Pleasure :
Here we refer to immediate pleasure, pure and simple.
This criteria mainly concerns simple or average wines. As well as offering an immediate pleasure, fine wines can also offer a cultural pleasure. The finer the wine, the greater its cultural importance. In this case, the pleasure derives from the cultural knowledge of the taster and his ability to appreciate the elegance, finesse and complexity of the wine. Above all, he should be able to appreciate the overall harmony of the sensations and the emotional dimension of the wine.
A note of less than 3 signifies, according to different cases, that the wine has a structural fault that badly affects it, or, in the case of a quality wine, that it is going through an austere transitional phase.
The other criteria will allow us to judge in which category the wine falls.
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Strength :
Strength, or power, is a difficult criteria to explain. Simply translated, it is the way in which the wine feels in the mouth, and its ability to express itself with a strongly-flavoured or aromatic dish. Strength can be translated by a wine's character or personality.
A fine wine should have a sufficient strength, and thus a note of not less than 3. Above this note, strength can be a handicap for the wine: it might be difficult to serve with a meal because of its exceptional strength of character, for example. In theory, a wine that has been aged loses some of its strength. We talk, for example, of "vins de dentelle" (literally lacey wines). The note becomes 2 or 1. Similarly, you will need to pair these fine wines with sufficiently delicate dishes to appreciate their elegance.
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Complexity :
A fine wine at its peak should be complex, with a note of 4 or 5. A note of 3 signifies a wine that has a good complexity but doesn't arouse a special enthusiasm.
With few exceptions, very young wines cannot claim to be really complex, so it is normal that they should be given a note of 2. This would also be the case for fine, structured wines going though a dumb phase when the nose is a little closed (around 3 to 6 years on average).
In less good vintages (1987, 1991, 1992, 1993, 1997) the compexity develops much more rapidly than during a great year, sometimes after just 3 to 4 years.


Concentration :
A wine is much more concentrated than it first appears, revealing itself gradually in the mouth. It is broken down by saliva and reveals, little by little, its procession of sapid sensations and flavours. Concentration is essentially the result of good quality, very ripe grapes and a vinification that favours extraction.
This criteria is often linked to the criteria of strength and roundness. Nevertheless, each of these criteria has its own centre of gravity that one can define and distinguish by combining each of them with a list of descriptive terms that they bring.


Elegance :
This is an undisputed criteria of quality. Whether the wine be young or old, it must be elegant. We associate elegance with terms of harmony, aromatic purity, class, breeding and beauty.


Finesse :
An essential criteria. A fine wine will show an element of finesse in one way or another, despite the fact that it may also express other seemingly contradictory elements such as strength, structure and body. In reality, a fine wine will gain the statute of an exceptional wine by its ability to combine extremes such as finesse, power and structure.
When ageing, the wine will generally lose progressively some of its strength, while gaining in finesse. We talk of "vins de dentelle", literally wines of lace. As a rule, the finest wines are older wines that have evolved magnificently to become even better.
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Fruit notes :
A wine is necessarily fruity. It is its natural base. Nevertheless the fruitiness will be more or less masked, perhaps even crushed, by certain other families of aromas that can impose themselves.
In a young wine, the fruitiness is in general more evident than in an older wine. Likewise, a lighter wine will be fruitier than a more robust wine. In Bordeaux, the lesser vintages such as 1987, 1992, 1997 show more fruit than in richer years such as 1996 or 1995. In fact, in very rich years the fruit potential is higher but there are more aromas that conflict with the fruit.


Oaky notes :
The oakiness comes primarily from ageing the wine in new oak barrels.
It can also be the expression of the richness of tannins in a wine, but in general the latter expresses itself more by more vegetal or spicy notes than oaky ones.
A note of 4 or 5 is excessive and signifies an imbalance of aromas, possibly temporary.
The oak can soften with age and become gradually integrated, but this is not always the case.


Vegetal notes :
In theory, the vegetal note should not exceed 3. A higher note signifies a wine that is excessively vegetal.
Some wines are naturally vegetal, in which case it is normal to find vegetal notes as these are part of the wine's elegance. For other wines, those that have no reason to be vegetal, this can be sign of a fault


Spicy notes :
There exists an amazing variety of spicy aromas. Their effect on the character of the wine can make all the difference. As for the effect on the taste, we can group them in two main families. On the one hand you have soft spices whose sweetness and complexity always has a positive effect on the aromatic expression of the wine; on the other, spices that have a more forceful impact, such as pepper and cloves, which can sometimes excentuate the austere expression of a wine, hardening the overall impression.


Animal notes :
They can appear progressively in wines that are reduced (lack oxygen) but are more usually found in aged wines. All though more common in red wines, they can also exist in white wines.
On the one hand we distinguish :
elegant animal notes (leather, fur...), which add to the complexity of a wine and contribute to its overall balance.These form part of the typicity of fine Burgundies in particular.
Then there are cruder animal notes (farmyard, stable, goat...) which can depreciate the wine, sometimes quite considerably.


Floral notes :
These can be found in white and red wines. Nevertheless they are more present on the bouquet of white wines.
They nearly always contribute to the quality of a wine and its complexity. They are more forward in elegant wines than more structured ones.


Mineral notes :
Mineral notes surface during the ageing of white wines (Riesling, dry Chenins, Burgundies...) and are, in theory, a sign of quality in a wine.
In red wines, they are rarer, expressing themselves more during the youthful phase of certain wines. They are often synoymous with an austerity in the mouth.
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Crispness :
The crispness or freshness of a wine is the expression of its acidity (ph and total acidity). It is necessary because it gives the wine its thirstquenching quality. Nevertheless it must stay in its place. A note of 3 is the rule for the majority of balanced wines. A note of 2 is less favourable and hints at an imbalance. The wine begins by revealing a softness and should evolve quite rapidly due to a lack of balance. A note of 4 is generally given to very young and nervous wines. It is also quite common in Champagnes, white Burgundy and Riesling...
A note of 5 is, in the majority of cases, a strong sanction, with the wines showing a marked imbalance.


Roundness :
This criteria should be noted 3 or above in the case of very well made wines. It is a criteria that expresses a tasting pleasure, generous matter and ampleness. As a rule it is a criteria of pleasure which balances the austere side of a wine (acidity and bitterness, tannins, vegetal character...).


Persistence :
The tasting persistence should be noted 3 or above for quality wines. A note of 4 or eventually 5 will be given to the best wines, which are at their peak. The finest wines distinguish themselves here.
Of course, the tasting length is only positive if it is of the most pleasant, harmonious and complex nature possible. In the case that it is unpleasant, it will be an additional handicap for the wine.
Wines often have a short lengthj when they are young or when they are going through an austere phase, before gaining in length as they reach their peak..


Tannins :
The presence of tannins in a wine can be a plus or a handicap. Everything depends on their quality. Nevertheless, a note of 3 suggests a harmonious balance between the tannic side of a wine and its roundness.
A note of 4 signifies an important presence of tannins in the mouth, which are still acceptable when the wine is matched with certain strongly-flavoured dishes.
A note of 5 is extremely rare, and in theory unjustifiable.
Notes of 2 or 1 don't necessarily suggest a fault. In these cases, little or no tannins can be found on the palate, favouring the softness of the wine.
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