Chemical and sensory aroma typicity of La Mancha Petit Verdot wines

In this work, the aroma of wines, elaborated across five harvests (2015-2019) from Petit Verdot grape variety cultivated in La Mancha region, was studied by instrumental and sensory analysis in order to characterize the aroma of these wines. Volatile compounds were studied by gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC/MS). A total of 77 aroma compounds were identified and quantified in Petit Verdot wines oven this five-year period. Aroma sensory profile of Petit Verdot wines was defined by higher intensity of red fruit, leather, tobacco, liquorice and sweet aroma attributes. Seventeen volatile compounds were present in all samples with OAVs>1. Partial least square (PLS) regression was applied to volatile compounds with OAV> 1 and aroma sensory descriptors. PLS shows a positive correlation between prune and sweet descriptors and ethyl octanoate and isoamyl acetate have been shown. On the contrary, red fruit and liquorice attributes are positively correlated with beta-damascenone, ethyl butyrate, decanoic acid, citronellol and 4-vinylguaiacol. This work contributes to gaining knowledge about the sensory aroma profile and its relation to the volatile composition of La Mancha Petit Verdot grape cultivar.

Automated summary

This study investigated the aroma of Petit Verdot wines from La Mancha region over a five-year period. A total of 77 volatile compounds were identified and quantified. The aroma sensory profile of Petit Verdot wines was characterized by red fruit, leather, tobacco, liquorice, and sweet attributes. Regression analysis revealed positive correlations between certain compounds and specific aroma descriptors.