Some of you may have noticed that I wasn't around for a part of May. My husband and I took a two week vacation to England and France. The highlight of my trip was going to Beaune, France in the heart of the Burgundy wine region.
Our main barrel maker, Rousseau, is located there. Frederic, who is the 3rd generation Rousseau carrying on the business, met us in Beaune mid-afternoon to take us around for the day. First, he drove us through some of the Grand Cru and Premier Cru vineyards, then to lunch in the village of Gevrey Chambertin. The food was delicious and the wine was fantastic!! Some of the wines on the menu were $7000 a bottle!
Next, we went to the Rousseau barrel making headquarters. We first saw many barrel staves being seasoned. Frederic explained the tagging system they used that labeled which forest the wood was from, and when it started its seasoning. Before this wood is brought into the facility, it is tested for TCA to make sure it is not contaminated. When the results are back, the staves go into the facility. They are then selected and cut to shape. The staves then fit all together (without any glue) to form the barrel. The first set of hoops are set on the top of the barrel, then heated and doused with water to bend the wood to get the other end of the hoops on. Frederic told us that many of their barrel makers have won awards for their skills in barrel making.
These barrels are then toasted to the indicated order. The heads are put on the barrels, they are tested for leakage and lastly, the bung is put in. If there is a bad stave, they take the barrel apart to replace that stave. After they pass the test, the barrel gets branded with its Rousseau label and another if the winery has specified their own label. Lost Canyon is their only client with color barrel labels!
After this tour, we went to the see where they make large format barrels. At this facility there are less machines and most of the work is done by hand. They can make a barrel using whatever required specifications you give.
So much work, care and time goes into each barrel. This is why Lost Canyon loves Rousseau!!!
Next, Frederic took us to the beginning life of the barrel. This facility had giant trees from different French forests split into large planks. They are brought into the facility where they cut out the heartwood. The heartwood is too porous to make a barrel stave, but it is burned in the toasting process so nothing goes to waste. This location was beautiful! Forest to the right and vineyards in the hills to the left.
The day ended with Frederic taking us on a private tasting at Joseph Drouhin. We were joined by another Rousseau representative that was taking around a group of young German winemakers. We tasted 8 wines, 4 white and 4 red. It was a fabulous time! Much thanks to Frederic Rousseau for taking us to lunch and giving us such a wonderful tour.
http://www.artisanbarrels.com/mainpage.html?su-rousseau
http://www.dailymotion.com
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