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Field guide · 29 aromas

What natural wine smells like.

Natural wine smells range from fruit and flowers to barnyard, leather and sourdough. Most funky aromas come from wild yeasts, skin contact, oxygen or time on the lees. A few — mousiness, strong vinegar, cork taint — are faults. For the rest, dose decides: a little brett is character; a lot flattens the wine.

Fruit6 notesFloral5 notesFaults4 notesFunk6 notesGreen3 notesEarth2 notesSpice3 notesNaturalwine
CharacterDepends on doseFault

Funk

6 notes

Savory, animal and fermented — the notes natural wine is loved and argued about for.

Barnyard, horse, band-aidBrettanomyces yeast (4-ethylphenol)Depends on dose
Leather, smoke, cloveBrettanomyces yeast (4-ethylguaiacol)Depends on dose
Sourdough, yeast, briocheTime aging on the leesCharacter
Cider, bruised appleOxygen exposureDepends on dose
Kombucha, sauerkrautFerment-forward natural winesCharacter
Buttered popcornDiacetyl, from malolactic fermentationCharacter

Faults

4 notes

Where funk tips over. Most are about intensity; one is almost never defended.

Burned popcorn, crackers, rice cakeMousiness — tasted on the finish, not smelledFault
Nail polish remover, vinegarVolatile acidity, when it's strongFault
Struck match, rubber, garlicReduction — often blows off with airDepends on dose
Wet cardboard, damp basementCork taint (TCA)Fault

Green & herbal

3 notes

Leafy, vegetal and herbal — often a sign of the grape variety or of fruit picked on the fresh side.

Green bell pepperMethoxypyrazines — Cabernet Franc, Cabernet Sauvignon, Sauvignon BlancCharacter
Cut grass, tomato leafGreen leaf compounds, common in Sauvignon BlancCharacter
Fennel, mint, eucalyptusHerbal compounds; eucalyptus near gum treesCharacter

Earth & mineral

2 notes

The ground-level notes — tension, salinity and the savory depth that comes with age.

Wet stone, chalk, flintTasting shorthand for tension and salinityCharacter
Forest floor, mushroom, truffleBottle age and savory developmentCharacter

Spice

3 notes

Warm and peppery — some from the grape, some from the barrel.

Black pepperRotundone — classic in Syrah and Grüner VeltlinerCharacter
Licorice, aniseRipe reds and some aromatic whitesCharacter
Vanilla, cinnamonOak barrelsCharacter

Fruit

6 notes

The first thing most noses find — and the clearest clue to grape and style.

Lemon, grapefruit, orange peelCrisp whites; orange peel in skin-contact winesCharacter
Apricot, dried apricot, peachSkin-contact whites, ViognierCharacter
Apple, pear, quinceChenin Blanc and cool-climate whitesCharacter
Cherry, raspberry, strawberryLight reds — Gamay, Pinot NoirCharacter
Blackcurrant, plum, blackberryFuller redsCharacter
Pineapple, passion fruit, lycheeAromatic whites — lychee in GewürztraminerCharacter

Floral

5 notes

Perfume in the glass — strongest in aromatic grapes and young wines.

VioletSyrah, MalbecCharacter
RoseNebbiolo, GewürztraminerCharacter
ElderflowerSauvignon BlancCharacter
Orange blossomMuscatCharacter
ChamomileSkin-contact and older whitesCharacter
The popcorn problem

Two very different things both get called popcorn. Buttered popcorn on the nose is diacetyl from malolactic fermentation — the buttery note in some Chardonnay, and not a fault. Stale crackers on the finish, building sip after sip, is mousiness — and you can't smell it, only taste it once the wine meets your saliva.

Struck match is the other one worth a second chance: reduction often blows off with air or a hard swirl, and a reduced wine can be hiding something great.

Questions people ask

Two of these aromas became scents. Brett takes the savory side; Clementine takes the fruit — a deodorant made from natural wine skins.

Natural wine glossary →What is funky wine →Brett & Clementine →