What Are You Looking For In A Tasting Note?

Do you like it short and to the point or with a lot of descriptive profile? What is it you don’t like in terms of a tasting note? Do you put more importance on it coming from a trusted taster or as one data point of a collective assessment?

structure (tannin and or acid depending on the wine), overall quality, how it is drinking at the time and perhaps a prediction on aging. Maybe something about dominant flavors or aromas, such as whether the wine displays strong non-fruit notes.

I don’t need to know how the “legs” are, how the color is (except for older wines, or white burg…) or how many seconds the finish lasts.

Well, Michael…my benchmark for a good TN is that it have a sufficiency of ///////'s in it. Alas…not many seem to reach this high bar I’ve set!!!

Mostly, I look for a TN from someone who’s taste I trust…though they don’t have to have the same taste for wine that I do, necessarily. But I like
it if they expression of if they like/dislike the wine, mostly.
Tom

Very good question!

What I need in a useful tasting notes is:

(exact designation of the wine/cuvee/vintage/producer etc)
a hint on the colour
overall description of the nose and its intensity
description of the structure (tannins, acidity and their quality)
style (modern, traditional … wood influence … )
maturity status for older wines - potential for further evolution
impression of overall balance and texture
estimation of the quality (in points or other systems, at least verbal)*

Detailed descriptions of certain bouquet components are not necessar bevause that´s what´s changing very much over the time …
personal impressions are welcome, but in addition to the things above, not instead of them …

• this is the most difficult thing cause different persons do understand different things with “good”, “great”, “outstanding” … AND also with 90 points, 94 points etc.

We do have a certain point inflation here where a wine below 90 points is almost non existant (or it seems to be a shame to drink/enjoy one …), so the TN is as valuable as the taster … and if you don´t know the taster there is (seriously) not much value in any TN … but a clear TN that is on the point is Vertainly better than any “blah-blah, great, wowwwwww … WOTN”

My criteria for a useful tasting note is very similar to Gerhard’s, but there are some differences.

color: I don’t care unless the wine is old or there’s some reason for mentioning it like in the case of an orange wine.

character of fruit: tart/ripe/fresh/jammy/baked/etc.

general types of fruit: red/black/blue for reds, or how ripe for whites (citrus/orchard/stone/tropical). Specifics are fine but not at all necessary to convey what type(s) of fruit might be there, which is far less subjective than specifics anyway.

structure

style of wine: modern/rustic/oaky/restrained/etc. I want this described rather than just mentioned.

state of development and potential for aging

I think that’s a very simple, straightforward list, but most major critics almost never hit every part, and some like to describe almost none of those things. I can find a note useful without every one of those elements, but there had better be more than one element or I feel like I’ve wasted my time reading it.

I just want to know where on the spectrum of AFWE to PDC it falls, whether there is anything wrong with it, the intensity of the nose, and whether it has any really unique character to it or if any aspect really sticks out.

As someone who writes a moderate amount of tastings notes, assuming I like and understand the writers taste, did the writer like the wine or not, and why. A description of the wines character. What did the writer experience in the wine? How strongly does the writer feel about the wine pro, or con?

Struture; balance; fruit level; perceived maturity now and future. Length and quality of the finish (ie, long/short, fruity, tannic, alcoholic, acidic,) and the aromatics. Flaws. Explanation of method/treatment given to the wine before the evaluation of it, as that , as much as anything, tells me how much to rely on the note.

Not interested in scores, multiple analogies to flavors and aromatics.

short and to the point; perhaps…some context…

with that many requirements, how can any note be short and to the point?

“Balanced wine; concentrated fruit; needs 7 years to reach maturity. Finish is long and fruity; wine is open. Aerated for 17 hours. Miserably corked, but has the right words on the label, so…right for ballas”.

Pretty short and to the point, I think. Tells me all I need to know. I"m writing for “me”.

In addition to a lot of what is written, I do like to know if wine was sipped alone or consumed with food, how long it was open, whether it was decanted, and perhaps anything out of the ordinary with regards to stems (i.e., awful restaurant glasses etc).

Just tell me the number of points… That’s all I need. Points are better than notes!

(yes, that was meant as sarcasm)

Most of the above, but not:
Who you’re with
What record you have on
What girlfriend it reminds you of

All things I’ve read in CT notes.

Oh and don’t tell me about its legs.

A minimum of 20 individual smells and flavors, the rarer the smell the better.

Why don’t you post some of your own once in awhile and then maybe I can tell you?

The only thing I look for is the mention of graphite / pencil shavings or petrol / kerosene. If I see either in a few different notes, I disregard the wine since I’m sensitive to those odors.

I don’t always agree with the score given by a professional. For instance, '94 and '02 Arrowood Reserve (yeah, I know - that’s the name I ALWAYS talk about ) rate higher than their cousins from '95 and '03, but I don’t like the higher rated years as much as the lower. Go figure, eh?

I agree.

I am both prolific and wordy. So shoot me.

I most appreciate notes that contain descriptors that help me improve my wine vocabulary and help me codify the sensations I experience yet have a hard time translating from sensation to description.

There was a recent one that just killed, and I will try to find who it was to use as an exemplar.

Anton/anyone…who are you writing “tasting notes” for?

As long as you understand them and what they’re saying about the tasting experience one has just had, is that enough?

It is for me…FWIW. I want to be able to look at the note and know what I thought/found…the next day…or 20 years later.

Or, are we mainly talking about what we are “looking for” in others’ notes? To be honest…I don’t have much credence in many others’ notes…anyone, so I am happy to glean what I can…whether from a “professional” taster…or someone on WB. There are very few people I consider that reliable, for my interests, though I am always curious to know what people think of the wines that interest me. I just don’t look for much in their notes.

Style, structure, service.

From there I look at descriptors.