19.2 Palate
Key Takeaways
- Palate uses official scales for sweetness, acidity, tannin (reds), alcohol (including the fortified alcohol scale when relevant), body, mousse (sparkling), flavour intensity, flavour characteristics, and finish
- Medium levels often need medium(−) or medium(+) — these modifiers are part of the Level 3 grid and should be practised until automatic
- Structure descriptors must agree: high alcohol usually supports medium(+)–full body; residual sugar raises body perception; high acid can make body seem lighter
- Flavour characteristics on the palate should echo and refine the nose (primary/secondary/tertiary), not contradict without reason
- Finish length (short→long with medium ±) is a major quality clue—outstanding wines typically show at least medium(+) to long finishes with persistent flavour
19.2 Palate
Quick Answer: After appearance and nose, assess the palate in SAT order: sweetness → acidity → tannin (if red/rosé with tannin) → alcohol → body → mousse (if sparkling) → flavour intensity → flavour characteristics → finish. Use only official scale words, including medium(−) and medium(+). Unit 2 still wines omit mousse unless pétillance is notable as other observation—but you must know the full grid for theory and sparkling tasting practice.
The palate is where most quality evidence lives: balance between sugar/acid/tannin/alcohol, intensity and complexity of flavour, and length of finish. Inconsistent palate notes (e.g. “light body” with “high alcohol” and “sweet / luscious”) lose marks even if individual words appear on the scale.
Sweetness
| Level | Practical calibration |
|---|---|
| Dry | No noticeable sugar; acid may dominate |
| Off-dry | Hint of sugar; still finishes mostly dry |
| Medium-dry | Clear sugar but not dessert-like |
| Medium-sweet | Distinctly sweet; sugar obvious |
| Sweet | Fully sweet table/dessert wines |
| Luscious | Very high sugar (e.g. some botrytis / Tokaji Aszú levels) |
Do not confuse ripe fruit with sugar. A dry Gewürztraminer can smell sweet from aromatics yet taste dry. Confirm on the mid-palate and finish. High acid masks sugar—an off-dry Riesling can taste drier than it is; note residual sweetness carefully against acidity.
Acidity
| Level | Mouthfeel cue |
|---|---|
| Low | Soft, flabby, little mouth-watering |
| Medium(−) | Mild freshness |
| Medium | Clear mouth-watering |
| Medium(+) | Bright, crisp |
| High | Mouth-watering, tart, salivating strongly |
Assess acidity by how much the wine makes you salivate and how fresh it feels, not by pH numbers. Cool-climate whites and classic Northern European styles often sit medium(+) to high; warm-climate ripe reds may be medium(−) to medium. Acidity is essential for balance judgments later.
Tannin (red wines; some rosés/orange wines)
| Level | Mouthfeel cue |
|---|---|
| Low | Little grip; soft |
| Medium(−) | Gentle drying |
| Medium | Clear drying on gums/cheeks |
| Medium(+) | Firm grip |
| High | Strong drying/astringency; chewy |
Also note texture: ripe vs green/unripe (grippy, stemmy); fine-grained vs coarse. The Level 3 grid’s primary marked scale is the level (low→high). Green tannin can still be “high” but will hurt quality/balance if harsh. Young Barolo often shows high, firm tannin; simple Beaujolais often low to medium(−) with soft texture.
Alcohol
Still / sparkling (unfortified) scale
| Level | Approx. guide (typical teaching bands) |
|---|---|
| Low | Noticeably light; little warmth |
| Medium(−) | Slight warmth |
| Medium | Balanced warmth |
| Medium(+) | Clear warmth |
| High | Hot / burning on the finish if unbalanced |
Exact % bands are taught in WSET materials as calibration aids; in the exam, judge by perceived warmth and body contribution, then keep notes consistent.
