«If I say 'WINE', do automatically think 'BARREL'? And yet, all wines are not matured this way! As proof see how most properties are fitted with concrete and steel tanks. Here we can create light, fruity wines to be enjoyed in their youth. But, for traditional reasons (since the Celts invented this container), and to respond to changing consumer tastes that seemed to want more wine and wood barrel aging is very often practiced. Modern oenology also highlighted the interest of the barrel in the expression of the greatest wines. Barrel aging is generally reserved for fuller bodied wines.

In Bergerac everyone has made their choice: concrete or steel tanks for easy to drink wines for appetisers, everyday drinking and large events with friends. Barrel-aged wines for wines of 'terroir' that express their locality, for more complex dishes and for special occasions.

There is a real chemistry that occurs between wine and wood, the oxygenation phenomena, that leads to a combination of tannins and an evolution and aging of wine during maturation. Notes of vanilla, coconut and roasted or smoked flavors, coffee, cocoa and toast are born of this marriage. The expertise of the winemaker is to perfectly match the contribution of wood with varying durations of maturation and also of the age and toasting of the barrels. "

Little Memo:

• Oak is the best wood for barrels because it is tough, waterproof, rich in noble aromas and delicate flavours.
• The French oak is the wood most appreciated: France's central region is the ideal location for the oak trees for barrel production.
• The American and Hungarian oak are also used by coopers.
• The trees are felled when they are about 150 years, and often more.