What Is a Barrique and Why It Matters for Making Wine?

You see many complicated words to describe how wine was made and how wine ages. A word that is often thrown around is “barrique”. It’s a term we often hear when we talk about how wine was made and how it ages with wine. So, let’s see what a barrique is and why it matters in making wine.

What is a Barrique?

A barrique is a type of barrel to produce the fermentation and aged for a wine. It comes from Bordeaux. In a barrique, you can store around 225 litres (59 gallons) of wine. This aged barrel has been used for many years to make wine and has a big impact on the wine’s flavour and fragrance.

Why Does a Barrique Matter?

1. Flavour and Fragrance

There is no doubt that a barrique affects the flavour and fragrance of the wine. Wine creates the flavours and smell from the oak which made of wood. With the ages of the wine within the barrel, the oak will pass on the vanilla, spice and caramel flavours of the wine.

2. Oxygenation

Oxygenation (maximum level of exposure to the air – oxygen) When a wine ages within a barrel which has the porous end like a barrique, it will allow some oxygen into the wine. This oxygenation process could soften the red wine’s tannins that make the red wine’s texture astringent and unpleasant to drink. For the white wine, it could produce more creamy texture and open the aroma which can make the wine more pleasing. Moreover, it helps the wine to develop a more complex flavours and fragrance.

3. Size and Shape

The size (225 litres) and shape of the barrique is good for the wine because the bigger the surface of wine contacts with the oak, the better they will exchange the flavours and fragrance. Another reason we use a barrique is that, since the wine is stored within a smaller-size barrel, we can control the ageing process more easily to balance with the next process to make the quality wine. Compare with a larger barrel.

4. Toasting levels

There are many terms that can describe the levels of toasting woods on a barrique, light and heavy. If a wine stored in a barrel which has a little deep toasted wood on the inside, it will create more fruitiness flavours. On the contrary, if the toasting level is heavier than that, it will pass on more intense flavours through the wine into the oak. Such as coffee, chocolate or even smoke flavours. Winemakers play on the level of toasting process to match the type of grapes that they prefer; it’s all about the style and flavours of the grapes.

Buying Wine

In an online wine shop, you might see that a wine is barrel-aged. If you see this, you definitely feel a better sense of wine’s flavours and quality. Barrique most likely played a role of making these wine more complexed and full of flavours. Again, whether it’s a red or white wine, if you can see that the wine is barrel-aged, it means you tend to like the flavours of the wines.

Ordering Wine Online

Shopping wine online is extremely convenient, especially from Bottle Barn, and the more words you know, the better you will find the wine that you like. So, if you browse wine online, look for the words “barrique”, that will point you to wines that were aged with care.