Wine Rules Okay (Oaky)!

Wine Rules Okay (Oaky)!

Directions

Mad about Chardy? Love those creamy notes of butterscotch and toasted cashew? How ‘bout the intriguing wafts of pencil shavings and cigar box in your Cabernet? Sweet coconut? Yummy nougat? Nutmeg? Caramel… coffee… clove? Delightful as they are, not one of these is a primary fruit character. What you’ve got there, friend, is a deep and abiding love of Oak.

Quercus Berserkus

There is some evidence of the Ancients using wood for wine storage, but it wasn’t widespread. The preferred system for storing wine was clay amphorae. Which is all well and good until Caesar sends you off to conquer half the known world, carting your precious celebratory libations in heavy, BREAKABLE pots. Fortunately for the Romans, a convivial encounter with Gallic beer-makers introduced them to barrels made from the local Quercus Robur. Not only were they waterproof and unbreakable but they could also be rolled, making transportation a breeze. The Romans took to oak barrels like mallards to a marsh. Within a couple of centuries, wine’s fate was sealed: Coopers (barrel makers) were the rock stars of the epoch and clay amphorae were history.

Why Oak? 

Oak was cheap and plentiful. Other timbers were tried, but only Oak possessed all the qualities that made it fit for purpose: it was strong and resilient, yet bendy, and - most importantly - it imparted no objectionable flavours or colours. In fact, Oak’s ability to not mar the wine was such a big deal that it was hundreds of years before anyone noticed its miraculous ability to actually enhance it. 

No other material, natural or otherwise, has such a complex and rewarding interaction with wine: adding subtle flavour and aromas, and providing textural tannins. These days, Oak is no longer plentiful - and it’s far from cheap (it’s wine’s single most expensive cost component, after grapes) – but winemakers love it. It’s their favourite condiment.

How does it work?

Oak does two things to wine. Firstly, it allows the very slow ingress of oxygen (a small amount of oxidation helps to soften the wine); secondly, it imbues the wine with compounds such as Oak lactone, vanillin, and other (unpronounceable) flavonoids. Basic Oak flavours are earthy - in the leathery, woody and spicy range. But when barrels have been ‘toasted’ (charred on the inside by rock-star Coopers), you also get those delicious, complex flavours of honey, toffee, hazelnut, nougat, cinnamon, nutmeg, coffee, mocha… 

Which Oak is that?

Of the 200+ species of Oak, only 3 are commonly used in winemaking: Quercus Robur, Q Sessilis and Q Alba. The names don’t matter (and here in Australia we really only refer to French or American Oak anyway). The difference is in the internal structure of the timbers, which dictates the way the Oak interacts with wine - and therefore, the varieties to which they’re best suited. For example, French Oak, with its tight grain, releases its components slowly. The flavour profile is relatively soft and spicily aromatic – so it’s a popular choice for Pinot Noir. American Oak by comparison is rich in methyl oak lactones, which gives coconut and vanilla characters – making it deal for Chardonnay and big reds.

Size and Age 

A wise person would decline to be drawn on the subject of size or age, but the fact is, winemakers are obsessed by both. The size of the barrel dictates how much wine actually comes into contact with its toasty oaky inner surface – with obvious consequences. (Aussie winemakers can play with a combination of Barriques, Hogsheads and Puncheons.) 

Which brings us to age: New Oak can be very assertive, and while it might be just the ticket for a full-blooded Shiraz, it could easily overpower something more delicate. Conversely, flavour extraction reduces significantly with each use, so astute winemakers use a whole array of barrels - old and new; large and small - to achieve the style they’re after. 

No Oak

And then there are the wines will never see the inside of an Oak barrel. Delicate, fragrant Riesling comes to mind, and Hunter Valley Semillon (though it has hoodwinked many a blind taster). And who on earth would put juicy, succulent Sauvignon Blanc into oak? 

Actually… those cunning winemakers at Coldstream Hills, that’s who. They’ve barrel-fermented a portion of their Sauv Blanc, and matured it in seasoned French Oak, for added complexity and texture. Oaky savvy? Okey dokey!