Focus on dried fruit aroma and key odorants of French Syrah of the northern Rhone valley

Two interesting short speeches from the first Enoforum Web Conference, where the results of research the origin of the dried fruit flavors and key odorants of French Syrah wines from the northern Rhone valley were presented

Alexandre Pons from the ISVV – Institut des Sciences de la Vigne et du Vin in Bordeaux – presented his work entitled “Impact of climate change on the aroma of red wines: a focus on dried fruit aromas“. The volatile composition of grapes (free and bound forms) contributes greatly to the varietal aroma and quality of wines. Several agronomical parameters affect grapes composition and wine quality: maturity level at harvest, water status, and the intensity of sun exposure. Of course vinification of non-healthy grapes can induce off-flavors in the wine. All these parameters are strongly linked with the climate (meso or micro), and its modification may induce strong modification of the grape composition. In this context, several studies were run these last years to study the origin of the dried fruit flavors (DF, prunes and dried figs) detected in must and young red wines. Indeed, these nuances are becoming more and more frequent in young wines, especially those made from Merlot grapes. The aroma compound composition of Merlot (M) and Cabernet Sauvignon (CS) musts and wines was investigated to identify specific molecular markers responsible for DF.

Olivier Geffroy of the Ecole d’Ingénieurs de PURPAN presented his work entitled “Key odorants of French Syrah wines from the northern Rhone valley“. Little research has been undertaken to investigate the main contributors to the aroma of Syrah wines from the cool northern part of the Rhone valley despite the historical importance of this cultivar for this wine region. The aim of the present work was to study the key odorants of Crozes-Hermitage wines made from two vintages with distinct climatic conditions (cool in 2013, warm in 2015) using supercritical CO2 dearomatized (sCO2) wine as a matrix for reconstitution studies, and the Pivot profile sensory method for omission tests.

Video of the entries submitted to the Enoforum Web Contest 2021 during the Enoforum Web Conference (23-25 February 2021)