Which barrels are best for Brunello?

Which barrels are best for Brunello?

A story that tell of tastings, errors and successes whilst looking for the perfect barrel for the Brunello made at Casato Prime Donne in Montalcino

By Donatella Cinelli Colombini

 

Our grandparents used barrels that contained 10-15 hl sometimes even made of chestnut , then the larger barrels arrived, and later still the barriques, and now we have gone back to the small barrels.

I’m going to tell you about our search for the perfect barrel for the Sangiovese for Brunello and specifically for the first year of ageing in wood, when the wines evolution is quick and decisive for its long long life to come . In the second and mostly I the third year of ageing in fact we have always used the traditional large barrels 15 hl and then 40 hl, that softly accompany the Brunello towards the bottle.

We stated by looking for  barriques. This was in 2001 and shortly barriques were a must for all producers who did not want to seem thrifty or old fashioned. We tried 7 brands, among which an Italian and an Austrian one. Now they are outside embellishing gardens

TONNEAUX

Thanks to Carlo Ferrini we began to experiment with 5 and  7 hl barrels that the French tonnellerie call tonneaux.

First trials with the Nadalié barrels then a meeting with Cristiano Visintini alias “Mastro bottaio” a chap from Udine who studied at the  Bordeaux university and after years of experience in France in 1998 opened up his own company for the production  and renovation of barrels

FROM FACTORIES TO ARTISAN WORKSHOPS

Small handmade barrels, cut along the grain of the wood, with centenary methods which guarantee a perfect rapport with wine just as an haute couture dress fits perfectly.

As well as the casks made by Mastro Bottaio or imported by him (Cadus), we also experiment with the tonneaux from  Adour, a workshop that is just below  Bordeaux and produces barrels that give wine a sublime elegance.

 

FROM BORDEAX TO BURGUNDY

We then discover the world of burgundy  tonnelleries, those that work mostly for the pinot noir and so are concentrated on mono-varietal wines, elegant and lost lasting, deep but not powerful such as  the Sangiovese for Brunello. WE are experimenting the tonneaux from Meryrieux and Chassin and we discover a new world: lengthy and delicate charring done with embers and not with fire as they do in Bordeaux. Charring necessary to bend the wood inside the metal rings but that also allow the fibers to transfer into the wine aromatic composites such as vanilla.

Other trials regard the intensity of the charring and we understand that the medium, with its vanilla , exotic fruit and almond notes is the most apt for Sangiovese.

In the meantime we learn that our wines need barrels made with wood that has been seasoned most. If normally the saves are kept out in the air 24 months we prefer those that have been out for at least 30 under the rain and sun , where they lose all their impurities.

 

OAK

At present the oak form Slavonia is not available , the forest were mined during the war and obviusly noone wants to risk being blown up whilst felling trees. The best European oak come consequently all from France and from the centenary woods belonging to the state, which up until the Nineteenth century were used to build ships and buildings, and now are destined to making barrels and high quality furniture. Our cellar master Barbara Magnani went to visit the felling in a forest 260 years old and has personally visited many tonnelleries. We have learnt this way that the wood for our barrels are mixed, and like the barrels bought long ago divided I accordance to provenance: those form the Massif Central in Nevers and Allier and those from Troncais, Limousin and Vosges.

 

A  TONNEAU HAS 4 LIVES

We have learnt that the  tonneaux have 4 lives and not seven like cats. The first last 4 or 5 years while it store wine, without interruptions. Then the tonneaux must be sent back to the workshops to be prepared for their second life cycle which is slightly shorter. Their last use in wine making is to store the first pressing, the liquid that comes out of the press after squeezing the skins after fermentation. After that they become garden furnishings or wood for actual furniture

Maybe you hadn’t imagined that a small winery like our carried out all these trials, well to find the right barrel is like understanding which is the best way to cultivate a certain Vineyard. It takes a lot of patience, and experiments but in the end it is this experience that is the best heritage for the younger generations