Green Fruit on the nose??

WINE TALK
1

I just read a note on burghound that said “nose of green fruit”.

When he says green fruit does that mean under-ripe fruit? or green apples, dijon pears? It seems the later has very different fruits with very different smells.

Thanks!

2

I can’t speak to what Allen means, but when I read your post title this popped into my mind:

3

I assume this is from a note on a white wine? If so when I use the term green fruits I mean things such as green apples, pears, honeydew, kiwi, grapes, etc. But there are under ripe fruits such as watermelon and banana that I would describe as green fruits but not with a negative under ripe connotation. If something is under ripe I would use that term for sure. These green fruits can be pretty common in my experience mostly in old world whites where the aromatics and flavors are what I would describe as minty or stalky in texture. In my vernacular white fruits tend to be floral, and yellow fruits are usually acidic and spice driven. I think it is easier to describe fruits in colors when the specific components are not obvious but you know the tone of the fruit.

4

But all those fruits you listed are so wildly different in flavor. I understand the categories of yellow/green/white but I think one should go one further. Yellow citrus/white stone fruit… Just saying green seems to be a bit lazy

And yes, white burgundy.

5

The big trouble with TNs is that the author [usually] knows what he/she wants to convey, but runs into problems putting it into words that convey the same thing to the reader. I do agree that he probably was thinking of things like apples or pears - he just stopped short of qualifying that.

6

“Green Fruit” is actually a WSET descriptor from the “structured approach to tasting”. When I get home I’ll post the exact examples given at Diploma level.
As it happens, it is the part of the approach I would tried to revise, if only the powers that be would have been flexible enough to give me the “International Training and Development Advisor” job I applied for earlier this month. Although I feel the structured approach is an excellent tool, this part of it is neither concise nor accurate.

7

It’s wine criticism–do not look for logic (see: sappy, minerality, graphite, etc., etc.)! neener It’s like looking for a pattern in irregular verb construction. You can only try to discern the usage and hope that you are close to what was intended . . . .

8

How do you feel about red vs. black/dark fruit? I find those useful since they convey a sense of fruit ripeness & character without requiring specific analogy. But green fruit seems about as precise as things like colored flowers (blue/white/purple flowers, wtf?).

How do you describe an oxidized wine? Brown fruit? [stirthepothal.gif]

9

I tend to equate this descriptor with Green Apples and Pears … I would put Kiwi into it’s own category as that scent can be more specific to Sauvignon Blanc and to some extent Reisling … I usually don’t pick it up in a chard.

10

For me …
Green fruits = Green Apples and pears
Red = Cherries, Strawberries & red currant … perhaps underipe sour plum as well
Black = Ripe Dark Cherries, Blackberry, Cassis and Ripe Plum
Oxidized = Sherry or Madera

Flowers or floral notes in a wine to me are a layer on top of the fruit essences … I am not as goodd indentifying these by color but I get what folks mean when they use them.


Generalized descriptors like this work because frequently these types of scents and tasted can be somewhat mixed …

11

Okay,

Green fruit: apple (green/ripe?), gooseberry, pear

And G.(regg, wasn’t it?), I feel fine about red versus black fruits. That is quite a useful distinction for olfactory description. I have little to add to what you wrote above, unless you’d like me to bill you afterwards. neener

Having said that, I do recognize the distinction between white and red flowers. An oxidized wine wine is described as such, with a distinction being made between wines that have been made in an oxidized style and faulty ones.
Funnily enough, I have often used the “brown fruit” decriptor you mention to describe Grenâche-based wines from the South of France (yes, including Rhône valley), much to the chagrin of people who like them.

The kiwi -mentioned by David Sugarman- is actually a tropical fruit and I would like to add the most important of all red fruits to his summation: the RASPBERRY! [shock.gif]

Gregg

12

I see where you are coming from and this is one of the difficulties in evaluating wines. It is not always easy to pick out the specific aromas and flavors, at least that is my reason for using vague terms like green fruits. The trouble is those vague terms can mean different things to different people so palate calibration is invaluable in resolving that problem. I think color tone is important in describing aromas and flavors because an impression is all one will get sometimes and although vague you get an idea of texture.

13

[winner.gif] [cheers.gif]

14

Mrs.Burghound;

He typically means primarily green apple and secondarily lime - but it can
mean green apple, lime, green grapes and/or honeydew though obviously not
necessarily all of them at once.

15

who’s on first? [truce.gif]

maybe this is more apt, substituting “green” for “ray”:

You can call me Ray,
or you can call me Jay,
or you can call me R.J,
or you can call me R.J.J,
or you can call me R.J.J. Jr.
But you doesn’t have to call me Johnson!

16

ah thanks!

I guess i’ll have to guess when I try it :smiley:

17

You read the tasting notes ? Let’s talk about something important. What’s the score ?

18

90 :smiley: