The development of wine ageing bouquet, the sought-after "signature" of great wines aged in bottle is one of the most fascinating but least known phenomena in oenology, and both its sensory and molecular markers were poorly documented so far.
Firstly, a three-step holistic approach made it possible to decipher the sensory characteristics of the ageing bouquet of red Bordeaux wines. More precisely, a shared sensory definition emerged among wine professionals, structured around eight main aromatic notes: «undergrowth», «truffle», «fresh red- and black berry fruits», «spicy», «liquorice», «mint», «toasted» and «empyreumatic».
Then, a molecular study, targeting classes of aromatic compounds formed or preserved during bottle ageing, identified the key contributors to the typicality of wine-ageing bouquet.
Subsequently, wine fractionations and aromatic reconstitutions, were used to identify a monoterpene ketone that was shown for the first time to be involved in typical mint nuances.
Finalist of the International SIVE OENOPPIA awards 2017. The paper reproduced in this video-seminar was presented at the 10th edition of Enoforum (May 16th-18th, 2017, Vicenza, Italy)
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