Barrique
The oak is an oak barrel , which today mainly for removing of wine , as well as whiskey and beer serves. Barrique barrels in the Bordelais ship size of 225 liters are mostly used. Originally, the relatively small barrique was just a transport barrel for exporting wine to England. The freshly made barrels were charred inside to bend the staves . This layer creates a distinctive vanilla aroma in the wine. Furthermore, in contrast to large wooden barrels that are made wine- green, barriques give off tannins to the wine. Common to all wines produced in wooden barrels is a certain degree of oxidation.
Word origin
In French meant barrique (from the Gascon barrica ) barrel . Then the term was restricted to the most commonly used barrel size; it usually has a volume of 225 liters in Bordeaux or 228 liters in Burgundy. The measure resulted from the barrel size, which a dock worker could load by hand when empty. With the Bordelaiser Barrique, with a volume of 225 liters, this is an empty weight of around 45 kg. Nowadays the barrique wine produced in it is sometimes referred to as "barrique" for short.
The word barricade is also derived from barrique ; because during the July Revolution of 1830 barriques filled with earth served as road blocks.
History of barrique storage
Originally, in ancient times, hoses made from animal hides were used instead of the barrel , but also large clay vessels. Containers made of wood carved from blocks of wood or logs date back to 1000 BC. In use. Wooden barrels composed of staves, which were used to store and transport goods and drinks, are considered to be the invention of the Celts ( Gauls , Bojer ). The first mention of such barrels goes to various Roman sources from 50 BC. BC ( Aulus Hirtius , Gaius Iulius Caesar , Strabo , Pliny ), but they were certainly used in the Celtic area a few centuries earlier. Later they were also adopted by the Romans .
From history, three cases are worth mentioning for "barriquising":
- The English, who ruled the Bordeaux area for a long time, noticed that the wine transported on ships in wooden barrels was becoming more durable.
- The Hanseatic merchants in Bremen, Hamburg and Lübeck were friends of the " Rotspons "; this was red wine that was bought in Bordeaux, then shipped to the Hanseatic cities and blended there from various deliveries. Occasionally, winegrowers from Bordeaux who visited their Hanseatic customers are said to have not recognized their own wines - they had become so good as a result of the wooden barrel storage.
- Louis-Gaspard Estournel from Saint-Estèphe near Bordeaux discovered at the beginning of the 19th century that some wine lots that had not been sold in Arabia and India had improved considerably after they were returned. He marked these lots with an "R" for "Retour des Indes" (back from India) and, when word of their quality got around, sold them at ever better prices. He finally decided to transport all of his wines in wooden barrels before selling them.
The aging in new wooden barrels was originally reserved for the best and heaviest wines. The large Bordeaux wineries , such as Château Margaux , which runs its own cooperage , sell their used barrels on to less affluent wineries.
In the 1980s, the technique of barrique aging came into fashion worldwide. On the one hand, this development is due to the internationalization of viticulture, whereby the methods used in Bordeaux serve as role models. On the other hand, the demand for high-quality, heavy red wines with complex aromas has risen sharply, so that a large market for barrique wines has also emerged in regions other than those traditionally known for them. This is also the case in Germany. Since these wines were initially neither regional nor typical for us, they first had to be marketed as table wine. With the increasing establishment, they were recognized as quality wine . In the meantime, German barrique wines have achieved a high quality potential. Many are in the upper price segment.
The use of roasted wood chips, which has been permitted since 2006, means that this type of wine is also widely represented nationally and internationally in the middle and simple price segment.
stylistics
A general distinction is made between primary, secondary and tertiary aromas in wine ; the aging in barrique produces tertiary aromas, in contrast to the primary taste of the grapes and the secondary fermentation. The vanilla aroma from roasting and an astringency (bitter taste, furry mouthfeel) from tannins can be traced back directly to the barrique . The following typical taste nuances, on the other hand, cannot be traced back directly to the wood, but they are related to the aging of the wine in the wood during storage. They can occur deliberately or unconsciously, but they can also be prevented and are not a unique selling point:
- Oxidative notes and
- Aging notes arise from contact with oxygen during vinification, aging and bottle aging. The bitter tannins typically contained in barrique wines combine to form longer molecular chains during the long aging in the bottle and sink to the ground as lees. The acid and alcohol are also helpful for the long-term stability of the wine. Barrique wines are therefore often heavy, rich in alcohol and filling.
