Mining Minerals!

The sommelier
proclaimed,

“Minerals!”

I scratched my
head.

Minerality is the
OM of wine tasting.

But what do
minerals smell like? In elementary school, I grew some
minerals in science class. They didn’t smell of
anything.

But wine
professionals frequently use the terms “mineral” and
“minerality” to describe something about wine aroma and
palate impact. They associate the word with wines which they
believe show terroir. Most are simply communicating their
impression that a wine comes from the “Old World” and is of
high quality. It has been my experience teaching wine
tasting that this half step towards understanding the word
does not enhance blind tasting performance. I have recently
pressed more credible “mineralists” to explain more
precisely what they are smelling and tasting. They have
responded with “wet stone”, “wet dog”, “chalky”,
“flintiness”, “diesel”, “cinders”, “char”, “high acidity”,
and “salinity”.

There are
sources of these smells which are not related to vineyard
soil. Sulfur compounds in the wine can account for a good
number of these attributes, particularly flintiness, wet dog
and diesel. The source of this sulfur is from the use of
elemental sulfur as an anti-fungal in the vineyard or from
SO2 additions in the winery. During the fermentation, yeast
working in either an oxygen or nitrogen deficient
environment creates distinctive sulfur containing compounds
that smell like a struck match, flintiness, rotten egg,
rotten onion, boiled and buttered cauliflower, creamed corn,
and wet dog. Sulfur-containing precursor compounds are also
associated with cabernet family wines, particularly
Sauvignon Blanc. The smell of chalk could be attributed to
chalk coming in on the grapes. When we first dip our nose
into a glass of freshly poured sparkling wine, we smell the
burst of CO2 gas as chalkiness. Diesel smells are connected
with Riesling varietal wines. Many people either associate
this smell with mature Riesling or Riesling grown on the
slate-surfaced vineyards such as are common to the
Mosel-Saar-Ruwer and other areas in Germany. I find diesel
in both young and old Riesling. I also find it in Rieslings
that do not come from slate. Cinders and char are linked
with Syrah. They are also linked with lees contact, charred
barrels and dekkera brettanomyces. Acidity on the palate
creates a tingling character in the mouth. High acidity in
wine is more closely linked to climate, maturation and grape
variety than to soil. The source of a saline taste in wine
could be proximity to the sea. Salt-loaded breezes dumping
their salt on grapeskins could be one source. The same
breezes in the vicinity of vinification and maturation
activities could also be the vector. Only the descriptor,
“wet stone” defies attribution to any cause. Other than the
olfactory sensation of H2O vapor, what is the smell of wet
stones? If you put some stones in your mouth, what is the
taste?

The Mecca for
mineralists however is Chablis. The locals in Chablis intone
“meeneraleetay” at every refrain. Unoaked Chablis a year or
two distant from its fermentation is the vehicle for this
minerality. Some locals here point to a seashell loaded clay
soil called Kimmeridgean; others to a blocky limestone soil
called Portlandian. Where the vrai (true) Chablis comes from
seems to depend on what soil characterizes your vineyard.
The Kimmeridgean and the Portlandian camps have had their
shouting matches. A meeting of the minds can be found
regarding the origin of each soil, seashells and marine
animal skeletons. A visit to Chablis some six months ago
inspired this article. When I was there everyone I spoke to
intoned “meeneraleetay” but no one I met there could help me
identify the attached smells and tastes in the wine.

Minerality in
wine is most often associated with soils that were once upon
a time immersed under saline seas or rivers. These soils
contain high concentrations of marine fossils, which, in
some cases remain intact and, in other cases, are smashed up
into bits, even so finely as to become pulverized.

The vineyard
areas with marine-origin soils were thousands and millions
of years ago the bottoms and shores of basins of saline
water. The marine fossils are most easily identifiable where
they appear as shell beds. Such fossil shell beds are common
in many parts of Italy, particularly in Central Italy. In
such areas, the fossils are intact appearing as normal sea
shells. I have been told that if the seal of an intact
seashell is broached, the oxygen contact immediately
disintegrates the animal remains. Others tell me that
opening up such soils can unleash the smell of rotting
shellfish, crustaceans and fish. Where there is an
occasional fossil in soil, it has either been deposited by
sedimentation or moved there by alluvial forces. The fossils
are usually mixed either with sand, as is the case in soils
around the town of San Gimignano in Italy, or with clay, as
is the case in the area of Valdera near the city of Pisa.

