Anatomy of a tasting note
What do you look for in a wine tasting note? If you write wine notes, what is your purpose? What’s your message? What story do you want to tell?
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As I wrote a few weeks ago in this space, some wine writers and other enthusiasts have been questioning the value of the traditional tasting note, wondering if the practice has passed its best-by date.
In one recent article that spurred a lot of discussion, the wine writer Meg Maker and the wine writer and importer Terry Theise declared the tasting note “an impoverished way of talking about wine’s significance and impact.” Wine is worth writing about, they said, but called for giving it the courtesy of more of our human creativity.”
I hear what they’re saying and respect the creativity bit, but after a few weeks’ reflection and reading other opinions, I’m not ready to give up the tasting note entirely. After all, there are dozens of completely different reasons to write a tasting note, and just as many reasons to read them.
You may take pen or keyboard in hand to write a note, for instance, if …
• You’re a wine maker or wine merchant with wines to sell.
• You’re a wine writer addressing a large following or publishing in a popular magazine.
• You’re a wine writer or blogger with a smaller but loyal community on Substack or other publishing platforms or online wine communities.
• You’re a social-media influencer or would like to be.
• You’re a wine lover sharing the joy of the wine in your glass with friends.
• You’re a wine lover jotting notes on your wine simply for your own enjoyment, to tune your tasting skills, or to save for later reference.
Sign up as a wine judge and you’ll write hundreds of wine notes. Maybe thousands. I almost got writer’s cramp when I judged at Vinitaly in Verona in 2007, but loved every minute of it!
There’s a half-dozen approaches to wine-note publishing just off the top of my head, and it should be obvious that different forms call for different approaches. A wine maker isn’t likely to trash his own product, and may be inspired to puff it up, although that approach has its hazards when the cork comes out. One wine writer may enjoy hard-edged, critical reviews; another may fear turning off a flow of free samples if their reviews are too harsh. And so it goes.
As I said in the Jan. 9 column on tasting notes, in this publication I share my thoughts on mostly affordable wines of good quality and value. I try to be concise and specific, avoiding colorful language or unfamiliar descriptors. I try to describe – in the order of the traditional tasting process – the wine’s color, clarity, aromas, flavors, and finish, plus, as appropriate, information about the wine’s varietal blend, vinification, and organic or natural status.
To make my report as useful as possible, I don’t stop with the traditional tasting report but include the price I paid for the wine, its stated alcohol content, the importer and producer (with links to their information pages about the wine), potential food pairings, aging potential, my opinion of the wine’s value for its price, and links to Wine-Searcher.com for merchants who stock the wine, and background information on the grape variety and region of production.
Speaking of Wine-Searcher.com, I have participated in an affiliate relationship with this worldwide wine search engine for more than 25 years. Its search engine, price comparison tools, and extensive database of wines and spirits make it easy to find the wine I’m reviewing, or virtually any wine, locate merchants near you or that will ship to you, compare prices, and even order the wine directly. With all that plus its extensive wine encyclopedia and news pages, it’s a top destination for wine lovers.
And, in full disclosure, through our affiliate program I receive a small commission each time you click through to a page on Wine-Searcher.com. It’s not a large fee, but in sum they add up and help us pay our server costs and the wine that I buy for review. Those free samples I spoke of above? I don’t take them.
What makes a tasting note worth reading for you? What makes you quit reading and turn the page?
Now, here’s this week’s report on a fascinating Australian white wine made from the Pedro Ximénez grape, not a variety usually known for making dry, aromatic wines. If you like its looks, its Wine-Searcher database awaits you..
