Hi i’m constatin baum master of wine and A few weeks ago i had a pretty amazing Tasting experience that i want to share With you a viewer of this channel has a Master of science in sensory sciences And he created a wine tasting kit that He sent to me in this box are 11 bottles Of the same wine the twist is that 10 Bottles were spiked with aromatic Compounds most of them are associated With wine floors and it will be my job To identify these aromas blind this is The stuff wine nerd dreams are made of So Let’s go Full disclosure i’m not being paid to do This and i actually paid full price for This set of samples i’m still going to Link up the website below this video if You would like to order the samples for Yourself training your nose in your Palate is important in my line of work Wine experts often list a whole range of Different flavors when describing wine But it can be quite difficult to Actually identify aromas blind we often Believe that we have traded our sense of Smell for our high quality sense of Sight because we’re not really good at Sniffing out drugs from a distance like A dog would be for example we still use Our sense of smell subconsciously quite A bit and we are able to identify a Large number of aromas from up close
Today we use our sense of smell less Often because all of our food is lying In supermarket shelves clearly labeled So we don’t have to identify it anymore But this does not need to be the case The orange people from the andaman Islands in asia for example structured Their calendar by the smell of the Flowers that are in bloom during that Period and they greet each other by Saying how is your nose so let’s dive Into the samples i’ve done this tasting Before but i don’t really remember the Order the samples were in and they might Be in a completely different order this Time anyways i’m going to taste the Wines blind and reveal the aromatic Compound and talk a little bit about These flaws or aromatic compounds along The way i have these cards with the Answer on the other side of the card so It’s a little bit like a game show so Let’s play what’s the aromatic compound What That was stupid So let’s dig in So what they’ve done here is they’ve Used a relatively neutral white wine and Added aromatic compounds to it this is The reference bottle so the bottle Without any aromas added and i’m going To taste this as A reference the wine smells of white Peaches oranges and vanilla and on the
Palate it’s quite rich and round and Doesn’t have much acidity but it’s not Really about this wine in this tasting It’s more about the aromatic compounds Because all of them are aromatic Compounds that you might come across in Tastings and i want to teach you a Little bit more about them so here we Have bottle number one you can’t really See a difference to the reference bottle You really have to rely on your nose one One doesn’t necessarily smell all that Different it smells a little bit Herbaceous though so there’s some green Notes coming through and i would Therefore guess that this is methoxy Pyrazine methoxypyrazones are very Present in sauvignon blanc and they can Be really really pronounced they give an Aroma of green grass and bell pepper Green bell pepper flavors so it’s quite Distinct and quite intense this though Isn’t as intense as i remember it from Last time It’s more of a bit of a herbaceous note In the background the interesting thing With methoxypyrazines is that they Decrease quite a bit with ripening and Exposure to sunlight you therefore can Have really green grassy sauvignon blanc If you harvest the grapes early if you Leave them on the vine for longer those Flavors will disappear and you have all Of the fruit flavor in new zealand the
Recipe for success was blending slightly Unripe or just ripe sauvignon blanc Fruit with very ripe fruit and then you Had this combination of green grassy Notes together with exotic fruit flavors Sauvignon blanc and cabernet sauvignon They are really well known for having Lots of methoxypyrazones when the grapes Were harvested early and this can be an Identifier in a blind tasting to get you To one of those grape varieties so let’s See whether i’m actually right wine Number one and it is Bell pepper pearsons or methoxy persons So one for one while number two is not All that different but it smells a Little bit different to the reference Bottle This has aromas of cassis coming through Also a little bit of passion fruit maybe And this kind of points me to a Substance called 4 mmp and it would be Fitting because it’s kind of the other Side of sauvignon blanc or cabernet Sauvignon from Methoxypyrazines to 4mmp when the grapes are really ripe so You have those cassis notes and really Ripe cabernet and this passion fruit Flavor and really ripe sauvignon so i Think this is for Mmp So let’s have a look Number two
