19.1 Appearance and Nose
Key Takeaways
- Unit 2 assesses two blind still wines in 30 minutes with the Level 3 SAT; white papers are typically about 20 marks and red about 21—use only official SAT vocabulary
- Appearance records clarity (clear–hazy), intensity (pale–medium–deep), colour on the white/rosé/red scales, plus optional other observations (legs, deposit, pétillance)
- Nose records condition (clean–unclean), intensity on the light→pronounced scale with medium(−)/medium(+), aroma characteristics grouped as primary/secondary/tertiary, and development (youthful→tired)
- Colour and development must stay consistent with each other and with later palate notes—deep purple youthful fruit cannot become “tired” without justification
- Unclean means a fault is present; name the fault later in conclusions and do not invent “interesting” unclean characters as quality assets
19.1 Appearance and Nose
Quick Answer: On Unit 2 you taste two still wines blind in 30 minutes using the WSET Level 3 Systematic Approach to Tasting (SAT). Start every wine with appearance (clarity, intensity, colour, optional other observations) then nose (condition, intensity, aroma characteristics, development). Marks follow official scale words—synonyms and poetic language do not score.
Unit 2 is a separate pass from theory. Typical mark allocations are about 20 marks for a white and about 21 for a red (reds add tannin). You are not primarily scored for naming the exact appellation; you are scored for accurate, consistent SAT language and for conclusions that follow from your notes. This section trains the first half of the grid: what you see and smell before you taste.
Exam discipline before the first sip
Work in fixed order. Do not jump to “this tastes like Sauvignon Blanc” before you have recorded structure. A practical split for 30 minutes and two wines is roughly 12–14 minutes per wine, leaving a minute to check consistency. Within each wine:
- Appearance (fast but precise)
- Nose (condition first—faults change everything)
- Palate (next section)
- Conclusions (quality + readiness)
Write the exact scale terms. Examiners look for medium(+) not “quite intense,” and for lemon not “yellowish.” If you cannot decide between two adjacent levels, pick one and keep later notes coherent with that choice.
Appearance — Clarity
| Term | Meaning | Exam note |
|---|---|---|
| Clear | Bright, free of haze or suspended matter | Default for sound commercial wines |
| Hazy / cloudy | Visible suspension or dullness | Usually signals fault or unfiltered stylistic haze—flag and reconcile with nose/palate |
Most exam wines are clear. If a wine is hazy, check whether the nose is unclean (fault) or whether deposit/lees character appears intentional. Do not call a wine “brilliant” or “dull” unless your provider’s grid uses those words—Level 3 focuses on clear vs hazy/cloudy.
Appearance — Intensity
Intensity describes how deep the colour looks in the glass (tilt to a white background; look from above and through the rim).
| Intensity | White / rosé cue | Red cue |
|---|---|---|
| Pale | Watery rim; colour only in the core | Light rim; colour washes out quickly |
| Medium | Clearly coloured but not opaque | Colour present through much of the bowl |
| Deep | Strong colour even near the rim | Dense core; little watery rim |
Pale ≠ weak quality. A pale lemon cool-climate Riesling can be outstanding; a deep gold simple white can be oxidised or heavily oaked and only acceptable. Intensity is a descriptor, not a quality score.
Appearance — Colour
Use the official colour ladders. Choose one primary colour word; do not invent “golden-straw-green.”
White colour scale
| Colour | Typical association |
|---|---|
| Lemon-green | Very youthful; cool climate; early harvest cues |
| Lemon | Youthful dry whites (most common exam white) |
| Gold | Ripeness, oak, age, or sweet/late-harvest styles |
| Amber | Advanced age or oxidative/sweet styles |
| Brown | Often tired or faulty oxidation unless style demands it |
Rosé colour scale
| Colour | Typical association |
|---|---|
| Pink | Fresh, often youthful direct-press or short-maceration rosés |
| Salmon | Slightly more onion-skin / Provençal mid-tone |
| Orange | Longer skin contact, age, or oxidative nuance |
Red colour scale
| Colour | Typical association |
|---|---|
| Purple | Very youthful reds (e.g. young Gamay, Syrah) |
| Ruby | Youthful to early-mature reds |
| Garnet | Developing / mature; brick at the rim |
| Tawny | Advanced maturity or deliberate oxidative ageing |
| Brown | Often too old / oxidised unless style-specific |
Rim vs core: note browning or garnet at the rim as an age clue, but still assign the wine’s overall colour on the grid. A wine that is ruby at the core with a garnet rim is still usually described as ruby or garnet depending on which dominates—stay consistent with development on the nose.