Today’s Tasting Report
Colectivo Mutante 2022 PX#1 Limari Valley Pedro Ximénez ($19.99)
A clear, straw-color wine with a glint of gold, Colectivo Mutante 2022 PX#1 Limari Valley Pedro Ximénez is made in far northern Chile from a grape better known for its use in the region’s Pisco liquor or a toothache-sweet Spanish Sherry. This wine is dry, though, and deliciously aromatic, leading with rich scents of peach, tangerine, and fresh green herbs. Stone fruit and citrus come through in a medium-bodied flavor that’s shaped by crisp, fresh-fruit acidity. 12.5% alcohol. U.S. importer: Brazos Wine Imports LLC. Brooklyn, N.Y. (Jan. 21, 2026)
FOOD MATCH: The importer’s page represents the wine as “Delicious by itself or with anything slightly spicy.” We put that to the test and enjoyed the wine with crisp-fried Beyond Meat popcorn “chicken” with a hint of black pepper in its crust and another kick of heat in a red-chile dipping sauce.
WHEN TO DRINK: Don’t cellar this one. Its ripe, fresh fruit is best enjoyed while the wine remains fresh, ideally during this year.
VALUE:
This wine is a good value at my $20 local price, and better still at Wine-Searcher.com’s $17 average U.S. retail
WEB LINK:
Here’s a fact sheet from importer Brazos Wine.
FIND THIS WINE ONLINE:
Check prices and find vendors for Colectivo Mutante PX#1 on Wine-Searcher.com.
Read about Chile’s Limari Valley wine region at this Wine-Searcher link.
Wine-Searcher’s Pedro Ximénez article tells about the grape but deals primarily with its use in sweet Sherry and similar fortified wines.
Find the wines you want
Explore Wine-Searcher
Wine-Searcher.com is the place to go online if you want to find where to buy a particular wine that interests you. What’s more, Wine-Searcher.com offers so much more. It’s well worth a visit just to discover its many features, including its popular list of the world’s Top 10 Best Value Wines.
Good wines we’ve tried under $12!
Want tips to still more good, inexpensive wines? Here are Wine-Searcher links to vendors and prices for a bunch more wines for $12 or less that I’ve told you about in recent years. In some cases, the prices may have risen since I reviewed them, but they should still be excellent bargains. Please tell us about your favorites!
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When I became a wine geek, back in the late '70s, I dutifully kept a wine journal, per the classic wine pundits of the time (Harry Waugh, Michael Broadbent, Robert Lawrence Balzer, et al.). My notes were disciplined, notating color, clarity, aromas, and all the sensory impressions on the palate, including finish. It's a discipline to include it all. These, however, are notes pertinent only to one's self, or "taste memory," as Broadbent put it. It's how you learn. The same with winemakers, who must follow the discipline to track their own wines. When I became a newspaper wine columnist in 1981, however, I quickly became cognizant of the fact that tasting notes without context mean very little to readers. In fact, they're deadly boring. Yes, it's important to know how a wine tastes, but just as important or more to understand the circumstances explaining sensory qualities: Source or appellation, brand or winemaker approach, significance of grape and farming practices, comparison to other wines, food and social affinities, and on and on. Context, of course, requires a little research, preferably first hand or primary source. I traveled to wineries and vineyards; and if I couldn't do that, I corresponded or spoke via phone directly with vintners or winery principals. I bent over backwards not to copy or ape other writers. The process was as educational for me as it would be for my readers. This, in fact, was exactly why when 100-point scores popped up in the mid-1980s and quickly became the predominant way of reporting on wines, I was repulsed. Scores and tasting notes mean nothing without context. Just one example: A French Chablis actually tastes light, thin and relatively simple compared to Côte de Beaunes or garden variety California Chardonnays. The beauty of Chablis, however, is that its acidity, minerality, purity and distinct lack of varietal fruitiness are what makes it so unique and beautiful. When you score it according to standards of "Chardonnay," you totally miss the point. This is why scores and sensory tasting notes on their own not only mean very little, they are practically evil from the perspective in that they can misrepresent entire appellations, cultures, culinary and historical contexts of entire swaths of wines. In short, they can be very misleading. Irresponsible, lazy, at least in public forums. Let the buyer, and readers, beware!