Articles of Note and Other News - Week of March 1st, 2021

A very interesting article about the use of oak, or rather the non-use of oak, was posted on Jancis Robinson's website this week. I have been through many cellars in recent times where the use of oak was being challenged or at the very least reconsidered in part or in whole. Many wines can benefit from this evolution in winemaking, adding a style and dimension that compliments some oak, or just the beauty of the wine on its own without the use of oak. For me, I often find the result to be a more textural expression in the wine, different that what I get from oak aged wines. Keep in mind that concrete has been used for years as a means of tank construction, and that in ancient times most vessels would have been a form of terracotta. You can read the article here.

Terracotta fermenter at Xavier Amirault's cellar, Saint-Nicolas-de-Bourgueil