Assessing
After you have sampled a wine with your eyes, nose and mouth, you will
then be in a position to assess it. Is it simple and easy to drink or
is it complex, with many different layers of flavours that will reveal
themselves over time? Is it ready for drinking now or should you keep
it for a while? Does it offer value for money? Most importantly, do you
enjoy it?
A wine that gives immediate pleasure and doesn't have any tannins that
need to soften is ready to drink. If a red has a lot of tannin, then it
may well need several years to soften and to show its best. A wine that
feels closed or tight at the back of the palate will generally improve
with time. Some young wines that taste very oaky, especially if the oak
and the fruit seem separate, may just need time for these elements to
marry together.
One of the continuing fascinations of wine lies in determining when it
will be ready to drink. The optimum moment depends upon the individual
drinker - some enjoy their wines young, when the fruit is to the fore,
others prefer to wait until the wine has developed the richness that is
characteristic of age.
Whatever your budget, getting value for money is very important. Even
if a wine costs £2.49 (US$3.70), it's too expensive if it disappoints.
A poor wine at £25.99 (US$39) will be much more painful. Naturally,
it is difficult to disentangle value for money from reputation, but past
experience and a bit of research should help you to find your way through
the maze of possibilities.
Fortunately, taste is very individual. We don't all like or appreciate
the same things and everyone has different flavour associations. Of course,
it is worth taking account of what established critics such as Oz Clarke,
Malcolm Gluck, Robert Parker and Jancis Robinson say, as they taste a
vast range of wines and their pronouncements carry the weight of experience.
But as far as you're concerned, the most important assessment should be
your own.
By Jim Budd and Natasha Hughes
What is tasting? | Looking
| Smelling |
Tasting | Spitting
| Assessing
| Spotting
faults
|
