Oak alters the flavour of wines in two ways. Firstly, the wine dissolves and absorbs a complex of aromas and flavours from the oak. Tannins, vanillins and sugars are a major part of this extraction, but there are a myriad of trace factors which differ with the various oak species, where the trees were grown and how the wood was dried and coopered. Secondly, oak is a porous material through which air can pass and into which liquid can penetrate.
Wine stored in an oak cask is subject to very slow oxidation which gives wines their maturity.
The oak used in these barrels is the species Quercas Petraea from the mountain regions of Central Europe. This is the same species as a great deal of the French oak sold today. These barrels should impart a sweet, soft aroma and flavour of vanilla. Our Barrels are coopered from 3 year air-dried oak. Smaller barrels provide each litre of wine with a great deal more surface contact than the winery standard 225L barrels.