Number two and it is 4 mmp Who wouldn’t have guessed that so i’m Not going to explain you exactly what For mmp means i will put it down here For you to read if you want to it’s a Style as far as i understand and it’s Yeah the aromatic compound that comes With really ripe wines from grape Varieties like sauvignon blanc cabernet Sauvignon cabernet franc This is Quite An interesting flavor for me this Actually smells more of a red wine than Of a white wine because of this cassis Flavor that is coming through and it’s An interesting substance and definitely Something to use to show off a little Bit in the tasting if you have a ripe Sauvignon blanc you could say well There’s lots of 4 mmp in there so moving On to wine number three The third sample let’s pour it well Number three is again really interesting This is quite aromatic quite intense There’s quite a lot of fruit flavor but There’s also a component that reminds me Of vinegar a little bit of vinegar so This could be a set aldehyde or Maybe either amul acetate either amir Acetate would be a little bit more Fruity i said aldehyde might be a little Bit more flat i’m really struggling here
I’m not really sure which one this is But let’s have a look Number three And it is Isoamyl acetate isoamyl acetate is quite An interesting substance it comes up Quite a bit in commercial ones ones that Are widely available that are fermented At low temperatures to bring out more Fruit flavor this is one of the fruit Flavors it’s an ester and it reminds the Taster a little bit of bananas and now That i say that This actually smells quite a bit of Bananas but i didn’t really pick up on That earlier the question you might ask Yourself now is would i have identified All these aromas without knowing what Aromas are in the box and i don’t think I would have it’s much easier if you Kind of know Those 10 aromas are in the box and then Just kind of finding the right one in Your glass but it’s still an interesting Challenging exercise by the way these Samples don’t last indefinitely it says Here on the side used by the 20th of may 2022 And yeah you shouldn’t keep them in Yourself for a long time that’s for sure Okay this could be the other one i was Just talking about acid aldehyde the Wine Seems to be a little bit more flat
There’s a little bit less fruity flavors Here It’s still kind of lifted and there’s Even some sort of musty flavor coming Through it’s often present in phenol Cherries for example so if you don’t Like fino cherries you might not like Acetaldehyde as well It can be quite interesting give the Wine a little bit of a different Dimension i think in this one it doesn’t Add anything beneficial but It’s interesting nevertheless So what is in bottle number four It’s Acid aldehyde do you say acid aldehyde Acid aldehyde i’m not sure it’s this Acid aldehyde is pretty much present in All wines it’s one of the first Substances that are created when oxygen Reacts with ethanol the main alcohol and Wine wine makers tend to be careful with It because it can really ruin the flavor Of the wine and the whole impression of The wine but yeah it can be it can be Nice like i said many floor based wines Like fino sherry for example they have Quite a lot of acid aldehyde naturally In the wine so let’s move on to sample Number five This is quite a bit easier than the Previous wines i think this is quite Pronounced the smells of Dark flowers and this reminds me of
Geraniol a flavor compound that is named After the flower so number five And It’s geranium i hope i pronounced that Right Geranium Geraniol really smells like crushed Geranium leaves and in the cursing wine When zorbic acid reacts with lactic acid It’s very very important i had to look That up but less than one nanogram is Enough to spoil a wine or to change the Flavor of a wine and that’s like a drop In a swimming pool so it’s very hard to Remove from a wine once it’s in there so Here we have wine number six and Let’s taste it this one’s actually quite Difficult it smells a little bit less Fruity and so there’s more oak flavor or More of the butteriness that you can get In those white wines so it could be Vanillin the vanilla flavor of oak or it Could be diacetyl which is the buttery Flavor that you get from malolactic Conversion for example which gets out More pronounced in oaked wines as well So for me they are very much associated So i would be more on the vanillin side Of things i think this is vanilla let’s Have a look Oh damn it Okay Six is diacetyl so I at least mentioned it but yeah didn’t
