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Index:Wine Forum: Wood or no wood?  New Post
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jimmy
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Quote  Posted: 08/03/2004 11:20:21 AM GMT Next MessageTop of Page
Hello guys!
I just finished reading a report on DiWineTaste (Issue 2, November 2002) which is focusing on the wood and wine subject.
I personally love when my wine smells and tastes of vanilla and you can tell it was aged in barrique.
Although this is of course my very personal preference, I would like to know your opinion about this subject.
Are wines aged in wood better than wines not aged in barrique?

Talk to you soon!
wineguy
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Quote  Posted: 08/03/2004 6:00:40 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
In my opinion some wines are just flat when are not aged in barrique. I think this is the case of Chardonnay and Merlot which I find to be superb when they are aged in barrique. I think the barrique add a little of zest to these wines that would however smell and taste "ordinary".
Steve
cathy
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08/04/2004 7:16:28 AM GMT
Quote  Modified: 08/04/2004 7:22:30 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I like oaked wines but talking about whites I also love when they smell of fresh fruit and flowers, something that oak can easily cover.
I must admit that some unoaked red are nice as well. In this regard I tried an Argentinian unoaked Malbec and it was good, with fresh aromas of fruits. Not bad!
Cathy
rickie
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Quote  Posted: 08/04/2004 11:15:58 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I definitely love oaked wines and in particular red wines. Anyway I must admit there are son many unoaked white wines which I truly find to be excellent, in particular white wines from Loire. I think Sauvignon Blanc is simply the best when it is not oaked.
Richard Johnson
antonello
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Quote  Posted: 08/04/2004 6:14:09 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
The point probably is to define how much is too much. I do not personally like wine when it is too oaky because I think it tends to cover wine's aroma too much. When the wine smells too oaky I usually ask myself the reason why and I try to understand what they are concealing to the nose.
Oak certainly is beneficial in wine making - there are hundreds good reasons about using oak with wine - anyway what counts is balance and oak is just one of the elements that must contribute to overall balance of wine.
Antonello Biancalana
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wineguy
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Quote  Posted: 08/05/2004 6:13:06 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
Ok, personal taste counts a lot. However I love when the wine is oaky. Maybe this is because I have never had any good unoaked wine?
Well, I accept suggestions for a good unoaked wine....
Steve
antonello
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Quote  Posted: 08/05/2004 6:18:28 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
wineguy wrote:
Ok, personal taste counts a lot. However I love when the wine is oaky. Maybe this is because I have never had any good unoaked wine?
Well, I accept suggestions for a good unoaked wine....

A good suggestion could be Sauvignon Blanc from Loire (France). A truly zesty and crisp wine that does not need any oak to give its best.
Antonello Biancalana
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jc
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Quote  Posted: 08/06/2004 10:14:01 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I agree with Antonello. It's all about balance. I too dislike wine that has oak that overpowers all the other flavours and aromas. It is possible that the winery is trying to hide some flaws in the wine. In any case, when a wine is off-balanced with oak, it no longer allows the true flavours of the grape variety to show through - which is a primary aim of making good wine, I believe. That's why some people go for Chablis because it is Chardonnay minus the big oaky style.
antonello
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Quote  Posted: 08/06/2004 11:22:25 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I agree with you, jc. To much oak in a wine and I start being suspicious. I agree with you about Chablis (although some wineries have been attracted by some Californian Chardonnay producers and use oak with their Chablis) and I think the elegance and charm of Chablis is just the one you mentioned. Elegant Chardonnay minus the oak.
Antonello Biancalana
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jimmy
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Quote  Posted: 08/07/2004 7:30:59 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
You guys are right! Chablis is, in my opinion, the best Chardonnay in the world. And I think its secret is not being oaky. You can tell the soul of the grape and, after all, this is what counts in a wine! Go Chablis!
joergwein
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Quote  Posted: 08/11/2004 6:04:47 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
In case you like unoaked whites, I think you all should give a try to German Riesling. It is never oaked and it makes some of the best wines in the world!!
Jörg - A passion for Italian wine!
wineguy
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Quote  Posted: 08/12/2004 7:50:44 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
German Riesling is superlative! I love the dry version in particular the ones from the Rhein area. Fresh, crisp, zesty and persistent! Very good!
Steve
rickie
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Quote  Posted: 08/12/2004 5:49:44 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I completely agree with you about German Riesling! I think there are few white wines comparing to it. Sauvignon Blanc is a very intersting white wine, but when it comes to Riesling it is a whole different story! Besides the many things, Riesling is never oaked and in my opinion it does not need that at all.
Richard Johnson
miclan
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Quote  Posted: 08/13/2004 7:57:46 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I do not personally like wines when they are too oaky. I find the smell of wood disturbs the overall bouquet, however I admit wood can be beneficial to many wines. Maybe the "in between" would be the best, at least for me!
Michele Landolfi
jimmy
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Quote  Posted: 08/17/2004 8:05:47 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I think French wines have the best balance between wine aromas and wood. If you consider for example the wines from Alsace and Loire they are all unoaked and have a wonderful balance. Even red wines from Bourgogne are very balanced as well as red Bordeaux wines.
However I do not like very much when the wine smells too oaky.
maxtrek
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Quote  Posted: 08/26/2004 11:11:01 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
I do not usually like wines that smell too oaky. I think this make the wine to lose some personality. The worst case is, in my opinion, when the oaky style is very strong in white wines.
Max
antonello
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Quote  Posted: 12/15/2004 6:03:22 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
maxtrek wrote:
I do not usually like wines that smell too oaky. I think this make the wine to lose some personality. The worst case is, in my opinion, when the oaky style is very strong in white wines.

