Miguel Torres, the Spanish mega wine producer has reportedly been experimenting with a few barrels made from quercus mongolica, oak from the forests in Mongolia and is reporting interesting results from its early experiments.
Torres technical director Mireia Torres, daughter of Miguel has reportedly said the company had used the barrels for fermentation, partial malolactic fermentation and maturation on lees for a Chardonnay from the Upper Penedès area.
'We experiment on everything; it's in our mission,' said Mireia. 'When we heard about Chinese oak, we asked a supplier for a couple of barrels.’
'The wine aged with Chinese oak has turned out to be quite interesting. It offers a very good aromatic and fruit intensity. There are fine toast notes, and some vanilla and coconut notes, similar to American oak. It is less complex on the palate than wine aged in French oak,’ she said.
Some other producers in Italy, Bordeaux and the US have also bought the wood from the Rioja based cooperage, Tonelería Magreñán and are experimenting.
The company joined forces with a Chinese partner to import the oak three years ago, curing the wood and then storing it until it was ready for use this year.
Chinese oak is currently 5-10% cheaper than French oak. It may find wine producing buyers in India if the experiments prove successful and the prices come down by 25-30%. |