Extended barrel age VS early bottling

[Eric_Reichenbach]

2006 MX Beckstoffer To-Kalon CS - 18 months
2006 MX Beckstoffer To-Kalon CS “Reserve” - 28 months

Same juice, same (Darnajou) barrel.

Maybe not as much of an ageing difference as you are looking for, but it’s an option.
Also, now that this wine is 13 years old, you could evaluate how the ageing difference plays in the aged wine.

[Travis_allen1]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I realize that the wines won’t be the exactly the same, even when juice comes out of the same fermenter and goes into 2 ‘identical’ new or used barrels - the wines are different. I’m just trying to gain a better understanding of the effects of time in barrel. And it gives me a reason to track down some vino and open some fun stuff. Keep the suggestions coming.

[larry_schaffer]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I realize that the wines won’t be the exactly the same, even when juice comes out of the same fermenter and goes into 2 ‘identical’ new or used barrels - the wines are different. I’m just trying to gain a better understanding of the effects of time in barrel. And it gives me a reason to track down some vino and open some fun stuff. Keep the suggestions coming.

You also need to take into account the age and the toast of the oak - extended barrel aging in newer oak will lead to a totally different wine than aged in older oak barrels . . .

Cheers

[GregT]

And the size of the barrels.

[Mel_Knox]

Schrader vs Dunn…very different barrels…

[Wes_Barton]

Thanks for all of the suggestions! I realize that the wines won’t be the exactly the same, even when juice comes out of the same fermenter and goes into 2 ‘identical’ new or used barrels - the wines are different. I’m just trying to gain a better understanding of the effects of time in barrel. And it gives me a reason to track down some vino and open some fun stuff. Keep the suggestions coming.

It depends on characteristics inherent to a grape variety, too, and how much you value them, desire to resolve them, etc. In other words, you’re looking to experiment with grapes that can reward extended aging. I’ve had a wine where the veteran winemaker recognized some of his Cab one year was next level and set it aside for a decade in barrel. Can’t argue with the results. On the other hand, some grapes will only suffer going into barrel at all. Some should be bottled and consumed fairly quickly to show off what’s special about them. Some will just reach a point in barrel where they’ve gained all they can and will only decline. You’ll see winemakers put a lot of thought into optimal timing for the bottling of the different wines they make (as well as how much time they should then rest before release).

[Wes_Barton]

I’ve been thinking about my visit to gonon for the past 12 months. They have one set of neutral barrels, so they put everything in tank before the next harvest. The wines are so complex and delicious. I just want to evaluate the pros/cons to more time in barrel. I’d love to include the tercero Grenache barrel age differences if possible. I’ll email you. Cheers!

I know some people who move barrel aged wines back to tank for a few months before bottling for stylistic reasons. The wine has softened and gained from all the barrelly stuff. The time in tank brings a bit of reduction, a steely spine and focus.

[C_Chan]

Not sure if this is related to the topic.

I’ve got a sample bottle of 2006 Branaire Ducru that was bottled during the barrel aging. From memory I sourced this in around June-August 2007.

Could be interesting to compare it to the actual final bottling.

[Mike_Rotondo]

For a more reasonably priced comparison, there’s a Sonoma winery that does this type of thing - David Coffaro. They offer their wines with different barrel aging times.