Another Tasting Question

[aetre]

I'm a novice too:

Aren't Tannins a large part of the taste? I had shiraz and it was medium body but went down easily, merlot was a little bigger but had a little bit of astringency (puckered my mouth) and the cab, full body, lots and lots of puckering (and the taste lasted longer than the previous two)

and the pinot noir I had, was most like the shiraz, but more fruity. (same body I think)