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Minerality - the taste of a The term “minerality” has links to the French concept of “gout de terrior” that loosely translates to “taste of the earth”. Minerality is used broadly to describe many tastes ranging from steely to earthy, including terms like chalky, flinty and gravely, and is misleading, as it suggests the smell is derived from the rocky subsoils of a vineyard. Crushed rocks Most scientific literature states that there is no proof that soil minerals affect wine flavour. While not specifically denying a relationship, any comment tends to debunk the “literalist” view - that mineral flavours are absorbed into the grapes from the soil - and shift the focus on to the influence of the physical aspects of soils, specifically their water holding ability, on wine quality. Further reading Return to wine vocabulary page |
don’t typically have any smell of their own (as they are not volatile at ambient temperatures) and any smell is often a result of something organic associated with them. Minerality is an umbrella term used to describe desirable "mineral-like" smells and flavours that arise from the grape and the interaction between grape and yeast and is commonly a composite perception arising from; the soil, climate and cultural practices used in growing and making the wine. When a typical wine drinker believes he can taste the rocks in a vineyard, what he is really saying is that the flavour he tastes is neither animal nor vegetable and must therefore be the fabled mineral characters of the given vineyard. Minerality could be seen as coming from a particular type of terrior. 
Recent research suggests that soil minerals may affect flavour, not by direct absorption into the grapes, but indirectly though their influence on the expression of flavour forming genes. Minerality has often being described as the absence of fruitiness. Could it be that the absence or abundance of certain minerals represses the formation of fruity flavours, making the acidity/phenolics more noticeable. If flavour is affected in this way, this may help explain why two adjacent vineyards can taste different when all else appears the same and give further insight into the nebulous term of “minerality”.