience so far.

Will have to broaden my palate (and budget?!) and find out

[Graham R]

Hi Malliemcg,
One interesting thing I have discovered so far from checking published studies on the "sense of taste" is that our mouth/nose combo is not the neutral test instrument we all suppose. Taste is bound up with sense of smell, texture, temperature of the food or wine,colour and mouth feel. It also is connected to various parts of the brain which either read the taste or control the taste experience. Even packaging can influence the brain's perception of flavour.

cheers

Graham
Zurich
Switzerland

[Mike Hawkins]

Mike,

with your experience of Minerality in Blanc de Blanc Champagne, is it more pronounced in Vintage versions versus blended years, or more associated with the grape source and type. Or just in particular years?

cheers

Graham

I tend to drink 90%+ vintage champagnes, so that may skew my thoughts. The ones with most minerality to my tastes are pure Chardonnay - the pinot, IMO, seems to temper the sensation of minerality. Hence, Le Mesnil sur Oger, Oger, Cuis and Cremant, and possibly Vertus seem to be the regions where I note it the most. The vintage seems to impact is as well. With warmer, and (sometimes) declared vintages such as 2003 and 2005, I don't notice it as much - the fruity characteristics become more pronounced instead.

Cheers

Mike

[Graham R]

Dear All,

On a related subject to Minerality, I am trying to find magazine articles from the 90's that may have included the descriptor "Mineral" or "Minerality". If you have a Decanter collection back till then or a local Aussie magazine collection, could you please check if these descriptors were used at all?

Cheers from Zurich
Graham

[Adair]

Done.
For what it is worth, i typically find white wines to have a different set of minerals to red wines, although they do overlap.
Adair

[Graham R]

Dear All,

Here is an article written by Jancis Robinson on the subject of Wine Descriptors, posted on the weekend. Hope you find it interesting. Note that there is a list of wines at the bottom which all have the name of a stone on the label/name.
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201204102.html

cheers

Graham

[Panda 9D]

Dear All,

Here is an article written by Jancis Robinson on the subject of Wine Descriptors, posted on the weekend. Hope you find it interesting. Note that there is a list of wines at the bottom which all have the name of a stone on the label/name.
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201204102.html

cheers

Graham

She dumps on Suckling's use of 'focus', claiming she's not sure of its meaning, when I've seen her use the term herself. Odd.

[Adair]

Dear All,

Here is an article written by Jancis Robinson on the subject of Wine Descriptors, posted on the weekend. Hope you find it interesting. Note that there is a list of wines at the bottom which all have the name of a stone on the label/name.
http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201204102.html

cheers

Graham

She dumps on Suckling's use of 'focus', claiming she's not sure of its meaning, when I've seen her use the term herself. Odd.

Yep, that part grated with me a bit too.

[dingozegan]

I have already responded to the survey from a post on another forum (you are certainly making the rounds, Graham), but thought it worth mentioning the term petrichor with regard to minerality here. It is a particularly Australian term (JR's allusion that different countries can have quite different lexicon is very true). Although it's technically of a vegetal nature (and is perhaps more fitting in a "earth" or "vegetal" context), I find it's often used by tasters in a "mineral" context.

http://www.jancisrobinson.com/articles/a201204102.html

She dumps on Suckling's use of 'focus', claiming she's not sure of its meaning, when I've seen her use the term herself. Odd.

Yep, that part grated with me a bit too.

I've always found (incorrectly read?) JR to criticise in underhanded/indirect ways. She also uses the term "mineral", though the article almost implies she's unwilling to (or uncertain how to) define the term (even by her own choice of definition).

"Modish" implies people are using the term "mineral" simply because it's popular/trendy, whereas I suspect it's more that the concept has increasingly entered the conciousness of various wine geek communities and that's consequently led to a higher (unprecented?) frequency of usage.

[Sean]

deleted

[Graham R]

Hi All,

Indeed, from my research so far, it seems Masters of Wine use the term "mineral" or "minerality" frequently in published wine tasting notes. The most fascinating aspect of this topic is to try and understand the sense in which the word is being used. JR is right that the expression is extremely fashionable right now. One wine review I read in April Decanter used a form of the word in 9 from 10 Tasting Notes! But as it was in relation to Lugana DOC in Northern Italy, we, the wine buying public, were none the wiser on exactly what sort of soil type was relevant, or perhaps irrelevant, to the descriptor.

best regards from Zürich.

Graham