Elegance and lightness: two standards, not one

The standard

Separate assessment keeps the two apart: it examines balance and weight as distinct questions, rather than inferring elegance from a light body.

Criteria

  • Elegance is measured by the proportion of the parts, lightness by their quantity
  • A heavy wine can be elegant
  • A light wine is not thereby elegant
  • Both judgements are reasoned separately

Distinction

Elegance ≠ lightness: a wine's balance is independent of its weight. Where the two are equated, the lighter wine wrongly counts as the more elegant. Separate assessment prevents this short circuit.