Oak is vital to support, enliven and fulfil the potential of some of the best quality white wines on the planet. 

Using oak to ferment and mature white wine is a much more complex matter than imparting chewy, obvious oaky flavours. It is only new oak that imparts the characteristic toasted, nutty, vanilla, sometimes aromatic tarry and charcoal notes to a wine. These overt flavours fade as a barrel is used over subsequent vintages, and after a few years, none of these notes appear in the wine.  The smaller the barrel, the bigger the oak influence, all to do with the ratio of wood to wine. French oak and American oak have different flavours, and all the wines here have been made using French oak.

Wines reviewed below

But oak doesn’t just provide flavour.  New and older oak enable an air exchange through the barrel, while the wine is maturing. The effect of this controlled air exchange is to soften the edges of a wine, makes it feel a little creamier on the tongue, a little rounder, maybe smoother, in texture. It changes the perception of dimension and shape in the mouth, think spheres rather than cubes, for example.

Good quality oak barrels are expensive, several hundred pounds sterling for one 225-litre barrel (300 bottles), so wine aged in high quality new oak is going to be more expensive than average. Cheaper options can be used – the staves that go to make up a barrel can be put loose into a stainless steel tank, as can ‘chips’ off cut during barrel making, but using barrels is generally regarded as the best option.

So using new oak is about flavour and texture, using older oak us about texture.  And it doesn’t end there. Certain grape varieties really don’t suit any sort of overt oak influence, notably riesling.  Some might argue sauvignon blanc too, but Bordeaux has long made great white blends from sauvignon blanc and semillon, especially in the Graves region, and there are one or two specialist cuvées of Sancerre and Pouilly-Fumé in the Loire.

Oak affinity all starts with chardonnay, and therefore Burgundy. Apart from some top Chablis, all the best white Burgundies are brought up in oak barrel. Chablis is where there is some sort of dividing line, with some producers favouring the steely, sometimes austere, white floral, mealy, yeasty-lees style of Chablis, and others preferring, often on premier and grand cru wines, maturation in barrel, creating a creamier, richer, fatter-textured, long-lived wine.

South of Burgundy, the southern Rhône, as well as Languedoc and Roussillon, are rich with white varieties that do well with oak.  They tend to have modest acidity, richer, fatter flavours to which a bit of oak influence can add some additional structure and note of complexity. The likes of viognier (especially in Northern Rhône’s Condrieu), plus marsanne and roussanne, often blended with less fashionable Mediterranean whites such as grenache blanc. Spiciness and dry honeyed notes can be found amid tropical fruits.

From the Mediterranean warmth to the maritime Atlantic, where the best Bordeaux whites are barrel aged.  Sauvignon blanc is blended with semillon, which, with its modest acidity and toasty tendencies, also has a positive affinity with oak.

A issue to address, using these examples, is when oak, even new, is used really well, how much of it can you really taste? Or does it become such a seamless and wholesome part of the wine that its individual taste is integrated into the whole palate experience, including fruitful aromas and flavours, structure and shape?

Vincent Girardin, Bourgogne blanc, Cuvée St Vincent 2007
£13.99  Laithwaites
Screwcap, 13%
A ‘basic’ Burgundy, so 100% chardonnay, with no new oak, but four fifths aged in 500-litre, 2-3 year old oak barrels, for 10 months. The other fifth was aged in stainless steel. Sweet wood-smoke and roasted nut aromas plunge from the glass. White flowers emerge on the palate along with soft-baked lemons in an upliftingly fresh style. This has the smooth ground-nutty texture and flavour so typical of white Burgundy.  The oak influence is gently aromatic, then textural, and the finish is lemon-fresh, which cleanses the palate for another sip.

Olivier Leflaive, Puligny-Montrachet Les Meix 2007
£28.99 Corney and Barrow 
Cork, 14%
A ‘posh’ Burgundy, from a vineyard owned by Olivier Leflaive. The posher appellation with higher quality fruit allows more oak to fully express the wine. It’s not a premier cru, though it is right next door to Premier Cru Les Pucelles. All the wine was fermented in oak, a quarter of which was new, and matured for 9 months. This has all the classic hallmarks of high quality Burgundian chardonnay, nothing to be called overtly oaky at all, just a gentle palate packed with ginger and allspice, meal and hazelnut flavour and intensity, wrapped in elegant concentration and with a very long finish.

