Issue link: http://winesandvines.uberflip.com/i/929459
February 2018 WINES&VINES 41 vided some objective insights into the aroma profiles of each par- ticular barrel. After the tasting, Schweiger forwarded the tasting notes and scores as well as the completed analysis from ETS to Wines & Vines. The raw votes for "would buys," "maybes" and "would nots" were tallied up and then assigned values. A "would buy" garnered three points, a maybe got one point, and a "would not" resulted in negative three points. A weighted vote emphasized the difference between a definite preference to buy and a decision to not buy. A "maybe" vote still carried weight, as it indicated ei- ther indecisiveness on the part of the taster or that the barrel added something, but something best used in part of a blend. Best barrel of the day By those metrics, the Gamba G7 MT+ barrel came out as the top preference in the trial. The barrel garnered eight "would buy" votes and two "maybe" votes, without any "would not buys." In his tasting notes, Schwei- ger described the barrel as add- ing "blackberry" and "forest floor" aromas with velvety tex- ture and tannin in the mid-pal- ate and lingering fruit on the finish. Another taster thought the barrel "really brings the red fruit" and had "good structure and taut tannins." The ETS analysis found the Gamba barrel skewed dramati- cally to the sweet oak and but- terscotch edge of the spectrum, with high amounts of 5-methyl- furfural and furfural and moder- ate (or about average) amounts of the lactone compounds. Close behind the Gamba bar- rel were the Sylvain M+T barrel with seven "would buys," two "maybes" and one "would not," and the Taransaud M barrel that received seven "would buys" and three "maybes." The Sylvain had a more bal- anced impact based on the ETS analysis, with a spider diagram that resembled the control but with more amounts of char and smoke flavors, clove and oak lac- tones. The Taransaud barrel had a much different profile than the control, with high levels of trans- oak lactone (coconut) and the clove notes of eugenol and isoeu- genol. Many tasters described the barrel as having a "lighter" touch with notes of spice and a long, complex finish. When the top three barrels' scores were weighted, the Gamba G7 MT+ came out with 26 points, Taransaud M with 24, and the Sylvain M+T with 20. A table of the weighted scores for the top 10 barrels and the rest can be found BARREL TRIAL OUTCOME - RANKING Barrel Would Buy Might Buy Would Not Buy Score 3 points 1 point -3 points Gamba G7 MT+ 24 2 0 26 Taransaud M 21 3 0 24 Sylvain M+T 21 2 -3 20 Tonn Quintessence 18 3 -3 18 Nadalie Expression Rouge 18 3 -3 18 Demptos Reserve 18 2 -6 14 Damy 21 1 -9 13 Vicard Prestige 15 3 -6 12 Gamba Troncais MT+ 15 3 -6 12 Gamba TJ MT+ 9 6 -3 12 Barrel E 9 5 -6 8 Barrel D (MT+) 6 6 -6 6 Barrel I (MT) 9 4 -9 4 Barrel N (MT+) 12 2 -12 2 Barrel A 9 3 -12 0 Barrels were ranked by if the taster "would buy," "might buy" or "would not buy." A weighted scoring system determined the most preferred barrels in the trial. OAK BARRELS Michael Weyna Tonnellerie de Mercurey USA, Inc m.weyna@tonnellerie-de-mercurey.com 707.246.1708 Corey Guinnee, OREGON Tonnellerie de Mercurey, Oregon corey@enologygroup.com 971.237.5071 www.tonnellerie-de-mercurey.com Our Selection Nicolas CLL barrels reveal each note, while creating a length of palate and giving a foundation to every wine. 225, 228, 500 liter barrels available. Focus. Elegance. Respect .