Stanton Barrett Family Wines only uses the finest barrels. After years of careful consideration and wine tastings, we've chosen Nadalié Barrels. The unique oak barrels are branded and delivered from France.
We chose to use European oak over American oak for various reasons. French oak grows slowly and is soft. The softer wood allows more oxygen to enter the barrel. American oak grows quickly, however it is dense and allows less oxygen to enter the barrel. While the American and European oaks are great to use for winemaking, we feel the European climate creates the oaks with varying degrees of tannin and the oxygen flow that complements our grapes the best.
In addition, our barrels are toasted to complement each of our savory wines. Our lightly toasted barrels produce a wonderful fruity aroma to the front. The medium toasted barrels maintain a dominant fruity aroma that is both intense and complex. The medium-plus toasted barrels mellow the fruity aroma with empyreumatic flavors. The heavy toasted barrels are spicy and yield a grilled aroma. Each of the toasting is unique in its own right, which excites our winemaking process.
Here is Stanton Barrett, proprietor, sampling our Minarets Cabernet from one of our medium toasted barrels.