Domaine Saint-Amant, La Tabardonne 2007 Côtes du Rhône Villages Blanc, Rhône
£11.99 Waitrose Wine Direct 
Cork, 13.5%
Made from 90% viognier with the remainder from roussanne, and made in French oak barrels averaging 2 years’ age, and matured in them for 12 months. The only flavour nod to oak is a gentle vanilla spice which melds completely with fruit perfumes of apricot, honeyed melon and sweet spice. The palate reflects the nose with the concentrated fruit aromatising and filling the mouth with a sweet volume of fruit. Nicely balanced with a rich core.

Château Doisy-Daëne Sec 2008 Bordeaux
£17.49 Waitrose Wine Direct 
Cork, 12.5%
Denis Dubourdieu is Bordeaux’s white wine making genius, and this is made 100% from sauvignon blanc. All of the wine was fermented in oak barrels, but just 20% of them were new. And the wine matured in barrel for 8 months. Piquant pink grapefruit exudes from the glass and zests up the palate, so this sauvignon blanc retains its fruit core freshness. The oak adds some attractive creamy complexity, depth and roundness of texture and just the faintest memory of lemon toast.

Domaine le Soula, Vin de Pays des Côtes Catalanes blanc 2007  
£19.51 A&B Vintners 
Cork, 14%
This property is part-owned by Gérard Gauby of Domaine Gauby in Roussillon fame. It’s made from a blend of the grapes that were already planted in the vineyard when it was bought, so as it contains sauvignon blanc, it cannot be called a Roussillon appellation wine, and defaults to a vin de pays. The other grapes include grenache blanc, marsanne, roussanne and macabeu. Bigger oak features here too, so less overt new oak influence.  The wine matured in 500-litre casks, of which 30% were new, for 15 months.  It tastes fresh and aromatic, with white flowers, and a creamy lemon toast sub-text which envelops the palate in a luxurious flood of warmth. Fresh almonds and cobnuts meld with complexing citrus and aromatic spice notes in a flavour profile that’s long in the mouth and even longer on the finish.

Brits’ love affair with sparkling wine shows no signs of letting up, so what better wine style to both bring in the new year, and to start a new series exploring wine tasting, flavours and styles.

Champagne is by far and away the most important sparkling wine from France.  Alsace and the Loire are next with Burgundy falling into line, along with one or two specialist styles.

Style and flavour are inextricably linked to the way sparkling wines are made. In France, most are made by the ‘traditional method’, and even then, there’s plenty of flavour difference.

Traditional method is used to describe sparkling wines made in the same way as Champagne.  The term Champagne can only be used for sparkling wine made in the eponymous region of northern France.  Everywhere else in the world it’s ‘traditional method sparkling wine’. 

Wines reviewed below

Still wine is fermented at harvest.  This still wine is then blended according to a number of desired styles.  The still wine is put into the very bottle that you will be pouring from, along with a little yeast and sugar, as food for the yeast.  A second fermentation takes place in the bottle. The bottle then rests ‘on its lees’ (the yeast cells), for a mandated period of time: for Champagne a minimum 15 months for non-vintage; minimum 36 months for vintage. At the end of this time the lees are removed and the bottle topped up. This top-up includes an amount of sugar to conform to the style on the label – mostly brut, but also sec, semi-sec, and increasingly trendy – zero dosage.

Most of what we drink is Brut, so dry, but it’s those lees that confer flavour. The more time spent on lees, the more nutty, savoury, toasted, complexing flavours can be found in the bubbly, including fresh cream, cob nuts, almonds, brioche, granary and toasted characters. 

