by Sophie Kevany

Leading French barrel maker, Seguin Moreau, is to produce a range of flavour enhancing wine barrels for commercial use by 2011.

“We have been working on this for the last five years, to identify the particular chemical molecules [in the wood] that create certain characteristics in the wine,” explained Philippe Rapacz, Seguin Moreau chairman.

The barrels, which Rapacz calls ‘intelligent’, will, he says, be able to enhance certain flavours, such as red fruit, tannins or spices, in the wines aged in them.

The idea of using barrels to enhance certain flavours is not new, but so far it has been limited to how much ‘toast’ – the process of burning the barrel’s interior – a barrel is given.

The idea of a flavour-enhancing barrel, which is bound to cause controversy, was welcomed by some in Bordeaux, while others argued the aim of barrel aging is not to flavour the wine.

“Why not, it sounds interesting,” said Thierry Haberer, the Bordeaux based technical director for the Michel Rolland family vineyards. Haberer said he would need to experiment with the barrels, but that controlling another detail of winemaking, such as this, could be positive.

However, Stephen Carrier, director of Chateau Fieuzal in Pessac Leognan, disagreed. “For the top chateaux barrel aging is for clarifying the wine, improving the colour and to very slowly oxygenate it. It is not to give flavours,” he said, the same argument many winemakers use against oak chips.

Seguin Moreau is owned by Oeneo, France’s leading barrel and cork supplier. Last week Seguin Moreau announced it was expanding its range of ‘wood solutions’ to include oak chips, after it purchased 49% of Boisé France, France’s number one oak chip producer. The move will take advantage of swiftly increasing European demand for oak chips, since they were legalised for use in European winemaking in 2007.