Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/1031957
October 2018 WINES&VINES 57 OAK BARRELS "Our R&D team closely partner with wine- makers to continually push our collective knowl- edge of oak science and develop new flavor, aroma and texture combinations that will meet each winemaker's specific goals," Van Emst said. "So we have an entire recipe library that contin- ues to grow, giving winemakers the options they need to find the perfect match of barrel to wine and meet these market demands." Chris Hansen, sales manager for Seguin Moreau Napa Cooperage in Napa, said the trend he's seeing is more winemakers interested in his company's research into wood chemistry and its ICÔNE series of barrels. Hansen said that Seguin Moreau's research and development team conducts a chemical analysis of individual logs at the stave mills to help understand the wood's potential before production. The analysis, he said, isn't necessarily forest-specific, but is more about the grain sizes and chemical makeup of each individual log. "When you cut down a tree, the grains are different at different levels of the tree," Hansen said. While he wouldn't divulge the exact technology the R&D team utilizes, Hansen explained that focusing on the wood at the molecular level has allowed them to find the s p e c i f i c co r r e l a t io n b e t w e e n c h e mi c a l compounds, such as tannins and phenolics, and a barrel's resulting aroma and flavor impact. This information then helps them organize specific, reproducible results in their oak barrels. This means barrels are made with the specificity and consistency winemakers are looking for, Hansen said. Seguin Moreau's current barrel selection under the ICÔNE series includes ICÔNE Blanc, intended for high-end white wines; ICÔNE Finesse, for high-end delicate red wines; ICÔNE Elegance, for red wines with high concentration of polyphenols; and ICÔNE Low Aroma and Elevation, for high-concentration red wines. But, Hansen said, there are often crosses between the recommended barrels. For example, while ICÔNE Finesse is technically more suitable for Pinot Noir or Gamay, he said he has clients working with Cabernet Sauvignon who use this barrel, looking for a lower, more subtle flavor profile. A few Russian River Pinot Noir producers opt for ICÔNE Elegance in an effort to subdue the fruit, which tends to be quite ripe. Seguin Moreau has also expanded the toasting range within the ICÔNE series in the past few years, according to Hansen. He said that while the company has its suggested toast levels for each style, usually medium or medium-plus, the cooperage toasts usually have a strong vanilla and toasty impact. "We developed what we call open toasting where we do not use a lid to trap heat and smoke inside the barrel during the final toasting that reduces the amount of vanillin created and toasty/smoky aromas," Hansen said. The com- pany refers to these toast levels as long open or medium extra-long open. ICÔNE Blanc French oak barrel by Seguin Moreau, made specifically for white wine aging.