Comparison within Wine Barrel.?

Question

Does anyone know the diffrent character contributed to the wine within French, American & Hungurian wine barrel? Need some experience advise here. Thank you.

Answer 1

This is a difficult one. The barrel used can contribute a lot to the finished wine, but there are so many factors other than the country of origin. It is alos the preparation -- has the barrel been toased, low/medium/high, juse one head (the end) or both or all the barrel. Some winemakers swear by a particular wood, others by a particular barrel maker.

If you make wine from one vineyard and put it in a dozen identical barrels -- all from the same country, wood and barrel maker and all made in the same year from wood harvested in the same year -- then you taste the wines from each of the 12 barrels you note there are taste differences. Some barrels make a nicer wine than others.

So what I am trying to say is that there are some very crude taste descriptions of wood from different countries, but that is just one factor.

French oak barrels are generally said to be best (on the other hand many new world wineries are trying to make wines that taste like French wines, and as most top French wineries use French barrels .....) and they are the most expensive. They are less in your face, sweeter and, more subtle. American barrels are said to impart a more vanilla and coconut tastes and they are less expensive. Hungarian barrels used to be popular before the second world war (after which they were part of the Soviet empire). They are regaining popularity again mostly on cost ground but are said to offer less subtle oak flavors and more astringency

Answer 2

French barrels add a subtle vanilla character to the wine while American barrels impart a more obvious wood flavor. The Hungarian oak is not widely used and the barrels tend to be older which cuts the flavor significantly.
Also, American oak barrels have been refined lately to give a more French accent to the wine. They used to have a very easily identifiable flavor - like licking a wet wooden fence, but that has been toned down. It's much harder to tell the difference any more.
Some connoisseurs claim they can tell the difference in the individual forest in which the French oak was grown, IE. Vosge, Alliers, etc. Hah! I'd like to see that!

Answer 3

Good answers so far. I must add don't forget Canadian Oak barrels said to be between a French and American oak barrels.