HV

MR1

RL

MR2

MV

P

R

GS1

GS2

AH

YV

O

MP

GW

T

CRV

-6

-4

-2

0

2

4

6

-8 -6 -4 -2 0 2 4 6 8

F2 (

18

.80

%)

F1 (30.09 %)

Leigh Francis

Dimitra Capone, Tracey Siebert, Sheridan Barker, Alice Barker and

Patricia Williamson

Insights into flavour and aroma compounds

in Chardonnay

Chardonnay flavour profiles

cut grass,

vegetal

citrus,straw

apricot

peach

banana

melon

tropical fruit

tropical fruit,

melon,

green apple

caramel,

butter, honey

oak/woody,

struck flint

Saliba et. al. Wine & Viticulture Journal, May/June 2013

Polyfunctional thiols

passion-fruit

box tree

sweaty

4 ng/L3-MHA

grapefruit

passionfruit

60 ng/L3-MH

box tree

passionfruit

3 ng/L4-MMP

AromaPerception

thresholdThiol

Cysteine, glutathione precursors, released by yeast

metabolism

Survey of commercial Australian

Chardonnay wine

106 wines

Nielsen sales data – including top selling Chardonnay wines sold

across Australia

Vintages ranging from 2003 to 2013 (median 2012)

Price ranged from $3 to $120 (median $19)

Survey of 106 commercial Chardonnay wines$3-126, $19 median price

Aroma

detection

threshold

Cooler regions, younger wines: higher 3-MHA

8120

22

05.0

0.75

1.00

2004

42

0 012

7002

3102

0

1.00

1.25

AHM3 gol

egatniV

TJM

Victorian wines

2000

1500

1000

500

0

3-M

H

GeelongKing Valley

Mornington Peninsula

Yarra Valley

Mornington Peninsula

Yarra Valley

Upper Goulburn

Mornington PeninsulaYarra Valley

Yarra Valley

Rutherglen

Grampians

Grampians

Gippsland

Yarra Valley

Yarra Valley

Geelong

Mornington Peninsula

Beechworth

Beechworth

Benzyl mercaptan (‘struck flint’)

Higher BM:

older wines

more expensive wines

from cooler regions

9

Wines made from juice sourced

across Australia

6 Wines,

consumer liking

16 Chardonnay juices were sourced

from multiple Australian regions

Wines made,

standardised,

no oak

influence

Sensory descriptive

analysis

11 judges x 3 reps

Volatile aroma

compounds

quantified

Winemaking

Hand harvested grapes picked at similar TSS

Grapes crushed soon after picking & pressed at similar press

rates

No enzyme addition & consistent SO2 addition

All juices sent via refrigerated transport

PDM yeast

No oak

No MLF

Flavour compounds measured

Varietal Thiols

&

3-MH

Precursors

Various Fermentation

Products: Ethyl

Esters/Acids/Acetates

Ethyl Cinnamate

C6 Compounds

Norisoprenoids

&

Monoterpenes

γ-Lactones

Various Aldehydes

Varietal thiol data from Chardonnay wines made

from juices sourced across Australia

Compound Min(ng/L)

Max(ng/L)

Median(ng/L)

Aroma detection Threshold

(ng/L)

4-MMP 0.13 0.95 0.15 0.8

3-MH 168 5077 1704 60

3-MHA 2 205 47 4

BM 2.8 14.5 5.9 0.3

Sensory properties of the 16 wines

Overall Fruit

Passionfruit

Pineapple

Melon

Lime

Confectionery

FloralGreen

Vegetal

Box Hedge

Flint

Pungent

Overall Fruit

Stonefruit

Citrus Fl.

Green Apple

Green Fl.

Fruit AT

Hunter

Margaret River

Riverland

Margaret River

McLaren Vale Padthaway

Rutherglen

Great Southern Adelaide Hills

Yarra

Orange

Mornington

Great WesternTumbarumba

Tasmania

Great Southern

Sensory attributes and chemical compounds

-0.2 -0.1 0 0.1 0.2

Fa

ct o

r-3

( 13

%,

13

%)

-0.2

-0.1

0

0.1

0.2

0.3

MeTOH

HMF

2-MPAL

SO

2-MBAL3-MBAL

HEXAL

2-HEXEAL

FAL5-MFAL

METAL

OCTAL

BENZAL

PAA2-NONAL

EA

EtPro

Et-2-MePr2-MeProAce

EtBu

Et-2-MeBu

Et-3-MeBu

2-MePrOH

2&3MeBuAc

BuOH

2&3-MBuOHEtHex

HA

EtOct

EtDec

AcetAcid

PrAcid

2-MePrAcidBuAcid

2-MeBuAcid

3-MeBuAcidHexAcid

OctAcid

DecAcid

2-PEA2-PhEtOH

HexOH

3-HexOH

4-MMP

3-MH3-MHA

FFT

BM

Lin

Terp

NerGer

DAM

EthCinn

γ-OL

γ-NLγ-DL

W-Cys-3-MHW-Glut-3-M

W-CysGly-3-MH

Overall Fruit

Passionfruit

Pineapple

Melon

Lime

Confectionery

FloralGreen

Vegetal

Box Hedge

Flint

Sweaty/Cheese

Pungent

Overall Fr

Stonefruit Fl.

