Glossary

Passé

Describes wine that has aged for too long and thus has lost all of its qualities and is at the end of its life.

Passerillage

Processes of air-drying grapes to concentrate their sugar content to produce sweet wines. However, these wines are less sweet than those produced with grapes infected with noble rot.

Past prime (Évolué)

Describes wine that is no longer at its best. Its aromas weaken and its colour becomes orangey in reds, and brownish in whites.

Peak (Apogée)

A wine at its peak has achieved its maximum quality, which will begin to decline thereafter. The peak of a Bordeaux wine depends on the richness of its tannins, natural acids and aromatic substances.

Persistence

Describes the perception of the duration of a wine's flavours or aromas. A long aromatic persistence is a positive sign of a wine's power.

Petit Verdot

A red Bordeaux grape variety.

Phylloxera

An aphid that destroyed Bordeaux and European grapevines between 1860 and 1880 by attacking their root systems. This plague put an end to European wine production until the beginning of the 20th century when it was resurrected thanks to grafting, using resistant American rootstock.

Planted surfaces (Encépagement)

Represents the relative proportions of different grape varieties planted on one property. In Bordeaux, the choice of grape varieties to plant is determined parcel-by-parcel depending on the soil, microclimates and exposure to the sun. The type of wine desired also influences the decision.

Plump (Enveloppé)

Describes wine that is rich in alcohol but where sweetness dominates.

Powerful (Puissant)

Describes a full-bodied wine that is robust and generous with a rich bouquet.

Press wine (Presse)

Wine made from pressing the marc after devatting (see definition). Wine experts choose appropriate presses and determine the volume of press wine to blend with the free-run wine (obtained after running-off - see definition).

Pressing (Pressurage)

In white wines, the process of pressing grapes to extract their juice. In the red wine vinification process, only the grape solids are pressed after alcoholic fermentation.

Prime (Épanoui)

Describes wine that is balanced and at its best. Aged perfectly, wine begins to decline after this point in its evolution.

Pruning (Taille)

The trimming of excess branches on grape vines to regulate growth. Pruning also enables the control of the vine's productivity, called its charge and has a direct impact on the volume of the harvest, and thus the quality and concentration of grapes.