Funny/Ridiculous Flavor Descriptions in Wine

[Melanie R.]

Being new to the wine world, I am often surprised by what people claim to taste and/or smell in wines. I think the funniest one I have come across so far is "molasses covered twigs" (on http://www.cellartracker.com, describing a Kopke 1980 Colheita).

Anyone have any similarly laughable terms they can share?

[Glenn E.]

*cough* Andy...

[Roy Hersh]

I used mollasses in a Madeira I had earlier tonight in a tasting note, but using the stuff to cover twigs?

I can't admit to knowing what that would be like. It doesn't sound terrible though.

Great thread Melanie.

[Andy Velebil]

How about this one from the same tasting note...

and a huge Douglass fir tree burl covered in sap in the middle of winter

I don't know about you, but I'm not exactly licking a tree's burl which is covered in sap to find out if this reviewer was right.


Glenn on the other hand, can put this person's TN to shame with some of his descriptors

[Glenn E.]

Glenn on the other hand, can put this person's TN to shame with some of his descriptors

What, you mean that "Converse sneaker rubber" isn't a common TN descriptor?

But aren't you the one who has a descriptor that involves a baby???

[Andy Velebil]

But aren't you the one who has a descriptor that involves a baby???

Yes but I believe that was describing the scent a particular Port had which closely resembled that of a dirty diaper.

[Roy Hersh]

And we know how many of them Andy has changed.

[Melanie R.]

Dirty diaper is a very off-putting aroma....how did the Port taste? (Or did you taste it?)

[Marc J.]

I've always been amused by the "Forest floor" tasting note reference. Did the taster at some point lick a forest floor in order to know what it tasted like? I must say that "Converse sneaker rubber" is also a classic......

Marc

[Andy Velebil]

I've always been amused by the "Forest floor" tasting note reference. Did the taster at some point lick a forest floor in order to know what it tasted like? I must say that "Converse sneaker rubber" is also a classic......

Marc

Not on purpose, but as a kid at summer camp and during mountain bike rides I've face planted enough to know how tasty it can be

[Eric Menchen]

I'll admit to making a forest floor reference, but it should have been for an aroma, not a taste, as I have never eaten the forest floor. And on the tree thing, I've made a distinction between spruce and pine in describing hop aromas, but I have no idea what a tree burl covered in sap tastes like. I've tasted something made with spruce tips, but I'll admit I don't really remember what it tasted like.

We need J. Peterman to write up some TNs.

[Glenn E.]

I've made a distinction between spruce and pine in describing hop aromas

I've done that in Port as well. I didn't think anyone else actually knew the difference! A couple of my uncles worked at nurseries while I was growing up, so I was exposed to a wide variety of tree/shrub scents and knew what each one was. It often takes a while (and some prodding) to dig that information out of my brain's archival storage, but it's still there!

[Moses Botbol]

Dirty diaper is a very off-putting aroma....how did the Port taste? (Or did you taste it?)

I've heard "tasted like the port/wine was poured through a diry diaper". Usually associated to old wines with bottle stink.