Product Description
Tonnellerie de L'Adour produces a range of high quality French oak barrels.
- Classic - A selection of 24-Month, air dried, medium grain, French oak with fire bent staves. This lends simplicity and spicey aromatic tannins to the wine.
- Premium - A selection of 30-month air dried, tight grain French oak, fire bent staves, with a medium toast: adding refined and discrete tannins that respect the wine and preserve the fruit expression. Suitable for all wines.
- Dulcina - A selection of 30-month air dried, tight grain French oak; focusing on the natural sweet notes of the wine and providing a nice sensation of sucrosite.
- Grand Cru - A refined selection of 36-month air dried, tight grain Frenck oak, fire bent staves with a medium toast; ideal for strong rich wines. This provides distinct structure and a velvety finish with balance and elegance.
- Hungarian oak - A selection of 24-month, air dried, med/tight grain Hungarian oak, fire bent staves with a medium toast; suitable for all wines.
Other Details
- Additional Information: Tonnellerie de l'Adour is a small cooperage located in Plaisance, situated in the southwest of France.Adour's yearly production is app 5000 barrels per year, which enables them to maintain a high level of craftsmanship and a particular level of care during the assembly of every single barrel.All of the oak used in their production of french oak barrels originates from french forests and is aged in their "parc a bois" for a period of 24-36 months.
Seasoning of the Wood:
- The ageing of the wood is the main variable for obtaining good raw material, destined to the construction of their barrels.
- The weather in Plaisance is particularly well suited for long natural seasoning of the wood; summer rains and heat allow for perfect drying of the intercellular water of the wood fibers, providing structural stability and allowing for the leaching of soluble and bitter tannins.
Bending of Staves:
- Bending is aimed exclusively to make the "lignin" (skeleton of the wood) ductile in order to bend the staves to the optimum position for the proper assembly of the barrel.
- Bending of the staves is performed thru the use of steam (prefered) or fire.
- Steam prevents the first effect of the toasting of the staves while enhancing the leaching of the most bitter tannins that remain after seasoning.
Toasting of the Staves:
- Toasting is the moment at which the direction of the barrel is determined.
- Tonnellerie de l'Adour believes that their expertise and the precision with which they realize this, enables them to shape the barrel so that it enriches the wine, without altering the characteristic features and the variety of origin.
- Roasting, which responds to variables; calorimetry and exposure time, may be conducted thru the use of fire or "Brace" which makes the polyphenols of the wood more easily extracted from the wine.
