Balance is always a good word. We all like to have a balanced checkbook, balance in our diet and balance in life. A kid that has good balance will in most cases be good at sports. When it comes to wine, balance is critical if a wine is to make a good impression on the palate. The questions is, what do we mean when we refer to a wine as being balanced?
When analyzing a wine, there are key elements I look for. They are tannins, fruit, alcohol, acidity, mid-palate and length of the finish. Mind you, each critic is somewhat different in their approach. However, I feel comfortable that the six elements just mentioned are a key part of any critic’s breakdown of wine. Some may look at color (I rarely refer to color in my tasting notes), body (I feel the sum of all six is the body) or other things that they feel are important to look at when analyzing or scoring a wine.
All that being said, it is the cohesiveness of all those elements together that creates balance. It reminds me of a quote from Doug Floyd… “You don’t get harmony when everyone sings the same note.” Tannins, acid, alcohol and fruit are all different elements. However, when they sing in harmony in that glass of wine, it is a beautiful thing.
Let’s stick to the musical theme for a moment. Say the tannins are the bass section of a wine. In a choir,if the bass section is too loud, it drowns out the more subtle portions of the harmony. Have you ever heard a car drive by with the bass thumping so loud, it’s all you hear? If in a wine, the tannins are too prominent they will cause your mouth to pucker and you cannot enjoy the more subtle nuances of the wine. The bass section in a band or choir gives the music the structure or backbone of the rhythm. Tannins in a wine give it the backbone and structure not only to age, but also to give the wine a solid feel on the palate. Tannins that are too harsh or dominate make the wine out of balance, losing it’s harmony.
Acidity is the soprano section of your wine. I always liked the soprano section of a choir. It gives the music a certain lift and pizzaz that adds so much to the harmony. Why do you think so many people enjoyed Michael Jackson’s music. His soprano voice adds so much to the songs. However, if all you had was soprano and nothing else to surround it, it would be ingratiating for sure (like listening to a Chipmunk’s album all day). So it is with acidity in a wine. Too much and it puts the wine out of balance and can actually make the wine ingratiating on the palate.
What about the tenor section in a choir? The tenors add depth to the music giving it resonance. Fruit is the tenor section of a wine. The fruit flavors add depth and resonance on the palate. When you get deep, concentrated fruit flavors that harmonize with the tannins and acid, you have a wine that resonates from start to finish. Without fruit in a wine, the wine becomes simple and thin, like a choir without a tenor section.
Closely related to fruit is the alcohol content of a wine. Alcohol could be likened to the beat or rhythm of a song. Without a beat or rhythm, there is no song. Without alcohol, there would be no wine. There is heavy metal (Zinfandel) and opera (Pinot Noir) each having a place depending on your mood. However, if the beat is difficult to follow or a little off, the music is not as enjoyable. In a wine, if the alcohol shows prominent up front on the mid-palate or on the finish, it throws off the flow of the wine and it is not as enjoyable.
Any memorable song, has a good chorus line. I was thinking of a chorus line in a song that is universally recognized, and for some reason, the chorus to Hotel California came to mind. It is such a classic chorus line and I think that most people could sing it from memory (it helps that they play it over and over on the radio). The chorus line of a wine is the mid-palate. That is where all the flavors come to life, all the elements cohere and your taste buds analyze the quality of the liquid in your mouth. Like a chorus line, the mid-palate ties it all together.
Last but not least, a great song has a classic finish. When it comes to finishing songs, Led Zeppelin’s crooning singer Robert Plant did it better than anyone I can remember (I’m a huge Zeppelin fan of course). A wine can be balanced up front and in the middle, but if the finish is weak the balance is compromised. Like a good piece of music, the harmony and balance of all the elements in a wine come to a crescendo in the finish leaving you begging for more.
Wines with balance are memorable. It is the balance of the key elements in that glass, the fruit, acid, tannins, alcohol, mid-palate and finish all working together in perfect harmony that make the wine sing on your palate. Like a classic song, a wine with excellent balance will be one that you go back to over and over again.
Cheers!
Stan The Wine Man
