Wine Focus: May - What is Minerality

[David M. Bueker]

We all talk about it. Robin wrote about it on Substack this week. Meg Maker wrote about it in her latest piece. It shows up in tasting notes. It’s settled science that vines don’t just suck up minerals to dump them into the grapes, and so into the wines. The easy answer is that it’s acidity, but why does “minerality” come through in so many different ways.

Minerality - what the heck is it?

[Robin Garr]

Great topic! I know I love it, but ... maybe that's enough?

Minerality - what the heck is it?

I thought we all agreed that it was a convenient term for summarizing the mouthfeel and flavors associated with high-acid wines. The reason it comes through in so many different ways is because 'acidity' is not a simple thing!

[David M. Bueker]

But it shows up in wines that are not high acid.

But it shows up in wines that are not high acid.

Ok, anything you're thinking of in particular?

I'm not a chemist, but I suspect it's the same thing as all of our wine descriptors (pain grille, cassis, mousey, etc), in that there are compounds that evoke those aromas/flavors, but it's not like there are mice or cassis berries in the wine.

The only difference I can think of is that of course minerals are present in water and leave slight flavors there, but hopefully the quality wine is not mixed with water!

[Jenise]

Years ago I read or heard someone suggest that minerality is the umami of the wine world, that it's that other flavor that you can't quite define or put a name to. I've always used it as a 2nd tier generalization when I can't be more specific and point to something like chalk, flint or limestone.

I've never understood the term and still don't.

-Paul W.

[David M. Bueker]

But it shows up in wines that are not high acid.

Ok, anything you're thinking of in particular?

Ramey Chardonnays, many Red Bordeaux, of course we can then debate what is or isn't high acid.

...many Red Bordeaux...

Now that you mention it, I'm not sure if I've ever described a red wine as 'mineral'. Am more likely to describe them having 'metallic' qualities, especially with age. But I suppose some young red wines as well, so I do know what you mean.

[Robin Garr]

...many Red Bordeaux...

Now that you mention it, I'm not sure if I've ever described a red wine as 'mineral'. Am more likely to describe them having 'metallic' qualities, especially with age. But I suppose some young red wines as well, so I do know what you mean.

I’d nominate sone Loire Cab Francs for the title. And Pineau d’Aunis.

[David M. Bueker]

Having spent large amounts of time in industrial settings, where various substances are being cut, pulverized, etc., I have come across any number of aromas that resonate with wine. Same with working across the street from an airport for 34 years. I have a distinct reference point for the “petrol” aroma in Riesling - jet fuel.

Like many wine descriptors, I think "minerality" is a sort of simile, or perhaps metaphor. It attempts to equate wine flavours with others which not floral, not fruity, not vegetal, not spicy and not animal. Specific examples of "mineral" aromas are flint, steel, tar, salt and pebbles but, where it is hard to be specific, I have no objections to the use of "mineral" or "minerality" as a catch all. Indeed I often do it myself.

As others say, mineral flavours are most often found in high acidity wines but IMO that includes some of the very best sweet wines, like German prädikat Rieslings, Vouvray and Coteaux du Layon moelleux, etc. I do find mineral notes in red wines, especially those from the French Atlantic facade like Médoc, Saumur, Chinon and as far inland as Cahors.

Like many wine descriptors, I think "minerality" is a sort of simile, or perhaps metaphor. It attempts to equate wine flavours with others which not floral, not fruity, not vegetal, not spicy and not animal. Specific examples of "mineral" aromas are flint, steel, tar, salt and pebbles but, where it is hard to be specific, I have no objections to the use of "mineral" or "minerality" as a catch all. Indeed I often do it myself.

As others say, mineral flavours are most often found in high acidity wines but IMO that includes some of the very best sweet wines, like German prädikat Rieslings, Vouvray and Coteaux du Layon moelleux, etc. I do find mineral notes in red wines, especially those from the French Atlantic facade like Médoc, Saumur, Chinon and as far inland as Cahors.

For me, the two wines that show the most reliable mineral character are Chablis and Muscadet. There is the temptation, I am sure, to draw some sort of through line to Kimmeridgian limestone but as a devout empiricist I will not do so.

BTW, a French friend of mine tells me that the term "minerality" as used in the French wine press applies only to taste and not to the nose of the wine, which is interesting to me since I normally get what I think of as mineral notes in the nose.

[David M. Bueker]

You thinking of that petrichor aroma Mark?

BTW, a French friend of mine tells me that the term "minerality" as used in the French wine press applies only to taste and not to the nose of the wine, which is interesting to me since I normally get what I think of as mineral notes in the nose.

Interesting! As a regular reader of French wine writing for many years, I have never noticed that and I don't think it makes much sense as aromas are perceived both on the nose and on the palate. However, I'll pay more attention in future.

I have also seen the term "minéral" used in French writings on classical music performance, about which I also read a lot. It seems to refer to a more pungent type of music making in contrast to the suaver and more plushy approach of, say, Karajan at Berlin or Ormandy at Philadelphia.

[David M. Bueker]

I would think that minerality in the aromas would point more towards reduction.

You thinking of that petrichor aroma Mark?

Not exactly, David. I am quite familiar with the smell of geosmin and do identify it in wines from time to time. This I'd term more "flinty" for lack of a better descriptor.

[David M. Bueker]

You thinking of that petrichor aroma Mark?

Not exactly, David. I am quite familiar with the smell of geosmin and do identify it in wines from time to time. This I'd term more "flinty" for lack of a better descriptor.

Gotcha. That said, flinty feels more like a reduction product to me.

You thinking of that petrichor aroma Mark?

Not exactly, David. I am quite familiar with the smell of geosmin and do identify it in wines from time to time. This I'd term more "flinty" for lack of a better descriptor.

Gotcha. That said, flinty feels more like a reduction product to me.

That's interesting. I think of reductive odors more in the vein of sulfury off-notes than something that IMO adds to the complexity of the nose.

[David M. Bueker]

Given that flint doesn’t really give off any aroma unless it’s being machined, broken, or struck, the product of those actions certainly strikes (!) me as reductive. More romantically “Coche-like.”