The art of making and using the barrique: the Valoga experience

As Valonga knows well, the passage of oxygen through the staves, and the slow and light oxidation that follows, also contributes to the final result of an oenological product that is today of ever greater prestige. Obviously, the transfer and exchange reactions just mentioned refer to new barriques, in which the wine can stay on average from 10 to 18/24 months. After this period, which we will define as the first cycle of use, the barrel it could still be used at most a second time and for a maximum of six months. It would be a waste of time and space to want to continue using it further since the wood has already yielded everything it could yield. It could at most be recycled as a simple container but with very high processing costs due to the waste of time in filling and emptying and for the space that today costs a lot.

Valoga and the Bulgarian white oak

Bulgarian forests are generally composed of various species of deciduous trees. These forests ensure the balance of the environment. They include shrubs as well as macro and microorganisms respectively. Two of these varieties are:

• Quercus robur and Quercus petraea. They are called summer and winter oaks.
• Oak red – It is found in the area from an altitude of 400 m up to 600 m.  
• Sessile oak – is located in the 800 m altitude area. 
• Oak red – grows in places where there is a lot of light and nutrients. It prefers clay soils. That is why it is mainly found in the valley bottoms and in the lower hilly areas. This variety of oak is mostly white part and broad heartwood. The wood gets great hardness due to the high content of ellagitannin found in the heartwood. This allows for the creation of more exquisite wines by preventing them from becoming sour. It also gives the wine a particular vanilla flavour.
• Sessile oak grows in shadier places. It is a tree that is found at a higher altitude, grows in mountainous areas and has good resistance to frost. This oak has a more restricted annual growth and has narrow circles in the bark of the tree. It is used to create more raw wines with a fine structure. The wine does not acquire a vanilla flavor and during its oxidation it changes its taste and aroma in this oak species.

Both Quercus robur and Quercus sessiliflora are used to make staves used for the refinement of wines and spirits. The development of the exceptional aroma is due to a particular climate, characterized by a lot of rain and the presence of four very sunny seasons, which improve the growth of Q. robur and Q. sessiliflora.

Valoga is a family-run company with a production of over 6.000 barrels per year. The company is managed by Star Ivanov – manager and owner. Over the course of many decades Valoga has built a reputation as a producer attentive to tradition with close interaction with customers, making them the basic components of their work, always addressing their customers with attention and care and trying to achieve the ideal combination of wood and wine. The production of barrels is limited and the company uses only Bulgarian oak from forests with a centuries-old history, hand-selected with an extra fine structure and keeping the limited production guarantees quality and durability of the product. Thanks to the technological innovation of the company, the amount of the precious component is maintained unchanged after the drying process Ellagitannin in oak, recognized for its valuable characteristics as an anti-cancer agent. Today with its export, more than 90% of its production, Valoga is well present on international markets.

Valonga: the selected Bulgarian oak

Every autumn when the leaves begin to fall our coopers undertake the selection of the best and most resistant white oak woods of the Quercus Robur and Quercus Sessiliflora type, from the best Bulgarian forests. The extreme climate changes of these areas with a significant altitude and a unique mineral consistency in the soil, contribute to a slow growth that enhances this specific oak with a fine fragrance but rich in tannins. There are two structural typologies of oak:

– fine structure typology for our series “Classic"

– very fine structure typology for our series “Exellium"

This selection is the primary stage and actually defines the quality of our final product. The analyses performed on the specific typology of Bulgarian oak show that the wood has similar qualities to the Allier and Limousine type, used for the barrels where the best wines in the world have been aged.

Natural seasoning

The second fundamental step in choosing the wood is the duration of the natural seasoning. This is the phase where a perfect chemical and physical balance of the wood structure is achieved. The logs are split by hand with a wedge in the direction of the grain. After splitting and shaping, staves are obtained that are exposed to the open air, where they dry naturally for a minimum period of 24 months, in order to obtain a suitable seasoning. During this slow process, left to the influence of atmospheric conditions, the staves age and lose their green and raw tannins. The location of the country Trudovetz is extremely favorable to an excellent seasoning of the wood. Mediterranean climate, hot summers, cold winters, lots of wind, fresh air and mountain rain favor the aging of our wood. During the aging we carefully monitor the ongoing processes of sugars and acids.

Craftsmanship and experience

After seasoning, the staves are bent into the right shape for the next assembly phase. Once cut to the required length, the staves are trimmed with very precise tools. They are then examined and selected with the utmost care; the next assembly process of the staves is carried out manually by master coopers. This phase of the production process, carried out entirely by hand, is essential for the quality of the final product. The Valoga craftsmen, coopers with many years of experience and above all great lovers of perfection and their craft, give the barrels a personal touch, the result of experience due to centuries-old tradition. The careful eye of the cooper selects the most suitable staves and sets aside those that are not suitable, then the staves are assembled and tied with metal hoops that serve to hold them together. This spectacular operation is called “mise-en-rose” by the coopers. Once assembled, the barrel is subjected to a process of heating over a low flame for about 50 minutes. During this phase, the heat and humidity soften the wood.

Mastery in the roasting process 

Valoga is committed to providing its customers with barrels that enhance the quality and style of the wine. The long and slow method of toasting allows us to obtain various toastings in a more appropriate way corresponding to the different types of wines aged in our barrels. As an indicator of the level of toasting we monitor not only the surface color of the oak (the most important indicator) but also the depth of the color. In this important stage of production we perform a process of color penetration into the heart of the staves. All this leads to an extrapolation of polyphenols that are extremely important for the fresh and complete taste of the wine.

Light Roast (LT) – emphasizes fruity aromas.

Medium Roast (MT) – fruity aromas are dominant; a complete and complex profile.

Medium Roast Plus (MT+) – Fruity aromas are mixed with spicy and “smoky” notes

Strong Roast (HT) – the spicy and “smoky” notes are dominant here.

225 liters Bordeaux Export

500 Litres