It is a nebulous area to provide a definitive assessment on the quality of wine due to varied personal preferences. However, a finewine must meet certain base objective requirements.


Balance
Balance in a wine is determined by these key elements:

• Flavour – acidity and sweetness
  (if present), oak (if present),
• Tannin, and
• Alcohol

Balanced wines bear the greatest potential for cellaring. They will also mix well with food and have a smaller chance of providing fatigue to the palate.

Structure
This could be described as the "shape" of the wine or how it feels in your mouth. Wines with a good structure often have a front, mid and back palate that is well defined.