A Beginner's Guide to Wine Flavors -- Red Wines

Last time we looked at the common flavors of white wines.

So, now, here are descriptions of what common red wines tend to taste like. These are the broad, recognizable flavor profiles you can expect:

Red Wines

Cabernet Sauvignon

Bold, full-bodied, and structured. Flavors include blackcurrant, blackberry, cedar, and baking spices, often with bold tannins.

Merlot

Softer and smoother than Cabernet Sauvignon. Flavors include plum, cherry, chocolate, and sometimes vanilla from the oak aging.

Pinot Noir

This wine is light-bodied and elegant. It includes notes of cherry, cranberry, strawberry, raspberry, and sometimes subtle earthy notes like mushrooms or forest floor.

Syrah / Shiraz

Rich and spicy. Syrah tends to show blackberry, black pepper, violet, and sometimes smoky notes. Shiraz (Australia) leans riper and jammy.

Tempranillo

Spain’s flagship grape is a mix of cherry, plum, herbs, and sometimes tobacco or leather, especially in aged versions.

Malbec

Juicy and smooth. Typically dark berry flavors, with hints of cocoa, plum, and black cherry.

Sangiovese

This is the grape in used to make Chianti. It’s bright with flavors of red cherry, tomato, herbs, and a lively acidity.

Grenache (Garnacha)

Light, juicy, and fruity. Flavors include strawberry, raspberry, white pepper, sometimes with a hint of cinnamon.

Zinfandel (Primitivo)

Bold and spicy. Lots of blackberry, plum, jammy fruit, and signature black pepper notes.

Cabernet Franc

A bit lighter than Cabernet Sauvignon, with red fruit, herbs, bell pepper, and soft, gentle tannins.

Behind the Cork™ - Esporao Monte Velho Reserva

2022 Esporão Monte Velho Reserva ($18)

A new Reserva Red wine has been added to the popular Monte Velho (pronounced MON-tay VELL-yo and meaning “Old Hill” in Portuguese) wine line. The Monte Velho name is inspired by a grassy mound on the Herdade do Esporão estate, which is topped by a prominent 12th-century fortress.

Says Cultivamos (Importer of Esporão) president & CEO, Ben Carson-Brown, “The reason for this new addition to Esporão’s Monte Velho range is simple: Monte Velho wines are made intentionally for daily consumption, especially in Portugal where wine is a traditional component of the evening meal.

Monte Velho Reserva Red 2022 showcases Alentejo’s 2,000-plus year viticultural history, with its tradition of blending.

This Monte Velho Reserva is a blend of four grape varieties: Aragonez (also known as Alicante Bouschet), Trincadeira, Syrah, and Touriga Nacional, each comprising 25% of the total. The grapes underwent de-stemming and crushing, followed by controlled fermentation. Subsequently, malolactic conversion was initiated, and the wine was aged in used oak barrels for eight months.

Monte Vehlo Reserva is deep purple in color with bright aromas of dark fruit and herbal notes. On the palate, this medium-full bodied wine has flavors of blackberry, blue berry and raspberry with herbal, peppery, notes. It finishes easy with spicy notes. (Alcohol by Volume: 13.5%, Total Acidity: 5.7 g/L, pH: 3.61, Residual Sugar: 1.0 g/L)

This Monte Velho Reserva from Esporão is not only delicious but also affordable, making it a great fit as this week’s Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week. Cheers!

Disclosure of Wine Sample Submission: I received this sample at no cost for review.

Media Sample Provided by Esporão

Behind the Cork™ - Domaine Bousquet Uco Valley Cabs

Mendoza’s Uco Valley produces more than stellar Malbec. This high-altitude locale near Argentina’s border with Chile has started to make a name for itself with some pretty impressive Cabernet.

Certified organic fruit, high-altitude terroir and a French-Argentine profile have translated into a recipe for success for Domaine Bousquet.

The estate’s naturally elegant, environmentally friendly wines are now found in 61 countries around the globe, and Domaine Bousquet is Argentina’s leading name in exports of wine made from organically grown grapes.

But there is another simple reason for Domaine Bousquet’s success: “We just want to make the finest wines possible and sell them at prices people can afford,” says co-owner Anne Bousquet.

 Here are five prime examples of affordable fine wines from Domaine Bousquet:

  • Domaine Bousquet Reserve Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($18)

  • Domaine Bousquet Alavida Kosher USDA-Certified Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 ($18)

  • Domaine Bousquet Gaia Organic Cabernet Franc 2021 ($20)

  • Domaine Bousquet Gran Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 ($25)

  • Domaine Bousquet Ameri Single Vineyard Organic Cabernet Sauvignon 2021 ($36)

Look for each of these Domaine Bousquet Cabs to be featured in upcoming Behind the Cork™ Wine of the Week blogs. Cheers!

Ever Wonder? Why Do the Colors of Red Wines Differ?

I was recently asked about the color of wine. Specifically, why does the color of a red wine vary, especially within the same variety. So, let’s take a look at the factors that affect a red wine’s color.

As the grapes are harvested, they are piled into containers. And, under their own weight, some of the grapes get squeezed to the point of releasing their juice. This is referred to as ‘free-run’ juice. The color of this juice is generally pretty light and transparent, as shown in the photo.

But, the colors of finished and bottled red wines can range from pale pink (rosé wines), to purple (Syrah), to ruby (Cabernet Sauvignon) and to deep garnet (Borolo).

This range of color in red wines comes from the pigment from the skins of grapes. By soaking the grape skins in the juice, the pigment ends up “staining” the juice and producing the various colors. Rosé wine spend very little, if any, time in contact with the grape skins while other wines will spend as much as two weeks in contact with the skins. And, different red varieties (i.e., Gamay vs Cabernet Sauvignon) just naturally produce different levels of pigment.

Thus, deeply opaque red wines simply have more pigment in them. And, it should be noted that wines generally lose pigment as they age. So an older wine will actually have less intensity of color (and likely a bunch of sediment in the bottom of the bottle!).

So, there’s a quick overview of how the colors of red wines differ. Cheers!