A second crucial element is the grape varieties used.  In Champagne these are stipulated as chardonnay, pinot noir and pinot meunier.  Most non-vintage is made of a blend of the three, but ‘blanc de blancs’ is made just with chardonnay (white grape) and ‘blanc de noirs’ is made with one or both of the pinots (black grapes).  More chardonnay gives more floral, lifted, citrus notes with a lightness of structure that belies its strength. More pinot noir gives greater power and body, more mouth-filling, whereas pinot meunier is supple and strawberry-fruity.

In the wine recommendations opposite, there is a ‘blanc de blancs’ and a ‘blanc de noirs’ to show as clearly defined differences as possible. If neither of these terms is mentioned, the wine will usually be blend of the three grapes.

A third crucial element in flavour is the acid structure of the wine and its mousse – the bubbles.  The best quality mousse is a fine, persistent one, where a steady stream of small bubbles erupts on the palate. If a mousse dissipates quickly or the bubbles are big and coarse, the sensation is less attractive, and is usually indicative of a lesser quality wine.

The acidity runs through the heart of all these elements. Early harvest is often ideal to preserve as much natural acidity as possible. Part of the refreshing and enlivening nature of sparkling wine comes from the perky and tingling acid core, around which all the flavours evolve and develop in the mouth.

Other regions in France call their traditional method wines Crémant, though the time on lees is often less: minimum time nine months. Already this suggests it will be fruitier rather than more nutty and toasty.

And the grape varieties used are those found locally, so this will also affect the flavour profile.  Sorg’s Crémant d’Alsace has pinot gris and pinot blanc which add floral aroma and fruitiness. The Presle Crémant de Loire has a lot of chardonnay and has developed toasty, creamy notes of notable time on lees, whereas the Crémant de Bourgogne has been made in a deliberately light and fruity style without the complexing characters of lees ageing, and is delightfully pure and fresh for that.

Bruno Sorg, Crémant d’Alsace Brut NV
£15.00 The Good Wine Shop   
Cork,  12%
A delicious bubbly focusing on fragrant fruit, from a top grower in Alsace.  This is a blend of chardonnay, pinot blanc and pinot gris. There’s freshness from the chardonnay, plus depth, weight and a little richness from the pinot gris (not to be confused with light, crisp, neutral Italian pinot grigio). Fragrant butter biscuit notes waft over white fruits, apple and pear, all with a hint of fragrant allspice. The nose promises much, and the palate does not disappoint, with fresh peach with apricot foam, and an evasive spicy hint of complexity.  

Château de la Presle, Jean-Marie Penet, Crémant de Loire Brut NV
£13.50  Bottle Apostle 
Cork, 12%
This is an aperitif to impress, with hints of those yeasty notes more usually found in Champagne, and little surprise as this is three-quarters chardonnay. Aromatic acacia flowers, apple, with white nectarine on both nose and palate.  Hint of honey-roasted white pepper spice also come through on the palate to complex the white fruit core of this bubbly. It has a creamy, persistent mousse, and a medium-full weight with rich fruit concentration alongside the silhouette of a savoury, creamy lees note.

Cave de Lugny, Crémant de Bourgogne, Blancs de Blancs Brut NV
£10.49  Oddbins
Cork, 12%
Blanc de Blancs so by definition chardonnay, with all the refreshing focus on primary fruit, so no savoury leesy character.  Fresh, crunchy apples, white pear and white rose fragrance leads into plenty of clean fruit on the palate. The mousse is creamy and well-defined. This is made by the well-known co-op in a widely appealing aperitif style. 

Sainsbury’s Blanc de Noirs Champagne Brut NV
£15.99 Sainsbury’s
Cork, 12%
Made only from black grapes: 40% pinot noir and 60% pinot meunier.  Hints of brioche on the nose are followed up by butter biscuit and fresh cream on the palate.  This gives way to fresh-roasted almonds and white flowers on the mid palate. With 30 months’ ageing on lees, this bubbly has a good level of complexity at the price.  It’s been made for Sainsbury’s for more than 20 years by the same co-operative in Reims.

