The word barrique comes from the French, more precisely from the Gascon dialect word “barrica”, which means barrel.
Over time, the use of the term was restricted to the most commonly used barrel volume of 225 liters.
This corresponds exactly to the Bordelais ship’s measure of 225 liters (a variant is the 228-liter Burgundy barrel).
This measurement in turn resulted from the size of the barrel that a dock worker could load by hand when empty.
The 225-liter barrel has an empty weight of around 45 kg and was initially used exclusively for the export of wine (later also for beer and whisky) to England.
However, it is said to have been invented by the Celts.
They knew how to assemble wooden barrels from staves.
These barrels were used to store and transport goods and drinks in equal measure.
They were first mentioned in documents in various Roman sources from 50 B.C. So that the staves could be bent and used to make barrels, they were first charred on the inside.
The resulting layer creates the typical vanilla aroma in the wine.
In addition, compared to other barrels, barrique barrels release important tannins into the wine.
The barrels can be used for a maximum of three years, as they have already released up to 85% of their tannins after the first year – depending on the quality.
In the past, ageing in new wooden barrels was reserved exclusively for the best and heaviest Bordeaux wines, including those from the world-famous Chateau Margaux.
The estate even had its own cooperage.
The barrels, which had already released most of their tannins (a barrique barrel can only be used two to three times), were subsequently sold to less wealthy wine estates.
Since the 1980s, barrique barrels have been in vogue all over the world and are accordingly widespread.
If the winemaker or cellar master understands his craft and uses the barrique barrels skillfully and subtly, the wine matured in them gains significantly in elegance, finesse and stability.
As a rule of thumb, white wines should be aged in barriques for around 6 to 12 months and red wines for at least 12 months.