Quite make it it is often described as Buttery or butterscotch aromas but it Also reminds people often of roasted Notes so this is kind of the oaky flavor That might come through It is more pronounced in wine depending On the grape variety so the same levels Of this substance comes out more in Chardonnay or pinot noir for example Than it would in cabernet sauvignon it Can add desirable complexity in a wine And it’s present in many high-end Chardonnays pinot noirs and many other Wines but it can also be overpowering And make the wine really boring the Amount of diastole in the wine really Depends on many different factors the Bacterial strain or the temperature of The fermentation and many other factors That the wine maker can influence in the Cellar wine number seven smells again Quite a bit of vanilla and oak flavor so I’m guessing this has to be the vanillin Vanillin is a phenolic compound that is Extracted from wood and i can actually Feel a little bit of a phenolic grip on My palate when i taste this wine so Let’s hope i’m right This time number seven is Vanilla I did it but this was kind of easy Vanillin is the flavor that is a marker For maturation in new oak barrels that Have been just made and were used for
The first time and it’s especially Present in american oak as opposed to French oaks so you get more of it if you Store the wine in an american oak Barrique in general than if you would Use a french oak barique it’s getting Easier the further we get through the Process of elimination but sample number Eight for me smells quite a bit of cocoa Nut so it reminds me a little bit of Bourbon whiskey and i didn’t know this Flavor before but now i know i read up On it it’s called whiskey lactone Lactones are present in wood in all Different kinds of trees and they can Give off this slightly Coconutty flavor lactone levels can vary Depending on the tree or even different Parts of the tree so it can be quite Tricky for the barrel maker to identify The pieces of wood that he uses for his Barrel in order to make sure that it Doesn’t give off too much of this Coconut flavor some people really like That coconut flavor but you have to be Very careful with it On to wine nine let’s see what’s in There Well most of the aromas from the Previous samples can be considered a Floor when they are out of balance this Is almost always considered a floor Especially in australia and new zealand If i remember right
This smells a little bit of An old pipe in my opinion so my father Used to smoke pipe and he had those old Pipes that smelled exactly like this It can also smell a little bit more of Barnyard which can be quite off-putting But it can also be interesting i Sometimes actually like this flavor this Develops from bretonomyces and it’s Called 4ep retinomyces is also called Bread and it develops especially in Wines that are aged in barrels because It survives in those barrels stays It most of the time is considered a Floor but in some areas it is kind of The pepper in the source so it changes The flavor for the better and makes the Wine more interesting some countries Australia and new zealand for example They really hate bread i remember that From my times working in new zealand and Traveling through australia and in some Countries in belgium for example bread Is actually essential for the production Of some specialist beers so the last Sample and i already know what this is This smells terrible this is two four Six three claw anisole also known as tca Or cork taint and i’m very sensitive to This flavor so this really hurts my nose And i also feel it on the palate it kind Of dries out the palette and makes the Whole experience of tasting this wine Pretty horrible tca generally develops
In nature in cork trees when chlorine Reacts with phenols and then those Chlorophenols react with mold to form Tca and that tca then comes into the Wine gets into the wine generally Through the quark through contact with Natural cork it has spoiled many Million liters of wine and it is a Terrible thing if you pull a cork and Then realize the wine is corked a tca is Not Generally accepted so it’s not like Bread where a little bit can actually Add to the complexity of wine tca Normally always ruins a wine the thing With tca is that it is very potent so a Few nanograms so few drops into a Swimming pool can already kill the wine But there are different thresholds some People Really smell it very easily some people Don’t smell it at all for them the wine Might just taste a little bit bland but They don’t realize that it’s actually Corked so thank you for watching if you Like this video then please like it down Here subscribe to my channel if you Haven’t done so already my question of The day is did you know all of these Aromatic compounds this is quite nerdy But i hope you learned something about It did i miss some aromatic compounds Please let me know down below i hope i See you guys again soon until then stay
Thirsty and i’m not going to drink this This is disgusting [Music]