Do you like cat pee ?

Ok I know this title sounds a little blunt. 

Yet as you may see later on in my post, cat's urine is one of the most typical aromas of Sauvignon blanc or Cabernet Sauvignon.
That's right.
The wine you like to drink every Friday evening.

But no worries my friends, for it is not TRULY cat pee that you are smelling (just making sure for everyone).
No wine maker accidentally forgot to cover his wine barrels and let his cat take a little swim in them.

It's simply physics. Here is an interesting extract of an article taken from the "aromadictionnary" :

 Cats urine does exist in wine! Well its smell anyway. Caused by the Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde compound p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one, this sulfur containing compound smells exactly like cat's urine when in a particular concentration range. When weaker, it exudes the herbal scent of lantana bush, whilst when strong, it has an aroma that can be likened to blackcurrants. And where do you find it? That's right, in the variety where wine tasters see it the most, Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon (and of course in cat's urine).

There is actually an Ontario (USA) based estated whose labels revolve around the theme of cat pee and it's a huge success. I've never tried them yet though, but I certainly will in a near future.

To tell you the truth, although I knew the existence of Cat's urine in wine, I had never actually encountered it during my tastings. I didn't even know if I would recognize it when stumbling upon it...
(I know I said training your nose by sniffing everything you come across is pivotal to become a pro wine taster, but I've never actually stopped to smell cat pee. I apologize. I know what you are thinking right now : "AMATEUR !").

Yet when I put my nose over my glass of
Champs-Chenin, 2007, by Olga Raffault, there was no doubt possible.

Cat pee. Yep. The real deal. 
And the truth is : it wasn't THAT bewildering. It was even kind of nice in a way. A little herby to put it nicely.

So here are my tasting notes on this wine. We had it with a lovely seabass.

Eye : almost greenish, it conjures up freshness and herbs. 

Nose : cat pee (obviously), little notes of citrus and orange, maybe a bit of cut grass (which is a little stronger than the cats urine) and apple towards the end. 

Mouth : very acidic (too much for my taste anyway) which is typical of the chenin variety. The mouth is not extremely long however. 

What you should know about this wine however is that the Domaine Olga Raffault is one of the most famous estates of the Loire Valley. The range of prices for this wine is between 9 and 11 euros. What may be noticed is that this wine is a white Chinon, which is extremely rare (only 2% of Chinon wines are white as I mentioned in this article). It is made of Chenin, the white variety in the Loire Valley. It can be kept for years and will benefit from aging by becoming smoother and less acidic.

So this one was probably a bit young.

Then again, it allowed me to have my first taste of cats pee. Yey !

5 steps to outperform your own nose

You want to know how to smell wine. You think it will change your life to be able to make a difference between blackberry and cherry in a Cabernet Sauvignon. And you are right my friend, for it will.

Luckily for you, the does and don't of wine tasting are not very complicated.
It will only take you 5 steps to learn how to use your nose perfectly.

1. Be daring. 
Don't hesitate to put your nose way down in your glass in order to get a full grasp of the wine's aromas.

2. Don't wear perfume. 
I know it sounds ridiculous, but it's one of the pivotal elements of a successful wine tasting. Try making a difference between strawberry and raspberry with Chanel 5 on you. It might be a little challenging.

3. Try not to have to much food around you. 
You may enjoy wine with your dinner of course, but having a Blanquette de Veau may give you the false impression that there is mushroom aromas in your wine. This pesto smell is not coming from your wine, it's your neighbors' pasta!

4. Smell everything you can. 
This is a critical point. If you don't build up your own database of fragrances you won't be able to remember what apricot smells like when you come across it. Don't hesitate to sniff everything you can: in your kitchen, in a garden, at a restaurant, at work even. Oh and also, don't forget to explain to people why you are putting your nose in their personal belongings, they could get the wrong idea...
You may check out my post on how to taste wine and recognize aromas. I've got a few tricks that may help you impress your friends! Click here. 

5. Try different methods. 
Only imbeciles never change their minds. If you realize taking a long and profound whiff of air doesn't work well for your, try something else. Go ahead and take small and quick breaths for instance. Also you may try to keep your mouth open when inhaling, it might help you to get more aromas.


So you see, tasting wine is really not that difficult.
The secret is perseverance and time.
You just need to train, taste, sniff, whiff, inhale, chew, spit, over and over, until you finally can call yourself a real wine aficionado.
If it were only about tricks we would all be contenders of Robert Parker or Michel Rolland.

So go ahead and have a glass! Cheers!