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BARRELS How fresh is the toast? P atz & Hall Wine Co. co-founder and winemaker James Hall said he's been working with Seguin Moreau on an interesting trial to evaluate differences between barrels toasted at different times. He said he's aged the same wine in the same barrels with the only difference being some of the barrels were toasted in France and then shipped to the United States and some were toasted in Napa, Calif., and then delivered to his winery in a few days. Custom made - Handcrafted Barrels KADAR Barrels toasted in France exhibited some aromatic variation from barrels toasted in Napa, Calif. The barrels with the younger toast appeared to add a different aromatic profile of "high tone, dank, wet smoke" that Hall said was much fresher. "There's a difference," he said, although he's not sure if the differences will persist through the entire aging period. "I think it's an interesting variable." A.A. TonnellerieDeJarnac_Dir10 11/11/09 3:40 PM Page 1 Handcrafted & Authentic Contact: Yannick Rousseau Tel: (707) 332 4524 • Fax: (707) 224 8734 Email: yannickrousseau@sbcglobal.net Website: www.tonnellerie-de-jarnac-16.com 46 W in es & V i ne s F E B R UARY 20 14 yards from which he sources fruit. In addition to using different sources, Meyer said he also deals with the erratic weather of the East Coast. In 2010, for example, Meyer didn't use any new barrels because he didn't feel that vintage produced fruit that would pair well with new oak. Meyer likes Tonnellerie Remond and Taransaud Tonnellerie for French oak, Barrel Associates and Canton Cooperage for American and Zemplén Barrels for Hungarian. Some features such as the water bending used by Barrel Associates on its American oak do seem to have a good impact on quality, but Meyer said he feels the most important factor is wood origin and quality control by the cooper. "Ultimately it seems to me stave origin is what I'm looking for foremost," he said. Meyer said he sometimes finds barrels that don't harmonize with the wine, although he feels that's just because it's a pairing that didn't work rather than a faulty barrel. "I have yet to come across a barrel and say that's just a bad, bad barrel," he said. "I've just had some that didn't work for the wine." Through securing their own wood, establishing close relationships with cooper representatives or extensive trials to find what's right, the constant theme in the discussion of barrels and wine quality is consistency. Winemakers may have their own way to seek it, but all agree a consistent oak program is a good one.