What does Old oak mean?

Old oak means oak barrels that have been used before; they give the wine oxygen and softness without the barrel flavour taking over.

Also known as: Used oak, Neutral oak

Old oak means the wine was fermented or aged in oak barrels already used for earlier vintages. A barrel gives off most flavour in its first years. After roughly three or four uses it has released most of its aromas and is considered neutral in practice.

What remains is the barrel's ability to breathe. Small amounts of oxygen enter through the wood and the bung hole, slowly softening tannins, rounding out texture and helping the wine come together. This happens without the obvious notes of vanilla, toast and spice that new barrels give.

Old barrels come in many sizes, from 225-litre barriques to large casks holding several thousand litres. Big old casks are traditional in Piemonte, Alsace and along the Rhine and Mosel, among other places, where they are called botti, foudres, Stückfass or Fuder. The larger the barrel, the less influence per litre of wine.

Producers choose old oak when they want the slow maturation of a barrel but want the grape and the place to stay at the centre. The wine often gains a softer, rounder character than in stainless steel.