newbie question

Each person decides on what sensations are most important to them in wine or food. You like that silky texture; others may like a smell of raspberries or a hint of sweetness in their wine. For me, it's more of a Gestalt: it's the interplay of fruit, acids, tannins and alcohol that must be in balance for a wine to be enjoyable. YMMV, as they say.

Mark Lipton

Mark Lipton wrote in news:kle0c8$gvk$ snipped-for-privacy@speranza.aioe.org:

Silkyness is important, or not. But for sure it is not one of the typical attributes of Cabernet Sauvignon.

In my case, nose makes 80% of what I like in a wine.

I am with Mark on this, mouth feel or texture is very important to me and silky Merlot/Merlot blends such as St Emilion are some of my favorites, but a little dash of menthol on a lingering finish . . . and some very astringent wines may make my night, sometimes it is the aromatics etc., it is the complexity of the possibilities that makes it fun to enjoy wine and talk about it in forums such as this.

Often wines are described as smooth when there is not really much else good to say about them. I usually take it to mean "this is a cheap wine, but not one of those characterful ones that can be nasty and harsh".

Having said that, smoothness can be a nice texture in some wines. Usually I prefer something with a bit more texture if it is a red wine. But as others have said, it is often the balance of all the characteristics that makes a wine. And for me it would be boring if every wine were silky smooth. Personal preference is a big factor too.

I think most wine buffs would say length (how long the flavours stay in your mouth) and complexity (more or less how many different flavours you get) indicate a good wine. But I am not sure I would necessarily agree with that either.