Our 10,000 taste buds, that replace themselves about every two weeks, can only detect sweet, sour, salt, bitter and monosodium glutamate (MSG). Our five million to six million olfactory receptors (a rabbit has 100 million and a dog twice that) can remember up to 10,000 smells.

In wine talk there is a distinctive difference between aroma and bouquet and the easiest way to remember which is which is that “A” comes before “B”. Aromas are the initial smells of the grapes and fermentation. Bouquet consists of tertiary components that happen during ageing.

As you read about the various phases of wines please remember that to be good, even if some characteristics seem a little offbeat, they must all be in perfect harmony and balance to make a fine sip.

There are certain clues that help us decide on the grape variety if we have been handed a glass of wine to identify. Let’s say that the first is a New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc. Aromas of gooseberry, newly cut grass and a touch of the compound p-mentha-8-thiol-3-one (politely “feline water”) are the big clues. In our Goldwater Estate 2013 Sauvignon Blanc from Marlborough the telltale signs are there, but balanced with lemon drops, grapefruit, melon, lime and an understated minerality. This wine is made entirely in stainless steel so there is no oak influence at all. The International Wine cellar rated it a fine 91/100. $20.25.

I could pour you a glass of Schloss Vollrads Riesling 2011 from Germany, one of the very oldest wine estates in the world, and you might have trouble spelling trimethyldihydronaphthalene but the slight bouquet of kerosene or gasoline is a dead giveaway for Riesling that has aged a bit. Of course it does not taste of this as only a hint is there along with exotic mango, peach and ripe apple. The touch of residual sugar makes it so perfect with Asian spices such as curry, ginger or lemon grass, $24.45, and I cannot think of anything better to refresh me as my kite soars towards the clouds.

I love Chardonnay as it lends itself so well to the judicial use of oak. Take for instance our 2012 “Luminus” Chardonnay from Beringer. The fact that it is fermented in oak barrels adds aromas of toast and vanilla to honeysuckle, hazelnut, lemons, apples, minerality and buttered citrus. As a wine like this ages one might be fooled into thinking that the oak influence increases, but of course that cannot happen, but what does, is that the fruit gradually fades and the balance of the bouquet changes. Robert Parker calls this “a brilliant example of Chardonnay” and Antonio Galloni says that it is “drop dead gorgeous”. $41.60.

I find that most great red wines based on the Cabernet Sauvignon grape need about ten years to come into their own and reveal a bouquet as only age can do. A superb example is the Private Reserve 2007 from Beringer in Napa Valley. In 2011 Robert Parker rated it 97/100 and wrote of this 100 per cent Cabernet Sauvignon “an extraordinary nose of blackberries, white chocolate, liquorice, tobacco leaf, smoky barbecue, charcoal and a dense, luscious, full-bodied opulent style with sweet tannins”.

This is a wine that is just coming into its own, but will fly until about 2040. I can attest to the fact that as of last night it clung to the glass with a beautiful, rich, ruby red robe with hardly any of the brown meniscus that signifies that ageing is taking place. By the way, we use our eyes to help with age as older red wine lightens on its edges and turns brownish. I should be honest and say that I always seek help on these matters as my mother did not bless me with the genes to distinguish colours well at all. The effects of oak are smoke from the charring of the staves during barrel making (the wine maker will ask for light, medium or heavy toast on his/her barrels), but also vanilla, cedar, leather and dark chocolate.

Even though I found cherry still deliciously there, the tannins were soft and the fruit was calming down from the rambunctiousness of youth. This is a wine that I would decant for at least an hour and then just be prepared to think deeply as it is indeed worthy of meditation. $123.45.

This column is a paid for advertorial for Burrows Lightbourn Ltd. Michael Robinson is Director of Wine at Burrows Lightbourn Ltd. He can be contacted at mrobinson@bll.bm or 295-0176. Burrows Lightbourn have stores in Hamilton (Front Street East. 295-1554), Paget (Harbour Road, 236-0355) and St George’s (York Street, 297-0409). A selection of their wines, beers and spirits are available online at www.wineonline.bm.