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58 WINES&VINES February 2016 BARRELS TONNELLERIE BOUTES Tonnellerie Boutes' new Coeur barrel is assembled with staves that were seasoned with little exposure to the elements. The barrels have a high level of tan- nin and can add density and richness to the palate. Con- versely, the Soleil barrel is built with staves that have received as much exposure to sun, wind and rain as possible. The Soleil offers "mature tannins" that give the wine a great deal of "tension." boutes.com TONNELLERIE DE MERCUREY Tonnellerie de Mercurey un- veiled its Evolution line of bar- rels that are built with oak from forests growing in areas with distinct terroirs. The Craie selec- tion is built with light-colored wood from trees growing in the chalky soils of Champagne and North Chablis, and given a me- dium-light toast to match the wood's light texture. The Pierre selection is made with wood from forests in the hills near Burgundy that produce larger trees with an "intrinsic heteroge- neity" that creates staves of varying grain and color. A long, low-temperature toast is ended with a flash of flame to bring out the wood's natural richness while preserving structure. The line also includes the Prestige barrel, which is built with a blend of fine-grain staves from trees growing in sandy or clay soils. boswellcompany.com TONNELLERIE MARCHIVE Tonnellerie Marchive's Esprit Club is produced with oak that has been air dried for a mini- mum of 48 months and staves that are hand selected for grain tightness of no more than 22 rings per inch. The staves are then bent with steam and toasted slowly at 160°-170° C (320°-338° F). The barrel is rec- ommended for extended aging of robust red wines. barrelbuilders.com BOUCHARD COOPERAGES Bouchard Cooperages is offering a new barrel "developed specifi- cally for bolder Bordeaux vari- etals and blends." The Richelieu barrel is produced at Tonnellerie Billon using a "unique, propri- etary blend of oak from small microclimates within three of the finest forests in France," ac- cording to the cooper. The staves are seasoned for a minimum of 36 months and then toasted in the Bordeaux style to create a barrel the company describes as putting fruit and terroir to the front while also adding a pro- nounced length. bouchardcooperages.com LEROI TONNELLERIE Leroi's "Divine" is a limited-edi- tion barrel produced by a master cooper. Oak for the Divine comes from the Tronçais and Allier for- ests and is seasoned for 36 to 40 months. Only "the very best ultra-fine grain" staves are se- lected for the Divine, which is toasted with Leroi's proprietary "medium-long, deliberate toast." The barrel is designed to let the fruit dominate, while aromas of vanilla and hazelnut settle in the background. leroibarrels.com VICARD GENERATION 7 Vicard Generation 7's new EC0 27 barrel is produced with the branches (not the trunks) of French oak trees. The cooperage reports it spent three years developing a system to handle medullary rays in the branches while sawing the wood. The staves for the barrels are pro- duced with a patented system that uses a laser to detect sec- tions of high porosity in the wood and then injects paraffin to prevent leaks. The finished staves are then steam bent and toasted. vicardg7.com