In wine, balance and harmony are the key for success. Too much of everything is simply too much and makes everything unbalanced and unpleasant. Too much oak does not help a wine to get better, although it is obvious it helps the making of certain wines. The best wine aged in oak is the one in which oak is in balance with all the rest and all the rest in balance with the oak part.
Antonello Biancalana
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wineguy
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Quote  Posted: 01/11/2005 11:08:42 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
You guys are talking about balance and harmony in wines: don't you think that both harmony and balance are also a matter of personal taste?? Some may love a very oaky wine and find it to be balanced whereas others may find it unbalanced. I think it is also a matter of taste.
Steve
antonello
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Quote  Posted: 01/14/2005 11:07:51 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
wineguy wrote:
You guys are talking about balance and harmony in wines: don't you think that both harmony and balance are also a matter of personal taste?? Some may love a very oaky wine and find it to be balanced whereas others may find it unbalanced. I think it is also a matter of taste.

Although balance certainly is a matter of personal taste, I think you should always tell it is a wine even in case it was aged in barrels. I am arguing about personal tastes, every one likes what he or she likes, including wine, anyway I believe wood is just one of the many tools a wine maker can use in a wine, judiciously and with intelligence, without prevailing over the wine's personality. That's also balance!
Antonello Biancalana
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wineguy
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Quote  Posted: 03/04/2005 6:01:10 PM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
antonello wrote:
Although balance certainly is a matter of personal taste, I think you should always tell it is a wine even in case it was aged in barrels. I am arguing about personal tastes, every one likes what he or she likes, including wine, anyway I believe wood is just one of the many tools a wine maker can use in a wine, judiciously and with intelligence, without prevailing over the wine's personality. That's also balance!

Although I may share your opinion, I think there are people out there who love oaky wines whereas others do not. How would you guys justify the fact there are so many oaky wines out there? Does this mean wine makers have no sense of balance?
Steve
jc
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Quote  Posted: 03/09/2005 5:43:23 AM GMT Previous MessageNext MessageTop of Page
Wineguy, I belong to the group who thinks there are more oaky wines out there than I desire. Noted your point that there ARE people who fancy such wines but that is probably the reason why there have been many wines with wood treatment in the first place. Wine like everything else goes through a trend. It used to be trendy to drink whites and now reds.

People used to think oaky wines are great (symbolise great wines) and then other winemakers jumped on the bandwagon and started producing "woody wines" and now people are moving gradually towards wines with less or without wood treatment.

Like it or not, wine producers have to make a profit at the end of the day. If they think they can sell more by having oaky wines, many will do it. It is called "commercialisation"; it does not mean they have no sense of balance.

Cheers,
jc
antonello
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Quote  Posted: 03/21/2005 6:04:04 PM GMT Previous MessageTop of Page
jc wrote:
Wineguy, I belong to the group who thinks there are more oaky wines out there than I desire. Noted your point that there ARE people who fancy such wines but that is probably the reason why there have been many wines with wood treatment in the first place. Wine like everything else goes through a trend. It used to be trendy to drink whites and now reds.

I completely agree with jc. I too believe there are too much wines out there which follow the oaky trend. Wood is important, but wine is more than that!

jc wrote:
People used to think oaky wines are great (symbolise great wines) and then other winemakers jumped on the bandwagon and started producing "woody wines" and now people are moving gradually towards wines with less or without wood treatment.

That's also what the feedback fro our readers tells us. It seems people is pretty tired and bored about all those oaky wines and is trying to discover a new fresh character in wine, where you can definitely tell what grape it is instead of what wood it is!

jc wrote:
Like it or not, wine producers have to make a profit at the end of the day. If they think they can sell more by having oaky wines, many will do it. It is called "commercialisation"; it does not mean they have no sense of balance.

I completely agree on this. Wine making is a business and they have to make profits. They could also make exceptional non oaked wines, but if they end up not selling a single bottle of it, it is not worh making.

jc wrote:
Cheers,
jc

All the best!!!
Antonello Biancalana
DiWineTaste

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