bell pepper on the nose?

I have a tasting vocabulary question: Is bell pepper on the nose a sign of being under-ripe? Or is it a characteristic of some grapes? Or terroir? Or manipulation?

Under-ripe is in the eye of the beholder but certainly as grapes get more ripe they tend to take on sweeter and less acidic/vegetal flavors.

I don't think many winemakers would deliberatly manipulate their wines to introduce a bell pepper aroma because a lot of people don't like the flavors and consider them signs of insufficient ripeness.

That said, there are people who enjoy some sort of herbal/vegetal components to wine and they feel it adds a bit of 'spice' 'complexity' 'character' in addition to just having sweet fruit (I'm one of them, within reason). The exact extent will vary according to the specific wine/taster in question.

If you want to know more than you ever thought you wanted to know, you can look up 'pyrazines' as they are the chemical compound responsible for this flavor and are most often found in things like the cabernet sauvignon and cabernet franc you have been drinking.

[David M. Bueker]

There are some wines that almost always have that green pepper aroma. Sociando Mallet (Bordeaux) and Philip Togni (California) usually display that element in their youth. Both shed it with age in my experience.

It means you missed your mouth with the veggie pizza....

This is a very interesting question. Many of the Cabernet Sauvignon-based classics, French and Californian, used to show this quality; aged examples often still do, although it seems to diminish with age.

These days it's practically been bred out of Cabernet, particularly in the New World. Cooler climate Franc would be the obvious exception, such as Chinon.

I love the hint of bell-pepper, and I think it combines very well with certain foods, such as stews based on tomato.

These days it's practically been bred out of Cabernet, particularly in the New World.

Oliver, I'd say Bordeaux is often a major casualty of that breeding too.

Even St. Estephe just ain't what it used to be. Heck, it's even getting hard to find green olives any more these days.

A good question and an individuals answer will sometimes point towards their stylistic preferences.

IMO it can be a varietal (allied to terroir) characteristic in certain grapes and that may show less (or not at all) as ripeness increases.

FWIW I tend to like it in moderate amounts, and where it suits the wine as a whole.

regards

Ian

Beringer "Knights Valley" Cabernet Sauvignon is one wine that exhibits this character...in a fierce way, sometimes.

Heitz "Bella Oaks Vineyard" Cabernet does too...so it seems to be a bit of a terroir/clonal selection issue?

I even noticed this in a recent (2005) vintage of Rutherford Cab Franc (William Harrison) that is otherwise quite rich and higher in alcohol than French versions of the grape.

I like it in modest doses. The Knights Valley exceeded my limits, even at 12 years old. The 1998 Bella Oaks still shows it, with more earth and fruit to balance it.

Metoxypyrazines occur in grapes and contribute largely to the herbaceous and bell pepper characteristics, as well as the earthy aromas of some grape varieties, but mainly sauvignon blanc.
That being said, small amounts can contribute complexity whereas, large amounts can be off-putting to some tasters.
I think this small-large scale is very subjective to the individual taster.
Best, Jim

[Jenise]

Bell pepper character was long a fixture in Washington cabernets and the source of much complaint. These days, it appears with less regularity but it nonetheless pops up often enough. I rather like it when it's not too wild, but I can see why others don't.

Besides the maturity and ripeness level of the fruit certain viticultural (canopy management techniques) and vinification techniques (pressing techniques, maceration, including stems or a percentage of the stems) could contribute to the metoxpyrazine concentration of a finished wine.

Salute

These days it's practically been bred out of Cabernet, particularly in the New World.

Oliver, I'd say Bordeaux is often a major casualty of that breeding too.

Even St. Estephe just ain't what it used to be. Heck, it's even getting hard to find green olives any more these days.

I agree; I think avoiding 'green' flavors is an important reason for the trend towards super-ripeness everywhere, along with a liking for over-ripe fruit flavors.

One of the last areas I know of producing Bordeaux blends that taste like Bordeaux used to taste (but without the brett) is the Alto Adige. I've thought of importing some of these wines but I may be getting ahead of the geek curve...on the other hand my best rep was recently complaining that we don't have enough Schiava, which is way geekier...