Glossary
Lean
/LEEN/
Wine lacking generous fruit or body.
Full Definition
Lean describes wines lacking generous fruit and body, showing more structure than flesh. Can be positive (taut, fresh, mineral) or negative (thin, underfed) depending on style. Cool vintage wines, young wines needing time, or deliberately restrained styles can be positively lean. Context determines interpretation.
Related Terms
See Also
Reference
More terms starting with L
Lactic Acid
The softer acid produced during malolactic fermentation.
Late Harvest
Wine from grapes picked after normal harvest for extra ripeness.
Lees
Dead yeast cells and grape solids that settle after fermentation.
Left Bank
The Cabernet-dominant side of Bordeaux.
Legs
The droplets that run down the glass after swirling.
Length
How long flavors persist after swallowing.