BORDEAUX, France (Feb. 20, 2018) – Tonnellerie Quintessence is pleased to announce the launch of Foret D’Origine, a collection of barrels that includes Essence de Chantilly and Essence de Montpensier. This forest specific collection joins the Tonnellerie Quintessence portfolio of premium wine barrels.
Sourced from the Chantilly and Montpensier forests, these barrels are crafted from French oak from these specific forest regions and focus on finesse and elegance, providing wine makers with the perfect option for premium wines.
“We have identified small micro forests within the French forest that contain excellent quality oak for wine. These two forests have very important differences that bring out the special qualities of the wines,” Christophe Sauvaud, Directeur General for Tonnellerie Quintessence, said. “We want to use this opportunity to offer a product from a very specific region of the French oak forest that allows the wine maker to see exactly which portion of the forest our barrels originated and helps them tell the story of their wine.”
Located in the Ile De France, the Chantilly forest makes up less than three percent of the total acreage and Foret de Montpensier, found in the Allier forest, makes up less than one percent of the total acreage of the forest.
“We’ve been developing these forest specific barrels for many years and are very pleased with the results,” said Sauvaud. “We are building on the concept of taking oak from a specific region and giving it a custom toast to create subtle differences in the wines.”
In the Chantilly forest, oak trees grow slowly in sandy, limestone soils to create a micro-cru environment for extra fine grain. The forest of Montpensier benefits from the richness of its silty-clay soils which create a haven for fine grain trees to grow.
Tonnellerie Quintessence is known around the world as a creative French cooperage blending savoir-faire and contemporary expertise. Located just outside of Bordeaux, Tonnellerie Quintessence crafts traditional French barrels with a commitment to traceability, consistency and customization.
