Wine has three levels of flavors and aromas that evolve over time: primary, secondary and tertiary.
Primary aromas
Younger wines exhibit primary fruit flavors and aromas. These include black, red and dried fruits in red wines. For white wines, they can offer scents and flavors of green apples, plus citrus, tropical and stone fruits and all types of unripe fruits. Primary aromas are most evident in young wines. Herbs and spices, such as mint, pepper or licorice, also fall into the primary category.
Secondary aromas
Secondary aromas and flavors come from winemaking processes such as fermentation and aging. These can include the biscuity and yeasty notes that appear with autolysis (the effect when yeast decays), among others, or the very pronounced buttery popcorn aroma that is a byproduct of malolactic fermentation in many Chardonnays. It also contains the wonderful characteristics given by oak aging, such as vanilla, clove, smoke, coconut or even coffee.
Tertiary aromas
The last of the three levels of aromas and flavors is tertiary. These complex components occur when wine is aged in an ideal environment. In red wines, fresh ripe fruit begins to change to stewed or dried fruit, such as raisins or figs. There will also be tertiary aromas of tobacco, earth and mushrooms.
White wines begin to develop dried apricots and orange marmalade or sherry-like notes of almonds and candied fruit. Other tertiary characteristics include nutty aromas and complex spice components such as nutmeg, ginger and petrol.
We note that wines with tertiary aromas and flavors are not "better" than wines with primary and secondary flavors. About 90% of wines are meant to be consumed young, while a small percentage of wines improve with three to 10 years in bottle. Only a small number of wines (some estimate only 1%) are intended to age 10 years or older.
If you are attracted to wines with fresh fruit, powerful tannins and a mouth-filling finish, you generally prefer primary and secondary flavors and aromas.
By Wine Enthusiast / @WineEnthusiast
