Oak and Tannin

Oak?  Tannin?  The focus of November's Wine Club session was to compare two similar whites and two reds to learn about the presence of oak and tannin respectively.

Your moderator started the session by explaining the rationale for the use of oak barrels, how they are made and the detectable flavors. Oak doesn’t make wine taste woody, it often adds a vanilla aroma.

 Although fellow Brownstone dwellers needed no introduction, a section of recently sanded oak was passed around to remind class members of the aroma.

Two Chardonnay wines were compared:

Louis Jadot Pouilly Fuissé  2010 ($27), an unoaked white burgundy from the Macon region of France.

Beringer Napa Valley Chardonnay 2010 ($15), a California Chardonnay, aged in oak barrels or casks.

One taster felt that Wine No. 2 was more intense.  Another remarked on the aroma of Wine No. 1. Tasters remarked that Wine No. 1 was slightly golden while Wine No. 2 resembled pale straw.  Another noticed the pure fruit flavor of Wine No. 2.

Unfortunately, only one of our tasters was able to correctly identify Wine No. 1 as the unoaked French Chardonnay and Wine No. 2 as the oaky California Chardonnay.


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Next, we moved on to tannin, often associated with red wines. Tannin is an anti-herbivore agent, a defensive mechanism to make certain plans unattractive to animals. Tannin is present in tea, and accounts for the bitter taste when tea has been steeped too long. We were also able to taste a tiny amount of acorn tea -- very bitter, very tannic.

Two red wines were compared:

J. Lohr Paso Robles Cabernet Sauvignon 2010 ($15.59), a California Cabernet.

Wild Horse Central Coast Pinot Noir 2010 ($26), a California Pinot Noir.

Cabernets are known for being tannic, Pinot Noirs are not.

Tasters discussed the wines.  One found Wine No. 1 to be "furrier", that sandpapery feeling when you rub your tongue across the top of your mouth after drinking a wine.  Another taster concurred.

Wine No. 1 was considered darker than Wine No. 2.  One taster described Wine No. 1 as "agate" and Wine No. 2 as "ruby".

Warm aromas and sharp aromas were discussed.  One taster felt they sensed an animal aroma, similar to being close to another person.

In this tasting the class unanimously and correctly identified Wine No. 1 as the more tannic Cabernet, and Wine No. 2 as the less tannic Pinot Nolir.

We discussed matching wine and food. Most found the Cabernet heavier, suited to a porterhouse steak.  Wines for food and wines for sipping were discussed.