What does "rustic" mean?

[Oliver_McCrum]

So a producer who prefers wine that doesn’t smell like the wrong end of a horse is Brittany Spears, basically?

[Brady_Daniels]

Well, if we are going to twist words, does that mean you think Brittany Spears is polished, Oliver?

[Roberto_Rogness]

In my opinion the greatest wine cartoon of all time is one I saw years ago where two guys are tasting the SAME wine at a store and the balloons over their heads read:

Taster #1 “Jesus Christ, this crap smells like ass!”

Taster #2 “Oh my lord, this divine elixir smells like…aaaaaaasssssssssss!”

[Oliver_McCrum]

@Brady Daniels

Well, if we are going to twist words, does that mean you think Brittany Spears is polished, Oliver?

I have no idea, but she’s certainly Autotuned.

[Oliver_McCrum]

So what would the Brittany Spears of wine be, Yellow Tail?

[chris_newport]

@Robert Alfert

Rustic is not a pegorative to me at all. Definitely not a flaw. I view it as a traditionally made, old world style wine that expresses less-slick wine-making. Barnyard, earthy, course tannins, unfiltered. When done well, conveys such a warm sense of place. Think some of the traditionalists in Cornas, think Baudry in Loire, Joguet with its occasional brett.

I wouldn’t call Baudry rustic. I think they are one of the most elegant producers in Chinon… of course when you are talking Loire cab franc, elegance is a relative term.

The Guion Bourgueils personify the term rustic for me.

[John_D_Zuccarino]

horse, cow, animal pasture … saddle , leather, musk, cinnamon, earth, Brett, dried tobacco leaves, cedar box, freshly tilled soil, mushroom, bark, lavender, or any of the aforementioned alone… one wime comes to mind…chateau Musar

[W_Leonard]

@W. Leonard

@Robert Alfert

what Joguet used to be with its occasional brett.

riper fruit, more oak

[BobMilton]

In Jancis Robinson’s new book Wine Grapes, she describes the taste of Cornalin as “well structured with somewhat rustic tannins”.

[Robert.A.Jr]

@chris newport

@Robert Alfert

Rustic is not a pegorative to me at all. Definitely not a flaw. I view it as a traditionally made, old world style wine that expresses less-slick wine-making. Barnyard, earthy, course tannins, unfiltered. When done well, conveys such a warm sense of place. Think some of the traditionalists in Cornas, think Baudry in Loire, Joguet with its occasional brett.

I wouldn’t call Baudry rustic. I think they are one of the most elegant producers in Chinon… of course when you are talking Loire cab franc, elegance is a relative term.

The Guion Bourgueils personify the term rustic for me.

Can’t argue the Guion. Agree, and totally love it.

[jordan_jacobs]

I am surprised just how many feel that rustic is a synonym for flawed or even brett. While a rustic wine can have brett or flaws to me it is not pejorative. Rustic, to me, means the sum of the parts of the wine, and mouthfeel to a lesser quantity, provides an overall impression. The impression typically embodies an earthy, woodsy, musky profile and it is easier to receive the “rustic” impression with the greater absence of strong bright fruit.

Therefore, polished is a term that describes a flavor profile or (an allover) impression that is more mouthfeel and fruit orientated (not necessarily meant to imply fruit forward).

I prefer more rustic wines.

Here is my question, does cleanliness and focus equate to polish?

[Jay_Miller]

@John Morris

I think of it as the opposite of refined, but not necessarily a bad thing. Think Verset Cornas. Or Armagnac vs. Cognac.

Yes, that’s how I would use it. Definitely not a pejorative unless used in a form such as “definitely a bit too rustic”.

I am puzzed by rustic and polished though.

[dteng]

Dirty.
In small quantities, dirty can be good.

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

For every flaw, there’s a fan, it seems…I think. Different strokes…

[Wes_Barton]

I use it as a characterization, not as a descriptor per se. If I can describe a wine more simply with precise descriptors, I won’t use it. So really, to me, it’s a combination of factors not found in a polished wine that give it a rustic feel.

It can be good or bad, as in “rough, simple, rustic” or “lovely rustic complexity of…” A good example to me is McHenry Pinot Noir.

[John_D_Zuccarino]

@Stuart BeauneHead Niemtzow

For every flaw, there’s a fan, it seems…I think. Different strokes…

had a producer have a bad batch of wine and like a blockhead he did not take it off the market… he expounded the way it smelled like cheese… and a few people bought it and raved about it…

[mike_pobega]

I just dumped an ‘extra’ rustic bottle down the drain.

[Stuart_BeauneHead_Niemtzow]

good one, Mike

Frankly, “polished” sounds just as much of a negative as “rustic”, to me. Maybe even more so, because it includes a value judgment.

[Frank_Murray_III]

I occasionally use this term in my own notes, although not often. As opposed to what was written above, I neither see it meaning brett/barnyard nor something perjorative. Instead, when I use the term,it’s a way of attaching an impression of course to my affective experience with a quality in the wine, I would use it to suggest something that has an earthy, perhaps an astringent quality, both together. Again, I don’t see the term as a negative and in fact, as opposed to a wine with elevated alcohol, big shoulders and sweet fruit, I’d rustic as a counter to these descriptors, somethingh that could be satisfying, that awakens my palate.