Crunchy fruit is ripe, but crisp and still has balancing acidity (bing cherry, cranberry, etc) This is as opposed to softer fruits, which tend to be darker (plums, figs, and so on) or fruit that overripe. Best real-world fruit example I can think of is probably the table grape (imagine that). I love crisp grapes…those that still have bright, tangy flavor and tight skins. Can’t stand the ones that have started to get a little soft and taste overripe, dull and unappetizing.
On the subject of descriptors…
Meadows likes to use ‘animale’ often. What does this mean? It reads like a nice way to say ‘bretty’ without aggravating the producer, but I’m worried perhaps I’ve injustly avoided certain wines.
Something like this. Young wines tend to show what I think of as crunchy acidity. It is almost a sensation. Crunchy fruits would be when that sensation is tied into the fruit, general lighter bodied and colored versus darker, heavier and tannic.
Think of red fruits that are just under ripe, with all their wonderful snap and tart crunchiness…raspberries, strawberries, cranberries and whilst not a berry I’d throw pomegranate in there too.
I believe that pomegranates are in fact “berries”. As far as “crunchy fruit”, walnuts are a good example. Those are crunchy even when ripe. Under-ripe fruit is also crunchy - think of immature tomatoes or strawberries or other fruit that’s green and unripe. When used in wine writing, I always assume the writers are trying to convey something other than the fact that the wine has the acidity of under-ripe fruit, but they don’t know how, so they use that description which to me is just bad writing.
I is sorry, butt I do bad writing then becuz I use bad discrep . . . descypt . . . disskrip . . . er, words like “crunchy red fruit.” I geuss I is stoopid becuz I not no how to use bettter words.
But frankly, I just think it’s a good descriptor, and I sure know what I mean when I use it, bad writing be damned!