Home page | French Who are we? History Domaines, Artisans & Terroirs Domaine de la Vougeraie Idôl Vodka Jaffelin Jean-Claude Boisset Ropiteau Frères Signatures Internationales Bouchard Aîné & Fils DeLoach J. Moreau & Fils Louis Bernard Louis Bouillot Lyeth Mommessin Maisons Historiques Andéol Salavert Benoît Lafont Charles de Fère French rabbit Grandin Honoré Lavigne Le Père la Grolle Morin Père & Fils Pellerin, Domaines & Châteaux Thorin Marques Consommateurs Avèze Casanis Duval Gancia Joliesse L'Héritier-Guyot Manor Rapha Rhum du Verso St Raphaël The Greyhound Valauria Wine Soil Varietals Manufacturing Spirits Men Tasting Wine and Health Glossary Press Releases Boisset News Events Calendar Press Contacts of our Offices Contacts of our Houses Job offers and Training Other web sites of the Family

PREPARATION   THE EYE   THE NOSE   THE MOUTH     Visual examination of a wine is an integral part of wine-tasting. Before the wine is smelt or tasted, its « robe » (visual aspect), can provide a wealth of information : clarity, viscosity, age… and often geographical origin. Here’s what to look for… Shine When seen from above, the surface of the wine, known as the disc should be shiny and completely clear. A dull or matt disc, the presence of a greyish layer or dust are considered to be defects. Clarity At eye level, with the glass tilted slightly, the wine must be totally clear. If it is cloudy, milky, foggy, opaque, flaky or full of sediment, then it has had problems during vinification or storage. Viscosity With the glass still at a tilt, a slight rotating movement will enable you to examine how the wine « wets » the glass. If it leaves traces in the form of droplets or « legs » then it has a high glycerol, residual sugar or alcohol content. The wine is then said to have « legs », or that it is fatty, which is generally a sign of quality. However, this viscosity depends on the type of wine and a very fluid wine can also be of excellent quality. The tint of the « robe » Again looking downwards and tilting the glass over a white surface or a light source enables one to appreciate a broad range of colours, from the centre of the disk to its edges. - Violet, purple tints are typical of younger red wines. From one or two years onwards a large variety of reds can be seen : vermilion, cherry, ruby… Later on, orange nuances (clay, brick) take over, indicating the wine’s evolution. Finally great wines can develop ochre or brown tints. - For white wines the range can go from the very pale yellow of young dry white like muscadet or sauvignon, to the amber or caramel colour of older wines with a low acid level… but also sometimes oxidised. Between these two extremes, all of the nuances of yellow exist, with green tints for wines from Alsace, straw or gold for mature Burgundies. - The colour of rosé wines depends on their vinfication and the length of time the skin as in contact with the juice. However, age also creates certain visual nuances : a yellowy or orangey pink, onion peel or salmon colour. The intensity of the colour A young wine has a frank, raw fresh colour. An ageing wine or fully aged wine, on the contrary, will have a used « robe ». In addition to this degree of change, the colour of a red wine gives indications as to its concentration and sometimes enables one to determine its origin, even the year. Indeed, all varietals do not possess the same colouring power. Examples of wine colours from darkest to lightest are Syrah, Grenache (Rhône valley), Cabernet-Sauvignon and Merlot (Bordeaux), Pinot Noir (Burgundy) and Gamay (Beaujolais). As for the year, years of correct ageing lead to more intense reds than years with no particular cachet. However, this must be taken as a simple indication, the hand of the winemaker can, in some cases, fool the most inspired specialists.