Wine adjectives and follow up questions

[younganduninformed]

Hello All,

I am a complete wine novice and thus picked up a bottle at the store that "looked good." (I can hear the snickers already.) Anyway, this was a 1999 Chateau Ste. Michelle and it tasted a little "syrupy."

So, Question #1:

What is the proper adjective for "syrupy?" I ask because I would like to ask what wines I might like better without sounding like a dilettante.

Secondly,

If I thought this wine tasted "syrupy," can anyone suggest something that is less "syrupy" (This is the problem: saying "less syrupy" sounds moronic.) I like the mild tartness of merlots and would love to find a decent bottle for around 15 dollars.

Thank you for any help.

[barnesy]

You mentioned the vintage (1999) and the producer (Chateau Ste Michelle), but you failed to mention what was the grape varietal. My guess is that it was also a late harvest wine. Syrupy works for me if you are describing the wine as overly sugary without any acid to make balance the sugar and add some zip to it.

If you could give us some more information on what you are looking for in a wine (besides not syrupy), like red, white, dry, off dry, fruity, spicey, etc.

Also, if you are wanting to learn about wine, a good beginners book such as Wine for Dummies will help you learn the appropriate jargon so you can put into terms what you are tasting and looking for. Also, read the posts here and keep coming back and asking questions.

Barnesy