Egg-shaped vat based on ancient winemaking tank
Wine fermented in a concrete egg seems to be the trending approach for winemakers across the world. The question is does this eggshaped vessel bring more to our wine than just the hipster aesthetic?
The practice of aging and fermenting wine in earthen vessels isn’t new, it just fell out of fashion. In fact, the practice is ancient, having been used for thousands of years. Concrete and stoneware as a fermentation vessel has a functionality falling between oak barrels and stainless steel. The concrete is neutral like stainless steel so it doesn’t impart additional flavors to the wine.
If you have recently been on a winemaking facility tour, chances are you have seen the egg-shaped tank reminiscent of Roman amphorae.
Michel Chapoutier, a trailblazing biodynamic producer from the Northern Rhone, in 2001 was the first winemaker to commission an eggshaped concrete fermentation vat from Marc Nomblot. Nomblot’s company had been making concrete vats for winemaking since 1922. For Chapoutier’s vat Nomblot used washed sand from the French Loire, gravel and cement with no added materials. The unlined concrete was treated with tartaric acid to prevent corrosion or any reactions to the wine during fermentation. Chapoutier has been said to believe the egg’s spherical shape would imbue it with “celestial energy.”
The egg-shaped fermenter has unique features. The thick walls stabilize temperature, providing optimal insulation without the need for artificial cooling. Fermentation generates heat and the egg shape creates small currents allowing the fermenting wine to move around. These small currents occur in all shapes and sizes of a vat, but proponents of the egg shape believe it allows the wine to move more freely than traditional vessels. If you are familiar with batonnage in winemaking (French term for stirring of the lees) it allows for the wine to have more free-flowing movement to develop an array of complex flavors. These aspects of the egg soften the texture of the wine much like a barrel (without the added oaky, vanilla, spice and toast a barrel offers) while allowing minute amounts of oxygen to penetrate the concrete.
So, is the egg just an emerging aesthetic trend or a profound addition to modern winemaking?
Taste for yourself.
THE VALUE
2018 Sterling Vineyards Napa Valley Chardonnay, California (about $16)
THE SPLURGE
2016 Flowers Sonoma Coast Chardonnay, California (about $56) Lorri Hambuchen is a member of London’s Institute of Wines and Spirits. Email: uncorked@thewinecenter.com