What Causes The "Cola" Aroma in Some Pinot Noirs?

I have noticed these aromas on and off for 20 years, from regions all over the state. At one point I thought maybe it was the signature aroma of Anderson Valley, but lately have notice from all over California. Is it an oak thing? Any thoughts?

A very good question. Very common in New World pinots more broadly.

I think it is an overripe fruit + oak indicator. Some selections/clones seemed to be more susceptible - Pommard for instance, the higher numbered Dijon clones.

Paul

I always thought it was something more common to some Otago/ South island Pinots that trend towards higher octane/alc.

I suspect it is a combination of ripe fruit and a reasonable percentage of new oak.

Eugenol (spicy, clovelike, sweet) and coumarin (sweet, herbaceous) were predominant in all colas. Other predominant odorants in at least one brand included guaiacol.

Kola nut is made of

Preliminary studies of phytochemicals in kola nut indicate the presence of various constituents:[2]

caffeine (2–3.5%)
theobromine (1.0–2.5%)
theophylline
polyphenols
phlobaphens (kola red)
epicatechin
D-catechin
tannic acid
sugar
cellulose
water

And then

(+)-Catechin and (-)-epicatechin as well as their gallic acid conjugates are ubiquitous constituents of vascular plants, and frequent components of traditional herbal remedies, such as Uncaria rhynchophylla. The two isomers are mostly found as cacao and tea constituents, as well as in Vitis vinifera grapes.[9][10][11]

I dunno the answer but loving the discussion!

Oak, acid and vanilla equals Kola. The oak provides the vanilla and spice, acid provides the “citrus”. I realize that you don’t need high acid for this aroma but any acid will help provide it. Add in some very ripe fruit and kola aromas emerge.

Keep in mind that while many think it is a negative, others think it desirable.

Tom

I don’t think any of those are particularly odoriferous, or singular to cola scents. The compounds I listed come from either oak or yeast metabolism.

I agree on the high numbered Dijon clones. I pick it up a lot on 667, 777 from various sites and also 115 in the RRV.

Great information except kola nut is actually not a great representation of kola aroma . Simply mix some lime (preferably oil), cinnamon oleoresin and vanilla oleoresin and you will get kola aroma in spades.

The composition of ingredients for the leading kola’s are not really a secret. It’s the origin of them and how they are processed that makes it extremely difficult to match the exact profile.

Tom

I pick it up in RRV pinots mostly, but had a Sidura SRH the other day which showed some too (I thought).

Pinot is not something I consume enough of to really pick out all these nuances out carefully though.

If I want cola I buy a cola

Oak has nothing to do with this, IMO. Old/neutral barrels can also display cola notes.

Clones? Not sure. I have experienced these notes with pretty much every Pinot clone one can imagine, both Heritage and Dijon. And not sure its due to overripe fruit, either, tasted way too many (sometimes deliberately) picked overripe Pinots in my travels with no cola notes. Rich and jammy, sure, but no cola notes due to ONLY ripeness. Something else seems to be in play.

But an interesting question.

i’d defer to folks who make pinot for a living but early on in my wine tasting i was told by a barrel broker that it’s most typically found in RRV at certain ripeness levels and certain oak regimes. i don’t believe the implication was that it had to be an excess of either, but there was an intersection point.

I like those Cola Flavors. I find Barolo from Bricat often has them. They were amazing.

I’ve had plenty if non-RRV Pinots where I’ve hotten a cola note and thought to myself, “But this isn’t RRV fruit. “

Some of my notes

2007 Breggo Cellars Pinot Noir Savoy Vineyard - USA, California, North Coast, Anderson Valley
Pulling some older wines to cull out before they go south. Well, this one could have sat in the cellar another 5-6 years easily. Rich ruby color, rhubarb cola quality on the nose that I find in many Copain AV wines. Generous palate of red and black berries, not a lot of complexity here, could use a hit of acidity but we’ll see if I can coax more out with some air. Right now I’m just happy it’s not a brown dead mess. Finishes with a nice dose of spice. With proper provenance this wine will keep going for quite some time

'10 Patz & Hall Burnside
Ruby red. Cherry cola, rose petal. Soft palate, black cherry, white pepper, black raspberry, pomegranate, touch of leather. Tied for my #3 Groups #2
Sonoma Coast

2010 Sandler Wine Company Pinot Noir Clos Pepe Vineyard - USA, California, Central Coast, Santa Rita Hills - Sta. Rita Hills
Translucent dark ruby with pale edges. Gamey black cherry cola nose with a hint of white pepper and alcohol. Mouth coating glycerol texture with some green stemmy components, sweet strawberry and raspberry. A little out of whack on the finish where a little tannic wall goes up, shows some heat (like a vodka cranberry) and the fruit tapers off quickly. Been open about 3 hours. Will have to revisit this tomorrow. Probably just too young.

To the Barolo mention…

From LastBottle, 2006 Benenti Barolo. 4hrs in getting some spice and Dr Pepper, medium bodied, tart cherry, cherry cola, drying tannins. $29, not bad. Have to see what it’s like tomorrow.

I’ve found it appears mostly in ripe Pinot Noirs with some new oak. I feel like it is a combination of Pinot fruit and new oak that creates the impression, since very rarely I get the same kind of impression from other wines that are otherwise similarly oaky. They are just “oaky” but don’t have that distinct “cola oak” character. Conversely, can’t remember having many wines with a noticeable cola character without any obvious oak aromatics.

Then again, one’s cola might be somebody else’s who-knows-what. We might talk of different things and call it the same name or talk of identical things with different names. For me, cola equates the aromatic combination of oak and Pinosity (and that doesn’t happen always - often leaner, cooler-climate Pinot Noirs can feel just “oaky” without any cola character if they have a noticeable streak of oak influence).