Step 4
of 5
Why barrel size matters
Same wood, different size = different wine. A smaller barrel has more wood touching each liter of wine, so more flavor and more oxygen exchange. A huge barrel has very little wood per liter, so the wine ages gently and almost neutrally.
Barrique (225L) is the Bordeaux standard — big oak influence. Hogshead (300L) is Burgundy and Rioja — medium. Foudre (1,000–10,000L) is gentle, neutral, used to let wine just breathe.
Forward-thinking Argentine producers like Altos Las Hormigas now age Malbec in untoasted foudres to let the country's fruit speak instead of the wood.