Wines in the Bordeux or Rioja style are therefore full-bodied and create a full mouthfeel. In contrast, the Burgundy style is rather slim, elegant and often less characterized by the roasted aromas (vanilla).
Malolactic fermentation (biological acid degradation) very often takes place in wooden barrels for red and white wines . This is due to the mild, harmonious acidity, with a slightly sweet and sour smell or hints of sauerkraut and even a touch of lactic acid. The sound of the board is wrongly attributed to the wood , perceived as horse sweat or wet leather. The causative yeast Brettanomyces is spread through the trade and use of used barriques. While a subtle board is wanted for some mostly French wines, a pronounced tone is generally considered a wine fault. In the ideal case, primary fruit aromas with real barrique aging indicate a high-quality original wine and gentle vinification. Heavy, jammy notes, on the other hand, can be an indication of warming during the maceration period.
expansion
This range of flavors is at the expansion generates the wine. A full-bodied wine made from a grape variety such as Cabernet Sauvignon or Chardonnay is rounded off in terms of taste, while a subtle wine such as Riesling is slightly masked and suppressed. The wood releases tannins ( ellagitannins ), and the roasting of the wood (toasting) creates the aroma of vanillin . The degree of roasting significantly influences the character of the wine. The newer the barrel, the greater the impact the toasting has on the taste. Older barrels are therefore often filled for longer, which means that more tannins (up to excess) get into the wine. The aging in barriques requires a lot of knowledge, experience and care. New or used barrique barrels are rarely used for an entire batch of wine. The balance of the wine is improved by mixing new barrels as well as second and third occupancy ( cuvée ). In addition to the tannins and the vanilla aroma, a slight oxidative ripeness is typical for wine made from barrique barrels due to the minimal air exchange.
The high tannin content often requires a long bottle aging until the tannins have fallen out and the taste has been reduced. This process is accelerated by extensive ventilation of young wines in the carafe. Otherwise a pronounced astringency will mask other aromas. It takes time for the wine to "open" again. A base wine with little content may have long since passed its zenith by then. Therefore, only high quality wines should be matured in toasted wooden barrels so that the overall picture is harmonious and storable. The barrique expansion is mainly practiced internationally for red wine, but is consistently found in red and white - dry and noble sweet - wines from the Bordeaux and Burgundy growing regions (in Burgundy there is confusion due to the fact that the barrel size of 228 l differs from the Bordelais barrique to avoid, however the word "barrique" avoided and spoken of "fut").
You can also find the term “barriqué” (with an accent on the e). This characterizes a wine that has been "barriquized", that is, in contrast to wine that is not matured in barriques and otherwise the same, was given a different flavor profile due to storage in a small oak barrel.
While white wines only mature in wooden barrels, fermentation and malolactic fermentation (biological acid degradation) often also take place in barrique barrels for red wine . But new barrels are rarely used for this because the taste would be too intense.
Old barriques are often used to store whiskey .
Alternatives
The expansion of wine in barriques is only economically viable from the middle price segment. Even taking into account the resale value of the barrel, the material costs are in the order of magnitude of over one euro per liter of wine. Stainless steel tanks are cheaper to buy in terms of price per liter and also last practically unlimited. In addition, the increased demand for high-quality oak in recent years must be taken into account in terms of the market price and the tree population. In order to meet the market demand for barrique wines and to reduce costs, there are various alternatives:
The use of tannin in powder form only leads to the astringency of the wine through the tannins, but the vanilla taste cannot be created. Tannin is common in winemaking and is permitted as a precipitation aid for gelatine during clarification. A very slight astringency is also produced by ascorbic acid (vitamin C), but tends to lead to long tears that stay "youthful". Tannins on the mash enter the wine naturally through contact with the skin and stems that have not been carefully de-stemmed.
