A typical commercial sample of red Vins Doux Naturels (VDN), Maury 1991, was analyzed by liquid−liquid extraction with dichloromethane followed by chromatographic analysis by GC/FID, GC/MS,
and GC/sniffing. GC/sniffing using a DB-Wax and a DB-5 fused silica capillary column revealed
five substances having odors corresponding to the aromas of these sweet fortified wines: an enolic
lactone, 3-hydroxy-4,5-dimethyl-2(5H)-furanone or sotolon; an acetal, trans-2-methyl-5-hydroxy-1,3-dioxane; and three ethyl esters, 4-carbethoxy-γ-butyrolactone, ethyl 2-hydroxyglutarate, and
ethyl pyroglutamate. The last four compounds have been synthesized and their olfactory
characteristics checked under the same conditions, which confirmed the odors revealed for the natural
compounds except for trans-2-methyl-5-hydroxy-1,3-dioxane, which exhibited no odor. Furthermore,
five other sweet fortified wines subjected to different types of oxidative aging were analyzed to
quantitatively determine the four identified aroma compounds. The three ethyl esters were found
in these wines at different levels increasing with oxidative aging. However, sotolon could not be
detected. In addition, other volatile compounds from the six wines were analyzed. The levels of
polar ethyl esters and the related lactones, the carbonyl compounds, and their acetals increased in
the wines after oxidative aging as well.
Keywords: Sweet wine; aroma; oxidative aging; Grenache; Vins Doux Naturels