At a February
2OO6 event in San Gimignano entitled “Chablis and Vernaccia
Di San Gimignano, Affinity and Diversity”, Walter Sovran,
winemaker at San Gimignano’s Fattoria Il Palagio explained
to me how the two dominant soil types, sandy-marine-fossil
and fossil-less clay of San Gimignano impact Vernaccia wine.
Organoleptically, Sovran claimed that there is usually a
flinty aroma and a saline aftertaste in the marine-fossil
wines. He had me taste wines that came from both soils. The
sandy-marine soil wines showed the pungent smell of struck
flintstone. This character seemed to become more pronounced
with more bottle age. A slight saltiness embedded in the
wine’s acidity reminded me of the taste of saltwater. The
clay wines were fruitier and rounder, but were not
“mineral”.

Where marine
fossil soils are a chalky powder, they are the result of
thousands and millions of years of sedimentation. Marine
animals died in the sea, floated to the bottom, where their
skeletons disintegrated. Depending on the pressure of soil
and water, the sediments compacted to form a calcareous
chalky layer of varied friability and hardness. This kind of
soil identifies the terroir of Champagne. In the Charentes
area a similar kind of soil defines the Grande Champagne
area where the finest Cognac base wines are produced. In
Jerez in Spain, albariza is the local name for their white
chalky soil.

Whether marine
fossil soils are granular, blocky but friable, or fossils
intermixed with sand or clay, the vine roots can plunge
deeply into the soil. The more concentrated the marine
fossil deposits, the less fertile the soil is. The vines are
smaller, have less vegetation, and bear smaller bunches. The
marine fossils, whether they are intact or in powder form,
create a soil which is remarkably resistant to either an
excess or a scarcity of water. According to the many growers
that I have spoken to in Champagne, their vines have never
shown water stress. The marine fossils can absorb the water
and efficiently feed the water to the rootlets. In the
Romagna hills, there is a marine fossil soil associated with
the finest Albana wines. The soil is called, spungone
romagnolo, meaning the “large sponge of Romagna”.

Another
characteristic of these soils is their high pH. Marine
fossil soils are potassium deficient. Potassium deficient
soils produce low pH wines. Experiments show that marine
fossil soils result in high acid wines.

Marine Fossil
Vineyard Areas

FRANCE Chablis,
Champagne, Charentes , Chateauneuf du Pape region of France,
St. Emilion (around the village of St. Emilion), and
Menetou-Salon

GREECE On the
western shore of the Khalkidhiki Promontory near the town of
Epanomi.

ITALY
Emilia-Romagna: hillsides that stretch from Bertinoro west
to Imola (the spungone romagnolo); Tuscany: East of Cecina,
north of Volterra, the hills of medium to low elevation in
the valley of the Arno, from Siena area to Montepulciano,
from Montepulciano to Radicofani, southeast of Scansano;
Lazio: Orvieto; and Piedmont: Roero, Valmaggiore,

SPAIN Jerez
(Albariza)

USA Paso Robles
AVA in San Luis Obispo County in California, and areas south
of Santa Maria in northern Santa Barbara County.

Identifying
Marine Fossil Character in Wine

The outstanding
organoleptic characteristics of wines that come from marine
fossil soils are flintiness in the nose and a saline quality
in the mid-palate and finish. Flintiness and salinity,
however, are subtle characteristics in wines.

The easiest type
of wine in which to find these characteristics are
non-aromatic white wines that have not been fermented or
matured in contact with new oak. The new oak contact masks
the flintiness, particularly when the wine is young. The
saline quality however can be strong even in wines which
have been matured/fermented in contact with new oak. It is
easiest to note wine salinity in low acid wines such as Fino
and Manzanilla Sherries. The sensation of salinity occurs
simultaneously with that of acidity. Though a visit to
Chablis inspired this article, the several Chablis that I
have tasted recently have not shown the mineral characters I
associate with marine fossil soils. I need to taste a wider
range of Chablis.

