Oak barrels at Chateau Brane Cantenac

Just 5% of wines worldwide are aged in oak barrels (that’s not to say only 5% come into contact with oak, but the vast majority will be using oak chips or staves, which are far cheaper and transmit the oak taste quicker, even if it doesn’t last as long and won’t help with the wine ageing.)

Bordeaux has a long history of using barrels, and many of the world’s leading barrel experimentation is being carried out by the top chateaux in the region. Chateau Brane Cantenac, a classified growth in the Margaux appellation of the Medoc, is one of properties most carefully monitoring its use of oak.

There are seven different tonnelleries used by Brane Cantanac. In May 2008, Christophe Capdeville (pictured above), estate manager since 2001, led me through an insightful tasting into the use of oak barrels at the chateau.

What are the key parameters that must be considered when choosing oak barrels?

The origin of the wood, its preparation and the toasting of the barrel.

Do you use only French oak?

We did try Russian oak from Seguin Moreau in 1994 as an experiment (as did Chateau Margaux at the time), to do a comparison with French oak, and found it was very interesting (plus at least 30% less expensive than French). We still use it for our second and third wines, as it allows for a shorter ageing period. But French oak is still the reference, and is used for all our first wine.

Do you vinify in oak?

In 1994, we also tried malolactic vinification in new oak barrels. Today, with the malo vinification, we find that the choice of tonnellerie as well as the grape variety give very different aromas, so for the past three years we have really been honing this experimentation at a finer level.

In 2007, we tried 10 barrels of integral vinification (this means putting the lightly crushed grapes into the barrels and vinifying from that point on as you would in a larger container. The barrel is put on to a system of rollers so you don’t have to open it again, roll it around to break the cap and so on). We didn’t find much difference from the wooden vats, although maybe it was better than vinification in stainless steel.

How is barrel ageing affected by the vintage?

The vintage effect comes into play more than you might expect. 2003 really showed this, because it was such an unusually hot year, and the wines reacted very differently than normal. We found the reaction to malolactic fermentation was more marked than usual in the different grape varieties (after that we blend the grapes and age them all together, so differences become less pronounced)

In 2003, the perception of wood was different from usual – we found wood tannins and aromas were more dominant than usual, and gave a slightly dry edge.

So the vintage effect is another thing to consider when choosing your barrel, and it is not always easy to know that in advance.

Does the length of time your wines in barrel change with the vintage?

The time of elevage (ageing of the wines) we keep fairly stable, but it is more about the changing percentage of new oak and the toasting of that oak.

How do individual tonnelleries vary?

Some tonnelleries can seem very tough at first because they use very find-grain oak, but give fine, long-lasting tannins by the end of the ageing process.

The three big parameters are origin, treatment and toasting, and each tonnellerie will have a slightly different approach to these things. The fashion a few years ago was all about origin of the oak, but today the more fashionable thing is how long the wood has been kept outside, the toast and so on – so it is more about the treatment of the wood.

How much do barrels cost?

They vary from around 350 euros up to 800 or 900 euros. Entry-level barrels now are barrels of ‘European oak’, but a mix of Eastern, some German, some French, then there are top quality, long grain, long maturation of the oak. The price is generally rising, as with all agricultural products, and because of the problem of falling availability.

How closely do the barrel makers follow the ageing process with you?

With some tonneliers (eg Seguin Moreau) they come to the chateau 3 or 4 times during the ageing process for tasting and analysis. With others, we do the tastings ourselves, and it is a more informal arrangement when we report back to the barrel makers. But we always have a mix of tonnelleries. Years ago there were chateaux that were exclusive with one tonnellerie (such as Chateau Palmer and Nadalie) but today they all work with several to get the complexity.

How do you choose the barrels?

You need a certain regularity from year to year, to be sure that the quality will be upheld.

What do you do with them once they are too old to use?

Once a barrel is finished – usually after three years – they are often sold to Spain or Portugal (who may use older barrels in making sherry or port). The Dutch also buy huge amounts of barrels each year for decoration, flowers and so on.

What difference does the different toasting level have?

You can have a light toast, medium, medium plus, medium long and so on – each barrel maker may have slightly different way to describe it. You want to match the level of toast to the type of grape, the vintage, and the desired result. For example, for us, Medium Plus is not always so good for ageing our best wine, but we find it can be better for malolactic fermentation and for early ageing, because aromatically it marks the wine better.

Will we get to see the toasting level written on the label one day?

Perhaps not in France, but I can see it happening in other countries.

What is the key effect you are looking for?

I am interested in the results from all these different elements, not necessarily from one individual element. And of course the most important thing is that it is well adapted to our own wine.
 

What tests are you currently doing?

Right now we doing tests on the size of the grain in the wood. We are also looking at what difference it might make to use a small 30 litre barrel with a wider grain for a quicker ageing. And we also are happy for the barrel makers to bring their own expertise about what might work, meaning that they may suggest a new technique for us. Barrels are constantly evolving.

 
TASTING – same vintage of Brane Cantenac, different treatments of the barrels plus different barrel makers.

1) Classic 24 months outside, quite smoky and oak is apparent, but no bitterness.

2) Longer, 36 months outside, plus a lighter toasting, there is a smokiness but it is more refined and elegant. Tannins are less apparent, and doesn’t make me cough!