Glossary of Tasting Wine(I-M)

Intensity: Intensity relates to appearance and aroma. When evaluating appearance, intensity describes the concentration of color. The more concentrated and opaque a wine's color, the higher its intensity. Common descriptors for color intensity are pale, medium or dark. When evaluating aroma and flavor, the more pronounced or evident the characteristic, the more intense the wine.

Lactic Acid: A smooth (not sharp) acid created during malolactic fermentation. This acid is also found in milk.

Lanolin: Tasting term used to describe a wet-wool aroma or taste. Particularly associated with the Semillon grape.

Leafy: Describes the slightly herbaceous, vegetal quality reminiscent of leaves. Can be a positive or a negative, depending on whether it adds to or detracts from a wine's flavor.

Lean: A not necessarily critical term used to describe wines made in an austere style. When used as a term of criticism, it indicates a wine is lacking in fruit.

Leathery: The scent of old leather club chairs, most frequently associated with older red wines. 

Legs: Tasting term used to describe the pattern formed when drops of wine trickle down the inside of the glass after the wine has been swirled. 'Good' or persistent legs indicates a high viscosity and is sometimes associated with high alcohol.

Length: Tasting term used to indicate the duration of the aftertaste, once a wine has been swallowed. Good length is a sign of a high-quality wine. 

Light: Tasting term used to indicate a wine pale in colour or lacking in body or mouthfeel. 

Limpid: Clear. Term applied to a wine free from suspended mater.

Lingering: Used to describe the flavor and persistence of flavor in a wine after tasting. When the aftertaste remains on the palate for several seconds, it is said to be lingering.

Lively: Describes wines that are fresh and fruity, bright and vivacious.

Long: Tasting term used to indicate a wine with a persistent aftertaste. See also length. 

Luscious (or Lush): Describes wines that are soft, viscous, fleshy and round; more often associated with sweet white wines than rich red wines.

Maderized: Tasting term used to indicate a wine that has become over-mature, oxidised, and with a cooked taste.

Malic Acid: A sharp, tart acid found in grapes as well as in green apples. Less-ripe grapes or grapes grown in cooler climates can contain high levels of malic acid; the resulting wines often contain aromas and flavors reminiscent of green apples. Converted to smoother lactic acid during malolactic fermentation.

Masculine: Describes wines with more masculine qualities: firmness, power and strength. See also feminine.

Mature: Tasting term indicating a wine that has aged sufficiently to be ready to drink at its best. 

Meaty: Describes red wines that show plenty of concentration and a chewy quality. They may even have an aroma of cooked meat.

Mellow: The smoothness which quality wines acquire with age. Often associated with richness in extract and glycerine.

Meniscus: The thin rim at the edge where the wine meets the glass.

Mercaptans: An unpleasant, rubbery smell of old sulfur; encountered mainly in very old white wines. 

Meritage: California vintners invented this term for their Bordeaux-style red and white blended wines. The grapes approved to use this term are the classic Bordeaux varieties: for reds, they are Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petite Verdot and Malbec; for whites, Sauvignon Blanc and Sémillon.

Metallic flavor: Unpleasant flavor of some wines heavily contaminated with metals.

Mouldy taste: musty taste. Flavor imparted to a wine by mouldy grapes or storage in mouldy casks.

Mousiness: Disagreeable flavor and aroma of wines recalling the smell of mice results from bacterial infection.

Mousse: French for the frothy head that forms at the surface of sparkling wine.

Mouthfeel: Describing the sensation of wine in the mouth. Most descriptors are related to texture; for example, silky, smooth, velvety and rough. Mouthfeel is influenced by wine components, as acidity can be sharp, alcohol can be hot, tannin can be rough and sugar can be thick or cloying. 

Murky: More than deeply colored; lacking brightness, turbid and sometimes a bit swampy. Mainly a fault of red wines. 

Musky: Tasting term used to indicate a floral, perfumed aroma, typical of aromatic grapes of the Muscat family. 

Musty: Tasting term used to indicate a stale, unpleasant aroma.