In order to create the vanilla taste, however, the use of roasted wood is necessary, as the addition of pure aromas is not permitted. Oak boards can be attached to the inner walls of the steel or concrete tanks. Alternatively, pieces of wood, chips or shavings can be added to the wine. The smaller the piece of wood, the more effective it is, as the ratio of roasted surface to the carrier material is better. As an extreme, the barrique flavor is added in powder or liquid form.
The import of such wines was prohibited in the EU until the entry into force of the wine trade agreement on January 1, 2006 , and production was prohibited until September 2006. The minimum chip size allowed is regulated, the addition of artificial flavors is still prohibited. There is no obligation to declare such wines, but they may not be marketed as "barrique wines". A general name for these wines has not yet been agreed. Wines that have been matured in the traditional way in barriques, on the other hand, may be labeled with the additions “fermented in barrique barrel”, “aged in barrique barrel” or “aged in barrique barrel”.
What these methods have in common is that there is no risk of undesirable Brettanomyces infestation and that oxidation can be avoided. The style of a ready-to-drink wine can be created through micro-oxygenation . Whether the wine matured in barrique barrels or was flavored by adding chips is very difficult to determine from a sensorial point of view.
material
France dominates the artisanal production of high quality barrique barrels. Outstanding French producers of oak barrels are the cooperages Berthomieu, Demptos, France Chêne, Radoux, Sansaud, Seguin-Moreau, Taransaud and Vicard. As with vineyards, every forest has a different terroir. The climate, the type of soil, the age of the trees and many other components influence the nature of the oak wood. Of course, the oak species also has a great influence on the maturation of the wine. In France , local sessile oaks ( Quercus petraea ) from the forests of the Limousin , the Allier and Nièvre departments , the Tronçais and the Vosges , but also the somewhat coarser pedunculate oaks ( Quercus robur ) from the Limousin are used for barrique production.
In order to be able to meet the meanwhile enormous demand, oaks of foreign origin are also processed in France (e.g. Germany, former Yugoslavia, Hungary ( Quercus frainetto ) and the USA). The wood of the US oak typically comes from the American white oak ( Quercus alba ) variety . In the meantime, barrique barrels are also made all over the world. In Germany, for example, they are also made from French oak, but also from oak from local forests such as the Spessart , Steigerwald or the Palatinate Forest, as well as wood from other origins (e.g. former Yugoslavia, Hungary, USA). Traditionally, barrels made from Slovenian oak are traditionally used for Italian wines . Spanish wines usually mature in American oak barrels, which can give the wine a more dominant aroma than European varieties. In Spain the barrel used to age wine is called barrica . In Austria , too , the local oaks are used to make barriques.
The different types of wood (even seldom used chestnut wood) produce aromas in the wine in basically the same spectrum, but with different characteristics. American oak reacts more intensely to roasting than French oak.
See also
- Tonneau
- Old weights and measures (France)
- Daubenhauer , a traditional wood profession that supplied the cooper with barrel staves.
literature
- Cordula Fehlow: On the influence of the forest location on the properties of oak wood with regard to winemaking in barrique barrels . Geisenheim report , Volume 62, Geisenheim 2008. ISBN 3-934742-50-5
Web links
- Barrique wines, "oak-chips", "inner staves" and "stakvats" , from ernestopauli.ch, accessed on December 21, 2015
- Information from Erbslöh Geisenheim AG PDF, 77.3 kB - accessed on May 26, 2014
- Barrique - from tree to wine , Lignovision Volume 7
Individual evidence
- ↑ Carole Viriot, Augustin Scalbert, Catherine Lapierre, Michel Moutounet: Ellagitannins and lignins in aging of spirits in oak barrels , in: Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry 1993 '41 (11) , 1872-1879; doi : 10.1021 / jf00035a013 .
- ↑ Regulation (EC) No. 1507/2006 of the Commission of October 11, 2006 with regard to the conditions for the use of pieces of oak in winemaking and for the description and presentation of the wines concerned (OJ EU No. L 280/9 of 12. October 2006).