New oak barrels impart more intense flavor to a wine than old oak barrels; older barrels impart more spice whereas new barrels add buttery tones.  This is why winemakers have to think very carefully how both are used for maturing their wine. Here are a few considerations that go into their decision.

Sometimes, winemakers elect to use 100 percent new barrels for each year’s wine. In such cases, they’ve made not only a very important financial calculation – each barrel can cost up to $1,000 – but also a determination that the wine will truly benefit from the massive flavor impact of using all new oak. Not all wines do. In fact, lots of very good wines might be overpowered by the influence of all that oak, losing fruitiness and charm.

Fortunately, new barrels don’t become old barrels overnight. Their ability to impart flavor declines steadily with each year of use, usually taking 4 to 6 years before no longer contributing much, if any, flavor. As a result, winemakers have the option of using a mix of both powerful new, and muted older barrels in order to control the degree of oak influence on the finished wine.

A popular way of doing this is to replace a set percentage of older barrels with brand new ones each year. With this system, a winery might put, say, 1/3 of a wine into new barrels while putting another 1/3 into 1-year-old barrels and a final 1/3 into 2-year-old barrels. When all this wine is put back together after aging, it winds up with a reduced degree of oak flavor – much less than 100 percent new oak would provide – and tailored to what the winemaker intended.

The difference between French and American oak, and the aromas and flavors they pass onto the wine is a whole other article!

Tags: american oak, french oak, new oak, oak and wine, oaky flavor, old oak, wine aromas, wine barrel, wine flavors