Like bodies, some wines are blessed with balanced proportions, some are large in stature, and some smaller and more compact. Still others bank on exaggerating one feature at the expense of others. I always take a good whiff before every gulp. Wine aromas can be floral or fruity or vegetably or nutty or buttery or animally or minerally or smoky or an endless combination of smells from all sorts of other things. The word used to describe the perfume or bouquet of a wine is its nose.
All wines have a beginning, a middle, and an ending.
The better the wine, the longer and more continually it is noticed in each part of the nose and mouth. Wine tasters use the word palate to describe the complete impression a variety of flavours and textures produce in the mouth. If all of the above happens seamlessly, with no attribute over powering any other, the wine is considered to be in balance. An exceptionally good wine will evolve, developing its flavour, texture, and aromas during the course of drinking it. Much of this takes place in the time it takes to sip and then swallow a mouthful.