Flintiness in
red wines is rare. Finding salinity in reds is more
difficult than finding it in whites. Astringent and bitter
red wine flavors confuse the perception of salinity. I
sensed salinity in the San Gervasio Rosso and the two
Sangioveses and the Mito from Fattoria Paradiso. Red wines
that come from marine soils are light in color, usually fine
and elegant, rarely big and tannic. Well made examples
improve with bottle age. I heard this from a number of
sources and have always found it in the wines. Merlot and
Cabernet Franc have a good track record in these
soils.

In bottle
fermented sparkling wines, lees smell overwhelms flintiness.
The two Champagnes listed at left showed salinity. In Fino
and Manzanilla Sherries, flor character overwhelms
flintiness but there is usually a salty taste.

Marine Fossil
Wines to Try

FRANCE WHITE
WINE

Domaine de
Chatenoy, Menetou-Salon, 2OO5, Loire

ITALY WHITE
WINE

San Quirico, I
Campi Santi, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2OO1,
Tuscany

La Lastra ,
Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2OO4, Tuscany

La Lastra,
Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 1998, Tuscany

Cesani, Sanice,
Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2OO3, Tuscany

San Gervasio,
Chardonnay, 2OO4, Valdera, Tuscany

San Gervasio,
Recinaio, 1999 (Trebbiano 8O%, San Colombano 2O%),
Tuscany

Montenidoli,
Fiore, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2OO4 Tuscany

Montenidoli,
Templare, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2OO1,
Tuscany

Montenidoli,
Carato, Vernaccia di San Gimignano, 2OO2, Tuscany

Fattoria
Paradiso, Pagedebit, “Vigna dello Spungone” 2OO5,
Emilia-Romagna

Fattoria
Paradiso, Albana secco, 2OO5, Emilia-Romagna

Fattoria
Zerbina, Tergeno 2OO3 (Albana 65%, Chardonnay 35%) Emilia
Romagna

GREECE WHITE
WINE

Domaine
Gerovassiliou, Malagousia, Epanomi, 2OO4, Greece

USA WHITE
WINE

Stephan
Vineyards, L’Aventure, Roussanne Estate, Paso Robles AVA,
(Roussanne 85%,

Viognier15%)
2OO5, CA

FRANCE SPARKLING
WHITE WINE

Champagne
Ruinart, Dom Ruinart, Blanc de Blancs, 1996

Champagne Salon,
1996

SPAIN FORTIFIED
WINE

Hidalgo, La
Gitana, Manzanilla, Jerez

ITALY
ROSE

Montenidoli,
Sono Montenidoli, (Canaiolo) 2OO4, Tuscany

ITALY RED
WINE

Dei, Bassona,
Vino Nobile di Montepulciano Riserva, 2OO1,
Tuscany

San Gervasio,
Rosso, (Sangiovese 7O%, Merlot 2O%, CS 1O%), 2OO4,
Tuscany

I Balzini, Black
Label, 2OO2, (Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot), Barberino Val
d’Elsa, Tuscany

Fattoria
Paradiso, Maestri di Vigna, Sangiovese Superiore, 2OO5,
Emilia-Romagna

Fattoria
Paradiso, Vigna delle Lepri, Sangiovese Riserva,
Emilia-Romagna

Fattoria
Paradiso, Mito, (Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Syrah), 2OO1,
Emilia-Romagna

The author gives
special thanks to the following people for their assistance:
Walter Sovran (Technical Director, Fattoria Il Palagio, San
Gimignano), Luca Tomassini (Proprietor, San Gervasio,
Valdera, Tuscany), Thomas Rice (Professor, California
Polytechnic Institute), Stephan Asseo (Proprietor,
L’Aventure, Paso Robles, CA), Andrea Mazzoni (Consulting
Enologist/Viticulturalist, Tuscany), Elisabetta Fagioli
(Proprietor, Montenidoli, San Gimignano), Marco Antoni
(Geology Expert, Tuscany), Nick Cobb
(Greekwinemaker.com).