The Subtle Art of Finding the Right Oak Barrel
Posted On September 30, 2009 at 9:54 pm in Burgundy
A group of friends recently organized a weekend wine tasting trip to Burgundy. I would be the only foreigner among a group all of whom work in the wine business. I didn’t know where we would visit and taste but I knew I wouldn’t be disappointed.
After a leisurely lunch in Beaune after our three hour drive from Paris, we set out to visit some clients of our host. He works as a salesman for one of the major tonnellerie or barrel makers in Burgundy. As he explained, his job is very different from other suppliers of dry goods to the wine trade. He works more as a consultant by interpreting the winemakers style into a barrels that will best help then achieve their objectives.
All oak barrels are not created equal and most estates will test many barrels from different coopers to determine which best suits their wines. Differences in how the wood is pre-treated and aged, if the wood is either cut with a saw or split along the grain and how the inside of the barrel is heat treated all effect how the wine matures.
At Domaine Jacques Prieur in Meursault, we tasted through an exhaustive range of the wines coming from the same parcels but aged in barrels from different manufacturers. The differences sometimes were subtle and other times wines seemed to come from entirely different vineyards. It gave me new appreciation of the how difficult it is to master the delicate art of barrel aging to improve the wine without overpowering it.
Tasting in the cellars of Domaine Jacques Prieur, Meursault
Next: The Feast in Vosne-Romanée
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