Hayes Family Wines - Special Fortifieds require Special Barrels
Old Barrels, perfect for Very Old Tawny
Does the Barrel Matter?
The simple answer is absolutely yes. Like barrels used in red and white making, the barrel can have a significant impact on the flavours of the resulting fortified wine. This is particularly the case with extended aging - for fortifieds, this can be 50 years or more.
Does Barrel Size Impact the Wine?
The size of the barrel will impact the speed of aging and flavour impact of the barrel on the wine. All barrels allow the ingress of air in and out of the barrel staves. This movement slowly oxidises and stabilises the fortified wine. Over time, evaporation occurs. At warmer temperatures evaporation can be 5% or more per year.
To rapidly age a fortified wine, store it in an uninsulated shed at warm temperatures in small barrels. The wine will disappear fast but will also age more rapidly!
Most of our younger fortifieds are aging in either 500L puncheons or very old 300L Hogsheads. But we do have everything between 100L and 500L and more.
Does the Age of the Barrel Matter?
The age and more importantly perhaps the prior uses of a given barrel impacts the flavours of the stored wine. Many old fortified barrels were originally used in the production of Whisky or Bourbon or red or even white wine making.
In our cellar door, we have an 1890s whiskey barrel that is currently housing our very old Grenache tawny, but there are many more from this era, and they are irreplaceable.
A Very Old Bourbon Barrel