American oak not inferior to French

(TheDrinksBusiness) - A Rioja masterclass in London proved that, despite the greater expense, French oak doesn’t always give better results than American barrels.

During an event organised by the drinks business in July called “The Building Blocks of Rioja”, a tasting was conducted by Beronia’s head winemaker Matías Calleja to highlight the effect of two different sources of wood on the same wine.

One sample contained a Rioja Reserva from the 2011 vintage which had spent 10 months in 100% American oak, while another was exactly the same except it had been aged for an identical period in 100% French oak.

After both wines had been tasted, the 50 attendees – comprising key decision makers in the London on- and off-trade – were asked whether they preferred the Rioja aged in US or French oak.

Following a quick count of the number of raised hands for each wine, it was apparent that the wine aged in French oak had received more votes, although it was only by a very small margin.

Commenting on the two wines, Calleja said that the French oak had given the wine a touch more flavour after 10 months than the American oak, which had imparted more tannin to the wine.

“It takes longer to achieve a rounder wine in American oak,” he explained, stressing that these were cask samples, and with a little more time in barrel, the results with American oak are just as good as those achieved from French oak.