Analysis of the Wines’ Sensory Profiles

Present with at least one term in 83.8% of the reviews analyzed, the descriptors related to fruit summarize the wine’s general character very clearly.

The most commonly mentioned descriptor in the fruit category for Alta Langa wines is apple (fairly often with specific types, like green, pippin or golden). Citrus in general comes in a close second and, at some distance, references to a specific fruit (peach, plum, pineapple, pear, gooseberry, medlar, lemon, cumquat, lychee and mango).

It is interesting to note that the descriptor ‘apple’ is applied to wines whose vineyards lie below 360 meters in altitude (88%), which may be accounted for by higher sugar content and, in general, less acidity.

Fruit descriptors are used significantly more often when there are more Pinot nero grapes in the blend (over 30%).
Conversely, the terms associated with citrus fruit in general, or specifically to citron, lemon and tangerine and the like, are strictly linked to vineyards at higher altitudes: almost seven out of ten appear in tasting reviews of Alta Langa wines made from grapes grown at altitudes higher than 340 meters.

There are years, like 2016 and 2014, when the citrus notes appear more frequently than in others. The presence of these descriptors is associated with the wines’ acidity, usually the result of greater altitude or irregular climatic conditions.
Alta Langa wines with a proportion of Chardonnay ranging from 80% to 100% accounted for 64.6% of the total samples in which a citrus note was sensed.

The link between fruit descriptors and geological context is another essential and fundamental element of the terroir. In sandy and arenaceous soils, Alta Langa wine is often more textured and has a tighter structure, even at extreme altitudes. The wine’s fruity aroma was described using terms like apple, peach and pear, candied citron or nectarine, underscoring the presence of both an acidic and a sweet component. Instead, for wines from prevalently calcareous soils – calcareous marl, white clays and carbonate rocks – there was a greater frequency of descriptors related to citrus fruit.

By the term “mineral”, we mean a series of olfactory sensations emitted by inorganic sources: flint, gypsum, algae, talc, rock salt, naphtha, limestone, kerosene, iodine, sea salt, hydrocarbons, etc.

The most frequently reported in Alta Langa wines were those with a “light tone”: from chalk to iodine to the various declinations of salt (smoked, gray, iodized, sea salt, etc.).

Flint was present with some frequency, more so when the base wine was aged in wooden containers.
There is no correlation between the “mineral” notes and the principal elements of the terroir.
Instead, if one considers the climatic conditions over the season, one finds that in years that are relatively low in sunlight, colder and with greater day-night temperature differences during the summer months, the mineral notes become darker (iron). In warmer years with more sunlight, the “light” mineral notes prevail, like iodine, sea salt, talc and chalk.
Finally, insofar as the link between these notes and the grape varietal utilized, there was no significant difference between Chardonnay and Pinot nero.

Over 55% of the reviews included at least one descriptor associated with flowers, sometimes with specific nuances (wilted roses, dog rose, yellow jasmine), sometimes precise and taxonomic (hawthorn, linden, wisteria, peony, acacia, orange blossom, etc.) and sometimes more generic (yellow flowers, white flowers, wildflowers, or even just ‘floral’).
The term most frequently reported by far – white flowers – was used above all to describe Alta Langa wines made with a greater proportion of Chardonnay (at least 70%).
Alta Langa wines (other than rosés) with a greater proportion of Pinot nero (>70%) are described with specific flower names: linden, yellow flowers, wisteria, yellow jasmine, dandelion, and also lavender and iris. Of the above, the most frequently cited was linden.
Orange blossom was a constant descriptor for wines from vineyards at high altitudes (over 520 meters asl).
Regarding the relationship between floral aromas and geological matrix, there was a tendency to report white flowers for Alta Langa wines coming from vineyards planted on calcareous marls, and yellow flowers for vineyards planted on sandy or arenaceous soils and stratified formations.

The generic descriptor ‘yeast’ was associated with just 5% of the samples tested. It was followed, in diminishing order, by the classic descriptors; bread crust and smell of fresh bread, pastry, toasted bread, brioche and shortbread. The last two were only mentioned in association with Alta Langa whose base wine had been aged in oak.

Aging base wine in wooden containers accounts for the many mentions of spiced aromas in the final product. Apart from the commonly used general descriptor – spices, without any further specification – the aroma most frequently reported for wines aged in wood was vanilla (20%).

Cinnamon was also often mentioned in the tastings, as well as boisé (oaky), with equal frequency.

Other spices mentioned, in order of frequency, were; pepper (more often white pepper), coriander, aniseed, ginger, cumin and saffron. White pepper was far and away the most frequently reported spice descriptor for Alta Langa wines that had not “touched” wood in any of the production stages.

Apart from the aromas described above, the quality of the profile is also augmented by the presence of fresh scents of herbs and plants.

For Alta Langa wines, the descriptor used most often is grain, in general, and much less frequently, specific types of grain (barley, malt, wheat and rice flour).

Alongside these we have some other derivatives, i.e. those associated with fermentation: the generic dried plants and the more specific hay, straw, sorghum and tobacco.

Grasses appear with the generic term (grass, mown grass, sorrel or lemon verbena, fern, horseradish, glasswort and seaweed) or with descriptors from the subfamily of aromatic herbs (thyme, mint, sage). A final word for the term moss, reserved for Alta Langa wines from high altitude vineyards: above 450 meters asl.

Dried fruit aromas were often reported by tasters of Alta Langa wines (hazelnut and almond, walnut husk, peanut butter and walnut oil).

Other descriptors mentioned that cannot be easily classifiable in any of the above categories accounted for less than 2% of the total responses.

Toasted, balsamic and smoky are descriptors associated with aging the base wine in wood, at least in part (100% of cases for smoky, 66% for toasted and 50% for balsamic).