Boisé France wood selection practices
"The marriage of wood with wine"
ENHANCED FRUITINESS... while all aspects of wood origin must certainly be considered,
even a shipment of the best pedigree will require careful study and appraisal.
Boisé France focuses significant attention on procurement of high quality french wood with an eye to
suitability for enological expectations and requirements.
The needs of each wine determine the appropriate aromatic profile, structured mouthfeel and
gustatory sweetness to be imparted by wood.
Wood selection must be performed under the guidance of coopers on the basis of sensory evaluation techniques.
Species
Two species of French oak are utilized by coopers: pedunculated (Quercus robur) and sessile (Quercus petraea).
The two species differ in their characteristics: pedunculated is more tannic, while sessile has greater aromatic expression.
Boisé France only use Quercus petraea.
Wood sources : French Quercus Petraea
Wood Grain Types
Identifying wood grain types is insufficient to distinguish species, because assessment of woodgrain type is also determined by the availability of water and type of climate.
Nevertheless, fine grain is typically associated with sessile oak. Generally speaking, there's a good correlation between ring spacing and the presence of specific wood charateristics (e.g.: whiskey-lactones, ellagitannins).
Source : Forest tailored to specific criteria
Each of the major forests takes advantage of specific conditions: soils, macro and micro climates, species present and underground aquafer characteristics. Wood derived from each major delineated forest area exhibits characteristics traceable to the conditions present in that region.
Despite these tendancies, such conditions are never constant throughout the region, and trees from that forest do not entirely resemble one another... lot selection is therefore essential.
