On 11 Feb 2005 12:51:20 -0800, "DaleW" > wrote:

>stemmy/green note to it. Good acidity, but hard and angular. B-/C+
>
<large snip - please excuse>

Dale:

The words "hard and angular" are just the ones I have been looking for
to describe a wine that I have had for a while. I am rather new at
this so I couldn't quite find a name for what I was tasting. I am
curious if you know what the cause might be?

In my case it is a 2001 Pinot Noir from southwest Michigan. I have
tried a bottle each year since '02. I think I can recognize tannins
using the reference to tea and having tried several wines with tannin
designed to age. The tannins can be strong and give that drying
feeling but not what I would call harsh or "angular" as is my pinot.

I have also tasted wines high in acid, especially from up where we
live. Again I would not call them "hard and angular" but more "tart"
would be the word; as in drinking lemon juice.

I have thought possibly ascetic acid but it is not volatile and the
nose is quite pretty (if a little oaky). And I can't detect anything
that I could liken to vinegar.

I observe from reading this group that TCA usually presents itself as
a lack of fruit accompanied (if one has the nose for it) by various
musty off flavors (wet cardboard, dog etc.). I could find none of
these in the above Pinot. The fruit in the aroma seemed resonably
pleasant.

So I have been looking for the way to describe the sort of thing you
found in the Nando Chianti. I think "hard and angular" is it.

Does this represent some specific of flaw in winemaking? What might be
the cause of it, do you think?

Thanks,

Art Schubert
Traverse City, Michigan