Short definition
A non-fruity, non-herbal quality in wine often described as wet stone, chalk, flint, or slate.
Some tasters swear they can taste the limestone soil a vine grew in. Scientists are skeptical — vines do not absorb rocks. Regardless, the sensation is real: a chalky, flinty, wet-gravel quality that shows up in Chablis, Sancerre, and German Riesling. Whether it comes from the soil or from specific acids and yeasts, minerality adds a savory dimension beyond fruit.