Balance
One of the most desired traits in a wine is good balance, where the concentration of fruit, level of tannins, and acidity are in total harmony. Balanced wines are symmetrical and tend to age gracefully.
Barnyard
An unclean, farmyard, fecal aroma that is imparted to a wine because of unclean barrels or unsanitary winemaking facilities.
Barrel
Vessel used for ageing, and sometimes fermenting. There are many different shapes and sizes, but the most popular are the barrique of 225 litres and the hogshead of around 300 litres. Nearly always made of oak. New barrels impart an oaky flavour to the wine whereas old ones simply allow a controlled oxidation.
Berrylike
As this descriptive term implies, most red wines have an intense berry fruit character that can suggest blackberries, raspberries, black cherries, mulberries, or even strawberries and cranberries.
Big
A big wine is a large-framed, full-bodied wine with an intense and concentrated feel on the palate. Most red Rhône wines are big wines.
Bitter
One of the four basic flavours which can be detected by the tongue. Bitterness is a fault in excess, but is normally balanced by fruit and sweetness.
Blackcurrant
A pronounced smell of blackcurrant fruit is commonly associated with certain Rhône wines. It can vary in intensity from faint to very deep and rich.
Body
Body is the weight and fullness of a wine that can be sensed as it crosses the palate. full-bodied wines tend to have a lot of alcohol, concentration, and glycerin.
Botrytis cinerea
The fungus that attacks the grape skins under specific climatic conditions (usually alternating periods of moisture and sunny weather). It causes the grape to become superconcentrated because it causes a natural dehydration. Botrytis cinerea is essential for the great sweet white wines of Barsac and Sauternes. It rarely occurs in the Rhône Valley because of the dry, constant sunshine and gusty winds.
Bouquet
As a wine's aroma becomes more developed from bottle aging, the aroma is transformed into a bouquet that is hopefully more than just the smell of the grape.
Brawny
A hefty, muscular, full-bodied wine with plenty of weight and flavor, although not always the most elegant or refined sort of wine.
Briery
I think of California Zinfandel when the term briery comes into play, denoting that the wine is aggressive and rather spicy.
Brilliant
Brilliant relates to the color of the wine. A brilliant wine is one that s clear, with no haze or cloudiness to the color.
Browning
As red wines age, their color changes from ruby/purple to dark ruby, to medium ruby, to ruby with an amber edge, to ruby with a brown edge. When a wine is browning it is usually fully mature and not likely to get better.
