The Mystery of Minerality

Wine Blast with Susie and Peter

It's a wine word almost everyone uses - but no one really knows what it means, what causes it, or where it's come from.
It makes some people angry, it leaves others mystified - but some adore the term and can't get enough of it.
Is this yet another example in wine of (as one listener calls it), 'superstition, witchcraft and myth' that is nothing more than, 'absolute b*llocks'?!
Welcome to the big 'minerality' mystery.
In this episode, we dare to dive headlong into the snakepit of confusion, ambiguity and downright mystery that is the notion of 'minerality' in wine.
But we're not alone. We've recruited the likes of sensory scientist Dr Heber Rodrigues and writer Meg Maker to enlighten us with the latest research and thinking on this intriguing topic.
We ask questions like: what makes a wine mineral? What do people mean by the term? Which wines in particular tend to show mineral characteristics? Is it a good or a bad thing? Is it a vineyard or winemaking phenomenon?
Ultimately - should we get rid of it, or cherish it?
We taste two wines in order to put our own language under the microscope. There's an element of mud-slinging and mutual recrimination before we manage (more or less) to define what we mean by minerality.
We also give a final judgement on whether, in our view, minerality should be part of the wine lexicon or not. The result...may surprise you.
Wines tasted in this episode

• UVC Chablis Premier Cru 2010, Esprit de Chablis, 12.5%
• Anhydrous Afoura Santorini Assyrtiko 2021, 14%

We love to hear from you so please do get in touch! Send us a voice message via Speakpipe or you can find more details to get in touch on our website (link below).
All details from this episode are on our website: Show notes for Wine Blast S4 E22: The Mystery of Minerality.
This episode is dedicated to Dr Wendy Parr, a leading light in the world of sensory perception and wine.
Thanks for tuning in. Here's to the joy of wine - cheers to you!

Chapters

1. The Mystery of Minerality (00:00:00)

2. Welcome - and why we're doing this episode (00:00:05)

3. Listener question from Anton on 'minerality' (00:00:56)

4. Heber Rodrigues quote - 'a fever' (00:01:30)

5. Meg Maker quote - 'wine people love a good argument' (00:01:57)

6. Listener Matt Ridgway on 'superstition, witchcraft and myths' (00:02:51)

7. 'Minerality' - the basics (00:05:29)

8. Geologist Professor Alex Maltman on how minerality is not the taste of minerals in the soil (00:06:08)

9. Minerality is metaphor (00:07:44)

10. What kind of tasting terms come under the heading 'minerality'? (00:09:11)

11. Interview with sensory scientist Dr Heber Rodrigues (00:09:48)

12. Drinking in the landscape - minerality as 'the memory of the scene' (00:28:08)

13. MID-EPISODE RECAP (00:29:19)

14. Interview with writer Meg Maker (00:29:53)

15. Minerality 'sounds delicious' (00:43:31)

16. Andrew James on Robert Parker and Ann Noble's Aroma Wheel (00:44:08)

17. We taste two 'mineral' wines - and put our tasting language in the spotlight (00:44:57)

18. Volatile sulfur compounds and minerality (00:50:30)

19. Ripeness levels/high acidity and minerality (00:51:37)

20. Final summary (00:53:24)

21. Final views (00:54:02)

22. Outro (00:54:44)