Bordeaux cooperage for French oak barrels and puncheons.
(225L-500L)
Tonnellerie Bel Air was created in 2000 by a group
of famous wine professionals and is located right outside of Bordeaux .
Bel Air offers barrels based on the flavor and tannin profile of the wood, rather than tightness or size of the grain, a very different and intriguing concept.
The Directors at Bel Air find that a sensory evaluation is the best way to judge the wood. They do regular “oak tastings” from tea-like extracts made from oak shavings of each pallet of wood.
It’s a fascinating tasting process, quite similar to assessing young red wine, in that not only aromatics, and
flavours are evaluated but also the texture of the wood on the palate.
Since 2009 Bel Air is part of the PEFC (Programme for the Endorsement of Forest Certification) which is the world’s largest forest certification system that promotes sustainable forest management.
Tonnellerie Bel Air is co-managed by Benoit Vallière and consists of 11 full time coopers and produces roughly 10,000 barrels a year.
Bel Air continually tastes the wood during the aging process in their yard to determine not only the structural category of barrel it corresponds to, but also the ideal seasoning time. They do not only test the oak’s aromatics and flavors but also it’s texture on the palette, much like one would test a red or white wine.
BEL AIR'S STRONG STYLISTIC POINTS
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Tastes the wood to ensure consistency
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Sources oak from plots of the finest forests
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Fire / Steam bent
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Three main different product lines: Elegance, Révélation, Volupté
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Bordeaux supplier for French oak barrels. (225L-500L)