Pierre Gimmonet et Fils Cuis 1er cru Brut NV
£168.00 per 6 bottles/£28 per bottle, Armit
Cork,  12%   
This is made only using chardonnay grapes, and is made by the Gimmonet family who have been crafting Champagne since 1750. Aromas of fresh bread emerge temptingly from the glass.  It is immediately gratifying and uplifting with a good density of flavour.  Acacia flowers and freshly-harvested cob nuts combine with hints of flavoursome creamy sweetness.  And lifted citrus notes meld into the enticing creamy mousse to create an altogether appealing sensation.

Caviste £18.95 per 37.5cl bottle

Hobbs Grenache ('07 label)

On the nose your senses are enveloped by sweetly stewed fresh, aromatic strawberries. This light and elegant perfume feeds through to the palate structure, which is intense and concentrated alongside the lightness. This is outrageously delicious. It’s a light, lush, rich, well-balanced, sweet-yet-fresh digestif over which to put the world to rights. It has an unadulterated purity of fruit that finishes very long.  

The wine is made in a ‘passito’ style: the grapes are laid out on racks to dry in air conditioned sheds.  Over time this evaporates a proportion of the water, which leaves all the fruity and structural bits in the grape beautifully concentrated.  The juice yield from these partially desiccated grapes is less than a third that from grapes pressed immediately after harvest.

There’s plenty of residual sweetness to this wine, which is delicately balanced with just 9% alcohol in what is a really refreshing dessert wine.

Majestic £8.69 per bottle standard.
Between Oct 30, 2009 and Feb 1, 2010, buy 2, save 20% … £6.95

Costero Riesling 2009

Viña Leyda is producing some of the most exciting wines coming out of Chile at the moment. This riesling is no exception, and on promo it provides really tasty value for money.

The vineyards are around 15km from the Pacific Ocean, which provides chilly winds to cool down the growing fruit. This helps retain both acidity and aromatics.

It’s an easy and gentle riesling, so if you think you don’t like riesling, I reckon this one is fab. enough to suggest you have another look.

Intense fresh lime flavours attack your palate in a zesty but not tingling manner, and give way to a gentle, smooth palate with a mouthfilling volume of lime and citrus fruit.  Excellent balance accentuates the moreish, pure fruit flavours. The wine is focused.  It’s not complex, but it is layered with unadulterated primary fruits, having been made entirely in stainless steel.

Brumont    
Closure : cork
Abv : 12%
~£9 from e.g. Cork’s of Cotham, Highbury Vintners, Reid Wines, Butler’s Wine Cellar

This is a wine full of uncomplicated joy and flavour.  Gros manseng is the grape variety, local to the south west of France, where it’s often made into some delicious sweet wines, but this one is dry.  It has bright, exotic, tropical fruits on the nose which follow through on the palate with the addition of perfumed apricots, hints of lychee exotica and sweet allspice. It’s zesty, refreshing and palate-tingling in its immediacy of gratification, and it has a nice bit of length on the finish too.  It has more weight than an equivalently priced sauvignon blanc, for example, and is a little softer with the acidity. It’s a bit of a Stuart Broad this wine: it’s young, it’s good-looking, it’s a winning all-rounder.

Windy Peak Pinot Noir

Closure: screwcap
Abv: 13.5%
De Bortoli
£8 to £9 at Sainsburys, EH Booth, Frank Stainton Wines, RS Wines

This is just the fab-est and best value juicy pinot noir I’ve come across in ages.  Parcels of fruit come from across Victoria – Yarra Valley, Mornington Peninsula, Geelong and Beechworth – to make a fresh wine with gentle strawberry aromas, medium weight and a pretty, elegant, silky texture for its price. It’s not complicated which is part of its juicy charm, and it has good varietal definition. There’s not a jot of oak to interfere with the purity of fruit.

www.brocard.fr  

Cork.

13%

£12.95. Ethical Fine Wines

Serious, mineral, steely, mealy, white peach and pear Chablis, which is certified organic to boot. This wine is from the highly-regarded stable of Jean-Marc Brocard, whose son, Julien took over the management of the 11 hecatare Boissonneuse domaine in 2000. The vineyard’s classic Kimmeridgean soils of clay and limestone layers add to this wine’s terroir taste. The wine has a real, tingly, savoury streak through it, so if you’re used to more citrus, lemony, floral Chablis, this will be a real turning point.