Highlighting the benefits of Hungarian oak in your wine
Classic Oak Products are leaders in supplying Hungarian Oak barrels to Australian wineries.
With oak forests covering more than 20% of Hungary, healthy, tight grained and compositionally desirable oak trees are abundant. Our main supplier of Hungarian oak barrels is Trust Cooperage, which sources its oak from their carefully managed forests located in Hungary’s Zemplén and Mecsek forests. They harvest two different species of oak, quercus robur and quercus petraea providing winemakers with a variety of options to suit their needs. Quercus also offers a range of oak adjuncts and alternatives made from Hungarian oak.
Quercus robur is well suited to provide wines with a fuller body and larger tannin structures. On the other hand, quercus petrea is more favourable for producing wines with aromatic character and minimal tannin levels. These two species also grow in France, but the Hungarian climate facilitates the cultivation of oak staves that are able to impart rich sensations of weight and texture in the middle of the mouth.
Hungarian oak is typically favourable for varietal and fruit-forward wines, allowing for a subtle oak characteristic. Ideal for medium-bodied wines including Tempranillo and Sangiovese, as well as being an alternative option for Shiraz and Chardonnay, offering flavour hints of butterscotch, vanilla, clove, cinnamon, roasted coffee and toffee.
The process of first felling the timber to create an oak barrel as a final product is very similar to the one used in France. First, the timber is meticulously looked after by a sustainability team year round. Their local knowledge aids in evaluating the growth of the timber so that they are well informed to make the right purchasing decision when the forestry authorities deem the trees ready to harvest.
Each individual tree that will be used to create the barrels is then marked for specific customers. After the timber is harvested and manufactured into wooden planks at our stave mill, and then is left outside in the elements to dry and season for a minimum of 24 months and a maximum of 48 months.
A different toast level is used to impart a variety of flavours, ranging from a light fruity or balanced flavour to a heavier and smokier oak flavour. The toast levels that Trust Cooperage offers include:
- Medium
- Medium Long
- Medium +
- Heavy
Whilst not typically used in the process of fermenting wine in oak barrels, Trust also offers toasted heads which provide an extra level of flavour for a stronger tasting type of wine.
