Oak Barrel Ageing

Oak Barrels

Made from wood grown in France has a much tighter and finer grain than virtually all other countries. It is considered the finest oak due to the complexity and subtlety it provides. Much of the subtlety, compared to American oak, is due to splitting the staves, rather than sawing them. By splitting the staves, the coopers (barrel makers) at the cooperage (barrel making company) are retaining the integrity of the grains. By sawing, as is done with American oak, the grains are split open allowing more influence on the wine by the oak. American oak tends to add more powerful oak character compared to French.