WINE connoisseurs really do need a good nose. Researchers in France believe
the principal difference in flavour between Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon wines
comes from the smell of a single ingredient.
“Merlot is generally considered to be softer textured and somewhat fleshier
than Cabernet Sauvignon,” says the British wine writer Michael Schuster. But
Alain Bertrand and his colleagues from the University of Bordeaux have found
that the real distinction is less romantic. They say the difference is all down
to a compound that smells of caramel called
4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethylfuran-3(2H)-one, or HDMF.
Bertrand, an analytical chemist, asked 17 wine…
