Barrels and Their Importance in Wine: Necessity or Excess?

Looking back on this writer's early days as a budding wine lover, I remember the prevailing atmosphere in conversations and in the writing of the time promoting the use of barrels in wine as a necessity for upgrading the quality of the bottle and as a factor that would ultimately make the contents better. Since then, much has changed (mainly in the Greek vineyard); producers and consumers have evolved, and the truth lies somewhere in the ... middle. But let's first look together at what the use of a barrel means, and how it affects flavours and aromas: Aroma: the barrel, and especially its by far most common form, oak, is always able to give notes of vanilla, caramel, spices, nuts and often smoke (depending on the toasting of the wood during its manufacture). In general, we can put it simply and say that the barrel will boost all the aromas and intensities of the nose, and will add what we define as secondary aromas. Flavour and overall mouthfeel: We will find all the above aromas on the palate too, with the extra bonus of the basic property that results from using a barrel, which is a richer, fuller mouthfeel with more body. It is all a matter of style! Tannins: a few minimal tannins from the wood will add a soft astringency, something that is perfectly welcome when pairing with food. Tannins generally give structure to the wine (naturally, even in whites), while also helping the ageing potential; and in reds in particular they tend to stabilise the colour as well. Oxygenation: Wood is a living, porous organism that allows very small amounts of oxygen to come into contact with the wine. While oxygen is generally the enemy of wine, in small amounts it instead gives it a softer character, extra complexity and, of course, greater ageing potential. A Greek proverb fits ageing like a glove: the one who is already wet does not fear the water. To paraphrase: wine that has, in its youth, been in controlled contact with oxygen is not afraid of oxidising as it ages! So, is the use of a barrel ultimately necessary? Obviously not, and it depends on the producer's goal, on the style they want to offer. Do they want to give a light, easy-drinking wine with emphasis on the primary aromatic character of the grape? Obviously they will not use barrels, or at worst will use very old, and therefore neutral, ones. A characteristic example is Riesling, which ... dislikes it the way cats dislike dogs. Do they, on the other hand, want to complement a moderate aromatic character and give extra complexity and body to the wine? They will play with a variety of barrels and their ages, and will put their experience and their magic "hand" into the final blend. This is what generation after generation do in Burgundy and Bordeaux, claiming premium quality and prices. But what are the characteristics of barrels, and how do they act? Size: The smaller a barrel is, the larger its internal surface that comes into contact with the contents; and the larger it is, the less influence it has on the final result. The most widespread size is the so-called barrique of 225 litres, but with an increasing tendency many producers are moving to larger, less influential barrels, such as foudres that exceed even 1,000 litres. Age: You will often have noticed a blend being described with the percentages of new and older barrels, because when a barrel is brand new its aromas and general characteristics pass into the wine to the maximum degree and intensity. When that wine is bottled, and the barrel is emptied and maintained, the next vintage it is reused those intensities will be much lower (therefore a different character in the final product). In general, barrels used with the intention of giving aromas and flavours go up to the third or fourth use/vintage, whereas if the producer wants the opposite, from the fourth year and ... forever! Type of wood: here things are simple, and oak dominates. On the other hand, some more exotic tree choices, such as Acacia, are rarely used for more elegant results in white wines. Origin of the wood: here the gold standard is France, with legendary forests such as Allier, Limousin, Nevers, Tronçais and Vosges being the (expensive) holy grails. I will never forget a cult producer in Champagne who ages his base wines in new barrels and who, on a visit to the winery, spoke to us with passion, exclusively about the ... forests the barrels came from! Many great producers, on the other hand, prefer Slovenia and Croatia (Slavonian forests), while a large category is American oak. The latter gives very characteristic notes of coconut and vanilla, which suit very well famous wines such as Rioja in Spain. Tip: if you want to understand exactly what aromas the American barrel gives, smell a bourbon such as Jack Daniels! A signature nose!