Fortified alcohol scale
Fortified wines use a simpler relative scale on the grid:
| Level | Context |
|---|---|
| Low | Lower end of fortified spectrum |
| Medium | Mid fortified |
| High | Hot, spiritous fortifieds |
Unit 2 Award-in-Wines tasting uses still unfortified wines, but alcohol vocabulary for fortifieds appears in theory/service contexts—know both scales and do not write “medium(+)” on a fortified grid if the fortified scale is required.
Body
| Level | Sense of weight |
|---|---|
| Light | Watery to delicate |
| Medium(−) | Slightly more substance |
| Medium | Mid weight |
| Medium(+) | Distinctly weighty |
| Full | Rich, dense texture |
Body is a composite of extract, alcohol, sugar, and (for reds) tannin/phenolics. Cross-check: high alcohol + residual sugar → usually medium(+)–full; low alcohol + high acid dry wine → often light–medium. If you write contradictory structure, fix it before conclusions.
Mousse (sparkling)
| Level | Feel |
|---|---|
| Delicate | Fine, gentle bubbles |
| Creamy | Soft, persistent foam |
| Aggressive | Coarse, prickly CO₂ |
For Unit 2 still wines, skip mousse unless you noted pétillance under appearance. Still learn the terms for LO3 sparkling work.
Flavour intensity
Same ladder as nose intensity:
Light → medium(−) → medium → medium(+) → pronounced
Palate intensity can differ slightly from nose (e.g. muted nose, stronger palate after warming), but large gaps need a reason. Dilute flavours + short finish undermine high quality claims.
Flavour characteristics
Echo the nose categories—primary / secondary / tertiary—and refine them. Add taste-only notes if useful (bitterness from oak or phenolics). Examples:
| Wine type | Typical palate flavour building blocks |
|---|---|
| Cool dry white | Citrus, green fruit, floral, wet stone; possible lees biscuit |
| Oaked white | Stone/tropical fruit + vanilla/toast/butter |
| Light red | Red fruit, floral; low tannin; little oak |
| Structured red | Black fruit, oak spice, possibly developing earth/leather |
Complexity means multiple flavour layers across categories, not a longer list of synonyms for “berry.”
Finish
| Length | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Short | Flavour drops in a few seconds |
| Medium(−) | Brief persistence |
| Medium | Clear aftertaste |
| Medium(+) | Lingering pleasant flavour |
| Long | Extended, detailed finish |
Finish is one of the strongest quality indicators on Level 3. Outstanding wines usually combine pronounced or medium(+) flavour intensity with medium(+) to long finishes where flavours remain defined—not just alcohol heat lingering.
Structural coherence — worked patterns
Young structured red (e.g. Barolo-like): dry; high acid; high tannin; medium(+)–high alcohol; full body; medium(+)–pronounced black cherry/rose/tar; medium(+)–long finish. Nose likely youthful or developing; colour purple/ruby.
Simple easy red (e.g. Beaujolais-like): dry; medium(+) acid; low–medium(−) tannin; medium alcohol; light–medium body; medium red fruit; medium(−)–medium finish. Youthful; purple/ruby; primary-only aromas.
Off-dry Riesling pattern: off-dry; high acid; low tannin (white); medium alcohol; light–medium body; medium(+) citrus/stone/floral; medium(+) finish. Balance = sugar vs acid.
Timing tip for Unit 2
On the palate, move quickly through scales you are sure of (sweetness, acid, tannin) and spend seconds calibrating the borderline medium vs medium(+) calls—those often separate merit-level tasting scripts from vague ones. Then write flavour characteristics that match your nose categories before judging finish length honestly (do not invent “long” to chase outstanding).
When structure, intensity, and finish are on paper, you are ready for quality and readiness conclusions—the subject of the next section.
Which sweetness sequence matches the official WSET Level 3 SAT from driest to sweetest?
A dry red is described as light-bodied, low tannin, medium alcohol, medium(−) flavour intensity, and short finish. Which statement is most accurate?
Which palate scale is assessed for red wines on Unit 2 but not for most whites?