Gilchrist’s guide: how wood can affect wine
ACACIA WOOD
1 Cantina Valle Isarco, Aristos Sylvaner, Isarco Valley, Alto Adige, Italy 2020 90
£24.75 Field & Fawcett, North & South, Sociovino, Tannin & Oak
The grapes for this co-op’s Sylvaner come from low-yielding vineyards that surround the Sabiona hilltop monastery established in 1687. Half the grapes are fermented in large acacia barrels, the rest in stainless steel tanks. Pale yellow, delicate, elegant, with flinty scents of green apple and white peach following through to a concentrated palate. Fresh, chiselled acidity is softened by an attractive, slightly beeswaxy texture with a very pleasing and notably persistent finish. Drink 2022-2024 Alcohol 14%
CHERRY WOOD
Serego Alighieri, MontePiazzo dell’Anniversario, Valpolicella Classico Superiore, Veneto, Italy 2018 89
£23.05-£27.75 Christopher Keiller, Vinvm
Made from the Serego Alighieri clone of the Molinara grape. A normal fermentation for 15 days in stainless steel is followed in December by a ‘double’ fermentation using semi-dried grapes harvested later than the main crop. After 18 months in Slavonian oak barrels there follows the crucial four months in cherry wood, then a further six months in bottle. Aromas of Maraschino cherry, cinnamon and the merest hint of clove. Fresh acidity and textured, slightly dry tannins underpin the dark, soft cherry fruit on the palate. The finish is pleasingly extended. Drink 2022-2026 Alc 13.5%
CHESTNUT WOOD
Cantine Riccardi Reale, Càlitro, Cesanese di Olevano Romano, Lazio, Italy 2015 88
£26 Riding Wine Co
Journalists Piero Riccardi and Lorella Reale in 2010 became biodynamic wine producers in Lazio, working with the indigenous local variety Cesanese d’Affile. This wine spends 11 months in old chestnut wood and then another 11 months in bottle. Aromas of crushed soft, dark berries and dry leaves are followed by flavours of blackberries and hints of riper strawberries, with some balsamic notes. A powerful structure of dry, grainy tannins, and a full, slightly warm finish. Drink 2022-2026 Alc 14.5%
SLAVONIAN OAK
2 Biondi-Santi, Tenuta Greppo, Rosso di Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy 2017 89
£79.99 Cru, Ideal Wine Co, The Wine Yard, Wimbledon Wine Cellar
Fermented in stainless steel and concrete tanks of 80hl and 100hl, this spent 16 days on the skins before ageing for 12 months in large Slavonian oak casks. Initially very closed on the nose, it needs a lot of time to open up and reveal some raspberry notes as well as dark, damp earth. The palate is also quite closed – austere, even – with a fine-grained, dense, tannic structure. Dark, soft fruit flavours evolve with time in the glass and the wine also gains in weight. Drink 2022-2028 Alc 13.5%
These two white Riojas make a particularly interesting contrast, with one aged in French oak, the other in American:
FRENCH OAK
3 Finca Allende, Blanco, Rioja, Spain 2016 91
£25.80-£27.99 Blas ar Fwyd, Caviste, Hedonism, Petersham Cellar, Raffles, The Somerset Wine Co, The Wine Library, Tivoli Wines, Wine & Greene
A blend of 95% Viura and 5% Malvasía fermented with indigenous yeasts in new French oak barrels, then matured in French oak for seven months on its lees with batonnage, followed by a further seven months in barrel after racking. The aromas and flavours offer a complex mix of oaked nuttiness, grapefruit peel, greengage and nectarines, with an exciting undercurrent of waxy spice. Drink 2022-2027 Alc 14%
AMERICAN OAK
R López de Heredia, Viña Tondonia Reserva Blanco, Rioja, Spain 2009 91
£82.50-£88 Blanco & Gomez, Noble Grape,
Shrine to the Vine
The 2009 is the ‘current’ vintage for this most traditional and experienced of all Rioja blanco producers. The wine is 90% Viura with 10% Malvasía, aged for six years in American oak (hence the price), racked twice a year and fined with fresh egg whites. It is then bottled unfiltered and left to rest for several months before release.
It’s a fascinating wine of complex layers. Sweet oak, vanilla and honey aromas intertwine with nutmeg and green almonds. There’s a striking acidity on the palate, which cuts through a rich, waxy, almost oily character and combines with a slight salinity to give a fresh, long-lasting finish. Drink 2022-2025 Alc 12.5%