aromas & flavours

ACACIA
Acacia (F) Akazie (G) Acacia (I) Acacia (S)
The flowery autolytic aroma of a recently disgorged sparkling wine.
Methyl p-tolyl ketone

APPLE BLOSSOM
Fleur de pommier (F) Apfelblüten (G) Fiori di melo (I) Flor del manzano (S)
Youthful Riesling and Champagne.
anisic acid, amyl acetate

CARNATION
Oeillet (F) Nelke (G) Garofano (I) Clavel (S)
One of four olfactory defects known collectively as the 'Phenol' character, caused by an enzymic decarboxylation by yeast of two cinnamic acids.
Vinyl-4-guaiacol

ELDERFLOWER
Fleur de sureau (F) Holunderblüten (G) Fiore della bacca di sambuco (I) Flor del sauco del saúco (S)
Polite/low-key 'cat's pee', this extreme form of herbaceousness can be found in a number of grapes when harvested underripe, particularly Sauvignon Blanc, but can also be Sémillon and Cabernets.
Pyrazines.

FLORAL
Floral, floraux (F) Blumenbukett (G) Sapore di fiori (I) Aflorado(S)
Generic flowery aroma, usually light and fresh.
Linaloöl, 2-phenylethanol, methyl 2-methylpropanoate, various aldehydes

FLOWERY- FRUITY
Fleuri-fruité (F) Blumig-fruchtig (G) Fiorito-fruttato (I) Aflorado-afrutado (S)
In terms of development, this could be viewed as a few months more bottle-age than floral
b-damascenone, ethyl hexanoate

GERANIUM
Géranium (F) Geranie (G) Geranio (I) Geranio (S)
Sorbic acid (preservative that prevents refermentation in sweet wine, but has no effect on its bacterial activity) without sufficient SO2 is prone to breakdown by lactic bacteria, causing strong geranium odour (2-ethoxy-3.5-hexadiene), although other compounds can produce a similar smell, such as those created during the oxidation of geraniol (old Asti).
Hexa-2,4,dienol, 2-ethoxy hexa-3,5-diene, glycyrrhyzin, geraniol dehydrogenase

LAVENDER
Lavande (F) Lavendel (G) Lavanda (I) Espliego (S)
Australian Rieslings often have a lime and lavender character, the latter often attributed to the addition of pectolytic enzymes to free aromatic terpenes.
Linalyl acetate

LILAC
Lilas (F) Flieder (G) Lilla (I) Lila (S)
Found in some herbaceous reds and peppery Rhônes. Can be overpowering in Muscadine.
a-terpineol

LILY OF THE VALLEY
Muguet (F) Maiglöckchen (G) Mughetto (I) Lirio del valle (S)
New World Gewürztraminer.
Linaloöl

LIME TREE (LINDEN)
Tilleul (F) Lindenbaum (G) Tiglio (I) Tilo (S)
Youthful Riesling.
Hotrienol

MAGNOLIA
Magnolia (F) Magnolie (G) Magnolia (I) Magnolia (S)
Characteristic of a Muscadine grape variety actually called Magnolia, this distinctly floral aroma can also be found in wines made from other grapes.
Geranyl acetone

ORANGE BLOSSOM
Fleur d'oranger (F) Orangenblüten (G) Fiori d'arancio (I) Azahar (S)
Youthful dry Muscat
Anisic acid, limonene, citronellol

ROSE PETAL
Pétale de rose (F) Rosenblatt (G) Petalo di rosa (I) Pétalo de rosa (S)
Rose oxide is partly responsible for the floral aspect of Gewürztraminer.
Cis-rose oxide, geraniol, nerol, irone, citronellol, citronellyl acetate, b-damascenone, 2-phenyl ethanol

VIOLET
Violette (F) Veilchen (G) Violetta (I) Violeta (S)
Found as part of a silky finish on a number of red wines, particularly Malbec and to a lesser extent Graves.
Ionones