Appearance — Other observations
These are optional but useful when present:
| Observation | What it can indicate |
|---|---|
| Legs / tears | Higher alcohol and/or sugar (not quality by itself) |
| Deposit | Crystals (tartrates—harmless) or sediment (age, unfiltered reds) |
| Pétillance | Slight CO₂ prickle in a still wine (young bottling, some styles) |
Do not award quality marks for thick legs. Use them only as supporting evidence for later alcohol or sweetness judgments.
Nose — Condition
| Condition | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Clean | No fault aromas |
| Unclean | Fault present (TCA, oxidation, reduction, VA, Brett, etc.) |
Assess condition before hunting for fruit. If unclean, still complete the grid, but quality will usually be faulty or poor, and readiness conclusions must reflect that the wine is not sound for normal drinking advice.
Nose — Intensity
| Intensity | How to judge |
|---|---|
| Light | Aromas faint even with swirling |
| Medium(−) | Between light and medium |
| Medium | Clear aromas with swirling |
| Medium(+) | Aromas rise readily |
| Pronounced | Fill the glass / obvious at a distance |
The plus/minus modifiers on medium are examinable. Practise calibrating with known bottles: a simple Pinot Grigio may be medium(−); a Gewürztraminer or oaked white often medium(+) to pronounced.
Nose — Aroma characteristics (primary / secondary / tertiary)
Group aromas so your notes show understanding, not a random shopping list.
| Category | Source | Example descriptors |
|---|---|---|
| Primary | Grape & fermentation fruit/floral/herbal | Citrus, green/stone/tropical fruit; red/black fruit; floral; herbal; spice from grape |
| Secondary | Winemaking | Yeast/lees (biscuit, pastry); MLF (butter); oak (vanilla, toast, smoke, coconut, clove) |
| Tertiary | Maturation / ageing | Petrol (aged Riesling), honey, dried fruit, mushroom, leather, earth, tobacco, nutty oxidation (if intentional) |
Write enough specific descriptors to justify later quality (complexity needs multiple layers) but stay relevant. Three precise terms beat ten vague ones. Link categories to development: youthful wines are mostly primary (± secondary); fully developed wines show clear tertiary alongside remaining fruit.
Nose — Development
| Development | What you smell |
|---|---|
| Youthful | Fresh primary fruit; little tertiary |
| Developing | Primary still present; tertiary beginning |
| Fully developed | Tertiary prominent; fruit may be dried/mature but present |
| Tired | Fruit faded; stale, stewed, or hollow ageing characters |
Consistency rule: lemon-green + youthful primary citrus cannot honestly be “fully developed.” Deep gold + honey/nut + muted fruit may be fully developed or tired—use palate freshness to decide.
Worked mini-examples (appearance + nose only)
Wine A — pale lemon, clear; clean, medium(+), lemon/green apple/wet stone, youthful. Expect a cool-climate dry white trajectory on the palate (high acid, light–medium body). Do not conclude “outstanding” yet—you still need concentration, balance, and length.
Wine B — medium garnet, clear, fine sediment; clean, medium, dried cherry/leather/cedar, developing toward fully developed. Suggests mature red; palate should confirm tannin texture and whether fruit still supports the tertiary notes (drink now / past peak).
Practice checklist
- Say each scale out loud until the words are automatic
- For every practice wine, force one primary, and add secondary/tertiary only if truly present
- After writing development, glance back at colour—edit if they conflict
- If unclean, name the likely fault family in your private margin so conclusions stay aligned
Master appearance and nose first; the palate section builds on the same intensity and character logic with structure scales that drive quality and readiness marks.
On the WSET Level 3 SAT white colour scale, which sequence is correct from most youthful/green-tinged to most advanced brown?
A wine’s nose shows damp cardboard and almost no fruit. Which SAT condition and development pairing is most appropriate?
Which aroma set best illustrates secondary characteristics on the Level 3 SAT?