Table 3.

Wine sensory analysis in Chardonnay base wines from 7-days before theoretical harvest (TH-7), theoretical harvest (TH) and 10-days after theoretical harvest (TH+10) samples of the 2005 and 2006 growing seasons.

Triangular tests	Samples	Major sensory descriptors
2005
TH-7/TH	TH-7	Slight milk, lively
	TH	Fruity (cherry), round, slight bitterness
TH/TH+10*	TH	Milk (yoghurt, toffee, butter), round
	TH+10	Reductive character (sulfur), more vegetal than smoked and roasted, lively
TH-7/TH+10*	TH-7	Acid, lively, aggressive
	TH+10	Vegetal, less acid versus round and flat mouth, bitterness
2006
TH-7/TH	TH-7	Acid (aggressive)
	TH	Reductive hint (animal), less acid
TH/TH+10*	TH	Reductive character (cauliflower), more acid than astringent and bitter
	TH+10	Reductive character (hydrocarbon, rubber, burnt wood, vegetable stock versus animal), acid (more aggressive), bitter, short
TH-7/TH+10*	TH-7	Reductive hint, acid (fresher, harder, aggressive), aqueous mouth
	TH+10	Roasted and reductive character (sulfur, animal, smoke, putrid), acid (hard, lively, slight acidity), round, bitter

Tasting descriptors represent a summary of sensory descriptors employed by a tasting panel of 13 tasters to qualify Chardonnay base wines. *correspond to significant comparison analysis performed (P < 0.05). Bold sensory descriptors are the most representative ones distinguishing two defined base wines.