American oak oak barrel with a capacity of 225 liters from the renowned French manufacturer Seguin Moreau.
TECHNICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
ORIGIN & OENOLOGICAL OBJECTIVES
The barrel is inspired by the tradition of aging great Spanish wines in wood.
This American oak selection is intended for powerful red wine varieties and harmonizes olfactory smoothness with liveliness on the palate.
A SPECIFIC SELECTION
To manufacture our barrels, we select batches of American oak that will give a suitable oenological profile, while also optimizing the wood when rough staves are machined into staves.
To suitably mature this rough staves selection, our oak is dried 100% naturally in the open air at our wood yard in Perryville (Missouri).
The barrel is a very efficient tool which allows:
- Some intense wood notes which correspond well with the typicity of some wines.
- To give complexity to the blending.
DID YOU KNOW ?
The word ‘Crianza’, which translates as ‘Aging’, is the name of one of the main steps in the making of a Great Wine.
This is when wines spend some time in oak barrels in order to improve them and achieve the target quality.
This is a very important process in Spain, given the tradition and the personality of the wines. There are three categories of wine, distinguished by how long they are aged in oak barrels before bottling: Crianza, Reserva and Gran Reserva.
IMPLEMENTATION
The barrel lends itself to various aging times (6-24 months), depending on the wine's profile before
aging and the oenological objective sought.
We recommend filling barrels as quickly as possible to carry out the malolactic fermentation either in the
casks for more aromatic complexity, smoothness and sweetness or just afterwards. The objective in both
cases is faster integration of woody aromas.
SENSORIAL PROFILE
American oak's typical characteristics, combined with average
toasting – result in the following sensory profile at the end of aging:
Aromatic profile: hints of coconut, roasted hazelnuts, caramel, warm
pastries, milky coffee, spices.
Gustatory profile: soft on the palate and very little tannin impact.
During the first months of aging, a slightly intense “prise de bois” on the American oak is usually noticed:
toasted, fresh wood and a powerful tanic impact in mouth. This sensation reduces progressively during aging.
*“prise de bois”: phenomenon noticed during aging in barrels which consists in the perception of oak sensation and an important
rising of the tanic intensity.
STORAGE CONDITIONS
All our barrels are subject to rigorous manufacturing conditions that aim to guarantee food safety and to meet
current regulatory requirements. The choice of highest quality packaging materials ensures maximum protection
against potential contaminants during transport or storage.
