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?
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.
Eugenol (spicy, clovelike, sweet) and coumarin (sweet, herbaceous) were predominant in all colas. Other predominant odorants in at least one brand included guaiacol.
(+)-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]
Oak, acid and vanilla equals Kola. The oak provides the vanilla and spice, acid provides the ācitrusā. I realize that you donāt 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.
I donāt think any of those are particularly odoriferous, or singular to cola scents. The compounds I listed come from either oak or yeast metabolism.
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 kolaās are not really a secret. Itās the origin of them and how they are processed that makes it extremely difficult to match the exact profile.
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.
iād defer to folks who make pinot for a living but early on in my wine tasting i was told by a barrel broker that itās most typically found in RRV at certain ripeness levels and certain oak regimes. i donāt believe the implication was that it had to be an excess of either, but there was an intersection point.
Iāve had plenty if non-RRV Pinots where Iāve hotten a cola note and thought to myself, āBut this isnāt RRV fruit. ā
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 weāll see if I can coax more out with some air. Right now Iām just happy itās 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 mentionā¦
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 itās like tomorrow.
Iāve 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 āoakyā but donāt have that distinct ācola oakā character. Conversely, canāt remember having many wines with a noticeable cola character without any obvious oak aromatics.
Then again, oneās cola might be somebody elseās 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 doesnāt happen always - often leaner, cooler-climate Pinot Noirs can feel just āoakyā without any cola character if they have a noticeable streak of oak influence).