Length

The flavour of a simple wine disappears very quickly from the mouth once you have swallowed it, whereas the taste of a fine wine will linger, often for up to a minute. This aftertaste is known as the “length” of the wine. If the wine is young, or of poor quality, it will not last very long on the palate, but if it is good quality or mature, the flavour will stick around. At an organised tasting, you may hear other tasters say appreciatively, “good length” or “very long” after they have tasted a wine. Conversely, “short” is a dismissive comment.