MORE CLUES ABOUT SENSORY IMPACT OF SOTOLON IN SOME FLOR SHERRY WINES

The olfactory impact of sotolon [4,5-dimethyl-3-hydroxy-2(5H)-furanone] in wines was first demonstrated in botrytized wines. In sherry wines it was recently found to occur at concentrations varying from 0 to 500 ppb. The olfactory detection threshold of a sample of purified racemic sotolon was determined to be lower (15 ppb) in white wine than its concentration in most sherries. Its flavor impact in sherries was calculated to be between 1 and 25 OUV. Using MCA of the data obtained from 22 wines (white wines, rancios, Spanish and French sherries) during two tasting sessions by wine professionals, significant positive correlations were found between the concentration of sotolon and the typicality as well as between the concentration and the persistence in the mouth of a nutty flavor.