Do you smell?

Your nose can often tell you more about a wine than your mouth. We can detect only four or five basic flavours: sweet, salty, sour, bitter and savoury, but our noses can detect more than 10,000 smells. And by the way, each nostril is biologically “wired” differently to serve different functions and operates at maximum efficiency at different times of the day and night. Not many people know that.

Smelling a wine is more than just taking a few dainty sniffs. You must get your nose into the glass, which is why big glasses are best. When a dog smells things, it gets in close and gives small, intense sniffs. Then it seems to reflect for a moment, as though it’s comparing the smell with the library of smells in its memory. (In 2004, the winners of the Nobel Prize in Medicine discovered that this indeed occurs, though it’s a
much more complex electro-chemical process than previously thought.)

Open your bottle of wine at least thirty minutes in advance to let it breathe. With the glass less than a third full (and holding it by the stem, please) swirl the wine around for a few moments to help release the aromas. Get your nose in and take a few doglike sniffs. Assuming there is nothing wrong with the wine, your first impression might be of fruitiness or crispness, or there might be nutty, woody or spicy smells. A few more sniffs might reveal a deeper level of aroma. If the wine smells fruity, it might remind you of pineapple, lemon, apricot, berry or cherry, to name but a few. With more air-contact, other layers might reveal themselves: vegetables, chocolate, honey, toast, oak or even leather. This is one of the most amazing things about wine. As Hugh Johnson famously wrote, “every drop of liquid filling so many bottles has been drawn out of the ground by the roots of a vine.” Yes, the wine in your glass was once water.

Two Oceans Sauvignon Blanc 2008 (white), South Africa. (Tesco- Lotus, Bt. 499)
The “Two Oceans” are the Indian Ocean and the Atlantic, which between them create cool breezes over the coast of South Africa, making an ideal climate for ripening the grapes and developing the acidity. Sauvignon Blanc (SO-vee-nyon blahn) wines are often described as “zesty”, because they’re often very aromatic with citrus flavours and they retain a decent amount of acidity to keep them fresh.

This wine is a typical pale straw colour, with a greenish tinge. There’s a pronounced aroma of citrus fruit and ripe gooseberries with a soft background smell of tropical fruit. Actually, the aroma is quite complex, which usually indicates a wellmade wine. After the delicate introduction, the zingy fruitiness hits the palette with a pleasant surprise. The gooseberries are out in force and the light body is balanced by a splendid long creamy, lemony finish.

At just 11.5% alcohol, this is a lively, well balanced young wine, full of joie de vivre. You could serve it (cold, of course) with food such as chicken, grilled fish or shellfish.

Beringer California Collection Pinot Grigio 2007 (white), USA. (Foodland, Bt. 669)
This Pinot Grigio (PEE-no GREE-jee-o) is a lovely delicate pale gold and has a rich aroma of peaches and tropical fruit, with attractive peppery overtones. There’s possibly a hint of wet grass on the smell. I wouldn’t lay money on it mind you, but I am sure I could detect wet grass.
The first taste is a revelation. The wine has a soft body and a stunning, creamy mouth-feel as you roll it around your mouth. And I really hope you do, for anyone who just knocks it back will completely miss this superb texture sensation. There’s a rich fruitiness in the taste and also an attractive zingy touch of light acid, which gives it a lively refreshing quality, preserved by fermenting the wine in stainless steel tanks. A touch of citrus on the very long finish confirms that this is an extremely well-crafted wine. If you normally drink Italian Pinot Grigio, you’ll find this is quite a different style: ultra-smooth, fruity and distinctly Californian. At only 12.5% alcohol, I’d be very happy to drink this without the distraction of food. It would make a superb apéritif too.

Purisima Merlot Reserva Estate 2007 (red), Chile. (Foodland, Bt. 499)
This splendid Merlot (MAIR-lo) is a lovely dark red and made from grapes grown on very old vines (says the label) in Chile’s Maule Valley. Open the bottle half an hour before you sample the wine, because the tannins will soften and the air-contact will bring out the fruitiness. There’s a rich aroma of ripe berries with spicy, peppery overtones. Take plenty of time to sniff this wine, because the aroma develops and it’s worth repeating the sniffing routine even after several glasses. There’s a light body with good firm tannin and a fairly long, dry finish.

At a heady 13.5% alcohol content, this wine is probably at its best with food: red meats, pizza or pasta with rich sauces. Some writers claim that Merlot goes well with lamb shanks, grilled duck or veal. Incidentally, the illustrious French winery Château Pétrus, makes legendary wines almost entirely from Merlot grapes. They sell for legendary prices too. A single bottle of 1990 Ch. Pétrus now costs just over Bt. 234,000. That’s about Bt. 33,000 per glass. I tend not to drink it very often.