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Barrique

barrica (ES)
barrel, oak (GB)

Term for the French wooden barrel, but also very often used for the ageing of a wine in such a container, i.e. barrique ageing. It is said to be derived from barricade, as barrels filled with earth were used as roadblocks during the July Revolution of 1830 when the Bourbons were finally overthrown. However, the ship's measure of 225 litres was already used in the Bordelais in the Middle Ages. This is exactly a quarter of the 900 litre tonneau, a common type of barrel. In France, the barrique barrel is also known as the "château model". The pièce used in Burgundy and Champagne also has approximately this volume, as does the English oxhoft, which can be regarded as the forerunner of the barrique. Barrique barrels are also used for ageing spirits such as whisky or beer.

Barriquefass

Volume of the barrique barrel

The 225 litres of the barrel, also known as "Barrique Bordelaise", are not to be understood as a generally valid or "binding standard". The size and shape resulted from the fact that a single person was still able to carry it empty and transport (roll) it when full. Incidentally, the 225 litre barrels hold exactly 300 0.75 litre bottles. It is sometimes assumed that this was another reason for the cask size. This made it easy to check whether there had been any shrinkage during transport by ship (sailors were thirsty). However, as the current bottle size of 0.75 litres only became the standard in the 20th century (previously 0.7), this is probably just a coincidence.

In practice, it has been shown that barrels of 225 litres also have an ideal ratio between barrel wall area and wine volume. However, this cannot be understood down to the litre, as the volumes of barrels used to vary considerably. However, even today there are still different barrel sizes, for example "Barrique Nantaise" with 230 litres and "Barrique Béarnaise" with 300 litres. Today, larger barrel volumes of up to 700 litres are increasingly being used. Above a certain barrel volume, however, one can no longer speak of barrique ageing due to the (too) small wood surface in relation to the (too) large wine volume. For barrels with a larger volume, the influence of wood decreases exponentially.

Legal requirements

In Germany, the size is regulated by wine law; the designation "matured/matured in barrique" is only permitted if at least part of the wine or the products used have been stored in a barrique barrel with a capacity of no more than 350 litres. Furthermore, the wine must also exhibit the sensory characteristics typical of ageing in barriques. Although there is no legal regulation in Austria, the German regulation is followed as part of a legal interpretation. Common international designations in this regard are listed under Barrel.

The classic barrique barrel generally used in viticulture has a volume of 225 litres. It is 94.5 cm long, has a diameter of 56.5 cm at the top and 70 cm at the most bulbous point. The staves are 20 to 25 mm thick (considerably thinner than the 30 mm of the pièce ). The barrel has a bung on the top and a second one for racking. Originally only used in France for ageing large white and red wines, it conquered the entire wine world by the end of the 20th century. The English can be regarded as the "inventors". They realised that the cask wines from the Bordelais, which were stored in certain barrels in the docks in London, tasted much better than others after a while.

Barriquefasskeller

Production

Barrels intended for barrique ageing are mainly made from oak suitable for this purpose from certain areas of Europe and America. Woods from acacia, chestnut and others are also used in some cases. The barrel wood gives the wine matured in it an unmistakable flavour. This depends on several factors. Firstly, the type of oak and the closely related origin of the oak, the method of production (sawn or split), the duration of the drying phase and, above all, the strength of the barrel firing, known as toasting. The term "barrique" is often used in German-speaking countries as a synonym for barrique ageing itself.

Further information

All relevant keywords with further information are listed under the keyword " barrel ". For the production of alcoholic beverages, see Champagne (sparkling wines), distillation (distillates), speciality wines, spirits (types), winemaking (wines and wine types) and wine law (wine law issues).

Barrique barrel: By Gerard Prins - Own work, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link
Barrique barrel cellar: by RonalddeBruijn on Pixabay

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Egon Mark

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Egon Mark
Diplom-Sommelier, Weinakademiker und Weinberater, Volders (Österreich)

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