Descriptive Analysis of Commercial Cabernet Sauvignon Wines from California

Abstract

Twenty-one Cabernet Sauvignon wines were evaluated by descriptive analysis. The intensity of eleven flavor attributes differed significantly across wines. The largest differences between wines were the contrast between vegetative and fruity flavors as shown by principal component analysis (PCA). Vine age showed a significant positive correlation with intensity of berry aroma and significant negative correlations with the intensities of green bean aroma and vegetative flavor by mouth. Significant negative correlations were also found between the temperature zone of growing area and the intensities of eucalyptus aroma and vegetative flavor by mouth. Thus in this data set, younger vines and vines growing under cooler conditions produced wines which were more vegetative in flavor. By PCA, the first principal component contrasted `fruity' with `vegetative'. The second axis was `phenolic', and the third contrasted `wood/phenol' with `eucalyptus' and `fruit' by mouth.