Tonnellerie Saury is a third generation cooperage located in the
base of the Massif Central, in close proximity to the forests. We are the 6th
largest cooperage in France and have established our presence in the market for
a number of reasons. Producing an outstanding barrel requires a serious approach
to three aspects; wood selection, regulated aging of the wood, and a controlled
bending/toasting process. One of the remarkable aspects of Saury is the lack of
mystique. While they acknowledge it is easy to make forty different barrels in
a day from various forests the real task is to make a barrel that you can use
from one vintage to the next and have a consistent barrel to marry with your fruit.
We do not own the forests and therefore have little control over appellation.
As a result we select tight grain wood from various forests. We know that the
polyphonelic profile is elegant and complex with tight grain wood so we make that
our primary criterion: tight grain wood from the center of France. We spend a
good deal of time culling through our wood when we receive it at the cooperage
and reject looser grain wood. The wood is then stacked in our unique method and
then passes through a watering process. The aging of the wood was historically
for three years with the end result was a wood humidity level a cooper could create
a barrel, which would not change after leaving the cooperage. With the advent
of kiln driers (sechior sounds better) coopers tried to expedite the process and
discovered they merely trapped the sappy qualities of the wood. They failed to
understand the aging process. The wood must be properly leached of the hard sap
components and then aged to allow the mycelium to work on the wood in a moist
environment. Fortunately, the cooperage is located in the confluence of two rivers
and thus we have a lot of humidity, ideal for the aging of wood. Leaching occurs
with a controlled water process that measures the level of tannin extracted. Following
the aging, the toasting process is the third most important process. We are the
only cooperage to use both an immersion (water bent) process and a fire bent process.
Our toasting process for either regime involves a low temperature over a long
period of time. Given the selection of tight grain we choose allows the quality
of the wood to express itself rather than overtly toasting our barrels to a smoky
level. In short, if you have excellent fruit that you wish to highlight and add
to the texture, elegance, and length of palate - Saury will be a happy marriage.
If you wish to overwhelm your wine with the smoky, woody profile you should choose
another cooper. Please feel free to contact us for further information. Thank
you for your consideration.
