“A good wine begins in a good vineyard”. Our Enologist Rafael Cañizares is very aware that the care of the vine is essential for the creation of a good wine. Nevertheless, regarding nuances, we must not forget that the wood of the barrels plays a fundamental role in the aging of the wine. The barrel slowly oxygenates the wine, enriching it with textures and aromas.
One of the best Woods for aging wine is the oak from French forests. Different from American oak, it brings another kind of aroma to the wine and its qualities are transmitted in a slow, balanced way resulting in more elegant wines
Once the wood has been selected and the staves cut from the trees, they are left to dry in the sun for 2 or 3 years so that the green flavours disappear and do not bring those traces to the wine. Afterwards each barrel-maker gives his particular toast. There are four types:
Light toasting: notes of vanilla and coconut
Medium toasting: more complex notes, balanced with spices, smoke and chocolate
Strong toasting The notes of smoke are increased
Very strong toasting: the notes of tobacco and smoke are prevalent
Each wine has a different character depending on the toast given to each barrel. A stronger wine will go in a stronger barrel and smooth or white wines to a light toast that does not give much wood to the wine.
The last stage is the resting of the wine in the barrel. A Bordeaux barrel of French oak can absorb 5% of the wine in 6 months, so humidity controls are necessary which can lower this percentage to 2 %.
In Bodegas Volver we use French oak barrel to age our wines. Wines with personality which are characterised by their aromas of spices, clove, smoke.. aromas that are more complex than American oak in which vanilla and coconut are predominant.
