Chemosensory analysis of condensed tannins and their astringency perception in Marselan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot red wine during winemaking

Condensed tannins are essential components in red wines, which not only contribute to their astringency effect but also determine wine quality. However, the evolution of tannins during vinification and wine aging remains unclear. Hence, this investigation analyzed the chemosensory characteristics of condensed tannins and their astringency perception in Marselan, Cabernet Sauvignon and MerlotCanalysis of condensed tannins and their astringency perception in Marselan, Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlotred wine during an industrial-scale winemaking procedure, via both non-targeted UPLC–Q-ToF and QDA techniques. The results indicated that Marselan exhibited the highest total tannins content, galloylation, prodelphinidins and astringency intensity among the three studied varieties. 13 tannins molecules were found to be the key molecule tannins (VIP>1) during Marselan aging evolution, whereas 14 and 15 molecule tannins were revealed as the key (VIP>1) in Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot wines, respectively. Furthermore, the sensory results demonstrated that, after aging for 9 months, the astringency sub-quality of Merlot wine evolved at a slower rate than the other two. Additionally, astringency intensity was significantly positively (p < 0.001) correlated with total tannins, mDP, and (E)G% for all three varieties, while astringency sub-quality was significantly negatively (p < 0.001) correlated with total tannins and (E)G%, according to a correlation analysis of chemosensory metabolomic results. For Marselan, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Merlot, respectively, DP5-C, DP1-C, and the majority of key tannins (VIP>1) significantly adversely correlate with astringency sub-quality.