IDENTIFICATION OF VOLATILE AND POWERFUL ODOROUS THIOLS IN BORDEAUX RED WINE VARIETIES

The use of a new technique combining low-temperature vacuum distillati on with a specific chemical capture with an organomercuric compound en abled the extraction of volatile odorous thiols present at very low co ncentrations in the Bordeaux red wine varieties Merlot and Cabernet Sa uvignon. The analysis of wine extracts by gas chromatography coupled w ith detection by olfactometry, flame photometry, and mass spectrometry led to the identification of three aromatic thiols: 5-mercapto-2-meth ylpropanol, identified for the first time in wine; 3-mercaptohexanol; and 9-mercaptohexyl acetate, already described in Sauvignon Blanc wine s.