What are "horizontal tannins"?

Question

I see the term "horizontal tannins" used occasionally in wine reviews (just do a web search for the phrase and you'll find a bunch of them). I know what tannins are, and I know what "silky tannins" are, but what are "horizontal tannins"?

Answer 1

„(As an added guide to the wine a grape might produce, the Guide includes an easy-to-use visual aid: a horizontal bar with a band which shows the range of quality, from ordinary to superb.) Robinson also shares much fascinating wine history, her deep insight into the wine industry, and more important, her own judgment on a wine. And Robinson does not hedge in judging a wine: discussing Carignan, France's most planted red wine, she comments "Its wine is high in everything--acidity, tannins, color, bitterness--but flavor and charm. This gives it the double inconvenience of being unsuitable for early consumption yet unworthy of maturation." And for Trebbiano, the most planted white grape in Italy (and with Ugni Blanc, which is the name of the grape in France, the second most planted white grape in the world), Robinson notes "the word Trebbiano in a wine name almost invariably signals something light, white, crisp, and uninspiring." Perhaps most important, this portable book can be used in the store as a buying guide. With Robinson's Guide, simply find the grape variety on the label--or, if not listed, turn to Robinson's unique Grapes Behind the Names appendix in the back--look up the entry on that grape, and you will discover everything you need to know to make an informed decision to buy or pass.“

Answer 2

Never encountered this. Sounds like nothing with an actual chemical basis, just more contrived "winespeak" if anything at all. Best guess would be it's a metaphor meaning the tannins aren't particularly harsh.

Cookiest wine description I ever read was for a wine whose flavor was "honest" (and I worked for the company that generated that little slice of verbal nonsense). It seems there is a perennial contest to see who can come up with the most overreaching BS in wine descriptions. If they only knew how much of a disservice they are doing to the wine community ....