Red wine quality: Correlations between colour,aroma and flavour and pigment and other parameters of young Beaujolais

In 15 young Beaujolais red wines from the 1974 and 1975 vintages statistically significant linear correlations were found between overall quality and the contents of total pigments, total anthocyanins, coloured anthocyanins and tasters' mean colour scores; and also between flavour and the contents of total pigments and total anthocyanins. In 1974 additional significant correlations were found between (a) overall quality and wine colour density; non-coloured anthocyanins and pH, (b) flavour and colour scores and coloured anthocyanins, (c) aroma and total pigments, total anthocyanins, coloured and non-coloured anthocyanins and pH and (d) the chemical parameters of pH and total pigments and total anthocyanins. In 1975 flavour was correlated also with non-coloured anthocyanins and pH. The results demonstrate the desirable effects of anthocyanins on wine flavour and quality, whereas the polymeric pigments formed on ageing of Beaujolais appear to be indifferent features of quality. Thus, the negative correlations found between quality factors and wine ?chemical age’? tend to support the opinion that most Beaujolais should be drunk young. Comparison of the results with data on Australian and Swiss red wines suggests that sulphur dioxide affects not only quality itself but also the nature of the quality correlation found. Simple colour measurement of acidified wine provides a useful indication of quality in young red wines of the same grape cultivar and age, having minimal sulphur dioxide content.