Wine contains many different natural components but the hedonistic quality of a wine is not dependent on their quantities or measurements only.

For example, it does not mean that if a wine contains more or less grape tannins than another, it’s per se better or worse.

Probably what makes a particular bottle memorable is its balance: a pleasant sensory perception which is the result of all the wine’s constituents working in both synergistic and antagonistic ways.

Balance is the kingpin of our quality evaluations and any serious winemaker around the world strives to hit this sweet spot

The idea of balance is an easy to understand concept. No one component is overbearing. Instead, a wine’s sweetness and dryness levels correspond to its style, it’s got enough fruit concentration for structure, its alcoholic strength is neither too high nor low, and any possible derived characteristics from oak barrels are also in harmony with other aromas and flavours. And, in the case of red wine, the tannins, too, complement the wine’s entire make-up.

I believe that balance is the kingpin of our quality evaluations and any serious winemaker around the world strives to hit this sweet spot. Attention to detail and careful viticultural and winemaking practices are key to achieving balance in the resulting wine. But there’s no universal formula to follow.

Worse still, or at least making the winemaker’s quest for balance all the more difficult, how the balance of any individual wine is perceived depends on each taster and on that taster’s tolerances for the various wine components.

There might be truth in numbers but they can only tell you, the drinker, so much about a wine. Balance for one wine enthusiast is for another a wine’s off-centre. There’s a simple answer, though: if a wine tastes just great, it’s most likely a case of a great balancing act.