White notes and a singing nose

"It comes from two of Cosme’s holdings: one in Vinsobres (a bit cooler, on limestone and sand) and one in Gard (warmer, on large terraces of medium-to-large rolling stones). Done entirely in concrete, it’s a deep inky purple-black and presents a singing nose of boysenberry/blackberry fruit, lovely topnotes of white flowers and violets, and dustings of black pepper...there’s cooling mineral cut to balance the rich fruit and hoisin flavors."

Huh? Well, we're talking about wine here, specifically from the Rhone Valley region of southern France, poetically described in a Full Pull email offering. I've been thinking about this one since John asked if there really was a difference between the smell of white and colored flowers?

Of course our white garden flowers came to mind, and I dug around to find these pictures from previous summers.  White hollyhocks, camellias and dahlias have no fragrance at all, but white jasmine and Casa Blanca lilies scent the entire yard in August. And there are many other beautiful white stinkers that don't grow in Seattle, like gardenias, tuber roses and stephanotis, all popular with brides.  How does this white scent differ from say, a red rose scent?  And what are the words to describe such subtle differences?

There's a website called Fragrantica, where I found a post titled "What Do White Fragrances Smell Like"?

I'm old-fashioned and still love nice perfume.  A lady really wasn't really dressed to go out without a bit of perfume behind her ears, or at least daubed on a hankie.  I've used Oscar de la Renta perfume for decades, and Amanda and John say they would recognize the smell of it anywhere. We used to call that our "signature scent."

Women's perfume and cigarette smoke must have once mixed at social gatherings in a way we would find nauseating now.  Times change. The Seattle Symphony program advises concert goers not to wear perfume because some people are allergic and/or annoyed by it. My doctor's office is a "fragrance free zone."

And perfume and fine wine do not mix, not one bit. Napa Valley "tasting room etiquette" advises against wearing fragrances, because the sense of taste is heavily influenced by smell.  It makes perfect sense. A whiff of Oscar's sweet "white notes" does compliment the "white notes" in that wine the person next to you is contemplating.