Barrels and Their Importance in Wine: Necessity or Excess?

Looking back on this writer’s early days as a budding wine lover, I remember the prevailing atmosphere in conversations and in the writing of the time promoting the use of barrels in wine as a necessity for upgrading the quality of the bottle and as a factor that would ultimately make the contents better.

Since then, much has changed (mainly in the Greek vineyard); producers and consumers have evolved, and the truth lies somewhere in the … middle.

But let’s first look together at what the use of a barrel means, and how it affects flavours and aromas:

Aroma: the barrel, and especially its by far most common form, oak, is always able to give notes of vanilla, caramel, spices, nuts and often smoke (depending on the toasting of the wood during its manufacture). In general, we can put it simply and say that the barrel will boost all the aromas and intensities of the nose, and will add what we define as secondary aromas.

Flavour and overall mouthfeel: We will find all the above aromas on the palate too, with the extra bonus of the basic property that results from using a barrel, which is a richer, fuller mouthfeel with more body. It is all a matter of style!

Tannins: a few minimal tannins from the wood will add a soft astringency, something that is perfectly welcome when pairing with food. Tannins generally give structure to the wine (naturally, even in whites), while also helping the ageing potential; and in reds in particular they tend to stabilise the colour as well.

Oxygenation: Wood is a living, porous organism that allows very small amounts of oxygen to come into contact with the wine. While oxygen is generally the enemy of wine, in small amounts it instead gives it a softer character, extra complexity and, of course, greater ageing potential. A Greek proverb fits ageing like a glove: the one who is already wet does not fear the water. To paraphrase: wine that has, in its youth, been in controlled contact with oxygen is not afraid of oxidising as it ages!

So, is the use of a barrel ultimately necessary?

Obviously not, and it depends on the producer’s goal, on the style they want to offer.

Do they want to give a light, easy-drinking wine with emphasis on the primary aromatic character of the grape? Obviously they will not use barrels, or at worst will use very old, and therefore neutral, ones. A characteristic example is Riesling, which … dislikes it the way cats dislike dogs.

Do they, on the other hand, want to complement a moderate aromatic character and give extra complexity and body to the wine? They will play with a variety of barrels and their ages, and will put their experience and their magic “hand” into the final blend. This is what generation after generation do in Burgundy and Bordeaux, claiming premium quality and prices.

But what are the characteristics of barrels, and how do they act?

Size: The smaller a barrel is, the larger its internal surface that comes into contact with the contents; and the larger it is, the less influence it has on the final result. The most widespread size is the so-called barrique of 225 litres, but with an increasing tendency many producers are moving to larger, less influential barrels, such as foudres that exceed even 1,000 litres.

Age: You will often have noticed a blend being described with the percentages of new and older barrels, because when a barrel is brand new its aromas and general characteristics pass into the wine to the maximum degree and intensity. When that wine is bottled, and the barrel is emptied and maintained, the next vintage it is reused those intensities will be much lower (therefore a different character in the final product). In general, barrels used with the intention of giving aromas and flavours go up to the third or fourth use/vintage, whereas if the producer wants the opposite, from the fourth year and … forever!

Type of wood: here things are simple, and oak dominates. On the other hand, some more exotic tree choices, such as Acacia, are rarely used for more elegant results in white wines.

Origin of the wood: here the gold standard is France, with legendary forests such as Allier, Limousin, Nevers, Tronçais and Vosges being the (expensive) holy grails. I will never forget a cult producer in Champagne who ages his base wines in new barrels and who, on a visit to the winery, spoke to us with passion, exclusively about the … forests the barrels came from!

Many great producers, on the other hand, prefer Slovenia and Croatia (Slavonian forests), while a large category is American oak. The latter gives very characteristic notes of coconut and vanilla, which suit very well famous wines such as Rioja in Spain.

Tip: if you want to understand exactly what aromas the American barrel gives, smell a bourbon such as Jack Daniels! A signature nose!

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