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OAK
STORAGE
Ageing wine in oak speeds up the maturation process considerably,
as well as imparting unique flavours and tannins to the wine; the
most noticeable of which is vanillin. There are three main types
of oak used in the ageing process in Spain, each of which is used
at a different stage of a wine's development.
Barrel-ageing is oxidative, since molecules of air can percolate
through the wood or the joins between the staves and react with
the wine - along with the characteristics of the oak itself.
Bottle-ageing is reductive as the amount of oxygen between the wine
and the cork is reduced to zero during the reactions, which takes
place at a gentler pace. |
| American
Oak (Tennessee White Oak): |
Has
comparatively large pores and a high vanillin content, so it tends
to be used for big, powerful wines and where the wine-maker wants
results early. Some wine-makers put their wines into American oak
for a short initial period and then move it to a French oak for a
second period of ageing. |
| Limousine
Oak: |
Has
much smaller pores and less vanillin, and so offers a slower, gentler
ageing process. Finer wines approaching their release date will often
spend some time in Limousine casks, as it were, to 'polish them up'
for bottling. |
| Alliers
Oak: |
Has
the smallest pores of all, and is the oak used for barrel-fermented
wines. Plainly, the tumults of fermentation takes a good deal out
of the barrel, and this could result in oaky flavours that are simply
too strong if the other types of oak are used.
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Oak
from other regions (e.g. Nevers, Troncais, Slovenia) may also be found
occasionally amongst particular enthusiasts, but the basic maturation
factor is that oak which has grown in a warmer climate will have larger
pores, and oak which has grown in a cooler climate will have smaller
pores, with commensurate effects on the wine.
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