Citrus Fl.

Green Apple

Green Fl.

Fruit AT

-0.1

0

0.1

-0.1

0

0.1

Passionfruit aroma

Box hedge aroma

EtH

ex

BuO

H

3-M

HA

3-M

H

Nero

l

Gera

nio

l

AcetA

cid

EtH

ex

BuO

H

3-M

HA

3-M

H

Ner

4-M

MP

BM

Outcomes

Passionfruit: 3-MH, 3-MHA

Box hedge: 4-MMP, benzyl mercaptan

Flint: benzyl mercaptan

Melon, pineapple: multiple esters, linalool, lactones

Stone fruit: nerol, geraniol

Fruit flavour, fruit aftertaste: 3-MH precursors

17

1.0

2.0

3.0

4.0

5.0

6.0

7.0

35 57 36 28

Wine A

Wine B

Wine C

Wine D

Wine E

Wine FCluster 2

(37%)

Cluster 1

(22%)

Cluster 3

(23%)

Cluster 4

(18%)

Lik

ing s

core

Consumer liking (n=156)

Stone fruit: apricot, peach

-nonalactone

-decalactone

-dodecalactone

Found at or below sensory threshold (~10 μg/L) : additive effect?

‘dairy’ lactone

Sensory threshold <1 μg/L

O O

Commercial Chardonnay and Viognier

wines

18 wines, including four Condrieu AOC wines

Sensory and chemical study

Sensory properties of the wines

Factor-1 (21%, 38%)-10 -9 -8 -7 -6 -5 -4 -3 -2 -1 0 1 2 3 4 5

Fact

or-

2( 1

8%

,20%

)

-7

-6

-5

-4

-3

-2

-1

0

1

2

3

4

5

6 AC Condrieu

Hilltops Chard

McLaren Vale Chard

Canberra Viog

Canberra Viog

DGV VIOG 2

DGV VIOG 1

DGV Condrieu

WA Chard

GUIGAL Condrieu

NSW Viog

LALOYE Condrieu

Canberra Chard

Barossa Chard

Mildura Viog

Eden Valley Viog

Eden Valley Chard

Langhorne Ck Viog

Overall Fr

Passionfruit

Pineapple

Apricot

Peach

Lemon

Lime

Floral

Grassy

Vegetal

Honey

Butter

Nutty

Flint

Kerosene

Factor-1 (21%, 38%)-1 -0.8 -0.6 -0.4 -0.2 0 0.2 0.4 0.6 0.8 1

Fact

or-

2( 1

8%

,20%

)

-1

-0.8

-0.6

-0.4

-0.2

0

0.2

0.4

0.6

0.8

1

EtOAc

Et Pr

Et 2-MePr

2-MePrOAc

Et Bu

Et 3-MeBu

2-MePrOH

3-MeBuOAc

BuOH

2-MeBuOH

3-MeBuOH

Et HexHexOAc

HexOH

Et Oct

Ac Acid

2-MePr Aci

Et Dec

2-PhEtOAc

Et Dodec

Hex Acid

2-PhEtOH

Oct Acid

Dec Acid

Damascenone

GeraniolLinaloolNerol

TDN

DMS

4-EG4-EP 5-Me-furfuFurfural

Guaiacol

tOak lactone Vanillin

Et 9-decen

b-Citronellol

Et cinn 4-MMP

3-MH

3-MHA

FFT

BM

NonalactoneDecalactone

Dodeca

Dairy lactone

Maltol

2-MePrAld

Sotolon

Eugenol

Methional

BenzAld

Ph-AAld

Z-3-Hexeno

E-2-Hexenol

Overall Fr

Passionfruit

Pineapple

Apricot

Peach

Lemon

Lime

Floral

Grassy

Vegetal

Box Hedge

Honey

Butter

Nutty

Flint

Sweaty

Kerosene

Pungent

Conclusions

Concentration of varietal thiols (in-particular 3-MH) in Chardonnay

wine is much higher than previously determined

Thiols can be major contributors to Chardonnay wine flavour

Struck flint: benzyl mercaptan

Unwooded wines with high thiols are well accepted by a majority

of consumers

Lactones are important contributors to apricot/peach flavor

Influences on these compounds

Varietal thiols

time post-harvest prior to pressing

yeast choice

Irrigation, nitrogen status

Struck flint: benzaldehyde?

Lactones

amino acid profile?

yeast metabolism

Acknowledgements

Australian wine producers – juices, wines

Wes Pearson

Amanda Agius, Joanna Verwey

Dr Yoji Hayasaka

Dr David Jeffery

AWRI Flavour team

AWRI Sensory panelists

24

This project is supported by Australia’s

grapegrowers and winemakers through their

investment body, Wine Australia, with matching

funds from the Australian Government. The

AWRI is a member of the Wine Innovation

Cluster in Adelaide, South Australia.