Spirited style: Maturing wine in spirit casks

 

 

Scotch whisky distillers have been ageing their production in wine barrels, particularly used sherry casks, for years so I suppose it was only a matter of time before the reverse happened.

Jacob’s Creek have been producing Double Barrel wines (cabernet sauvignon, shiraz, cabernet shiraz and chardonnay) made traditionally and then finished in Scotch whisky and Irish whiskey barrels for a few years.

Several American wineries have been producing similar wines but few have reached Australia.

Now, the American producer Robert Mondavi has introduced a line in Australia treated in a similar fashion. The Mondavi Private Selection of cabernet sauvignon, merlot and chardonnay from the Monterey region of California each are fermented in a range of bourbon or rum barrels of differing ages.

The Robert Mondavi Private Selection spirit-aged wines

In much the same way as many producers ferment and age their wines in French and American oak casks that could be new, one year old, two years old etc, Mondavi has a similar process for its wines.

 

Winemaker Glen Caughell who is
 in charge of the project.

Obviously, you need a pretty robust wine to stand up to such treatment and I imagine something like a Hunter semillon or Clare riesling would be overwhelmed by the spirit character.

The obvious question is why? Traditionalists and purists would be horrified by the idea and the wines will not appeal to everyone. They are rich examples of their variety to start with and the bourbon or rum (in the case of the merlot) casks add extra flavours and sweetness.

Many may find that offputting but there are plenty of drinkers who like that richness and sweetness you’ll find in these wines.

Is it a marketing gimmick? Possibly, but enough people are buying the wines for them to be filling a decent-sized niche in the market.

The Private Selection wines now available in Australia (at BWS, Dan Murphy’s, Liquorland and First Choice for about $25) are the 2018 Rum Barrel Aged Merlot, 2018 Bourbon Barrel Aged Cabernet Sauvignon and 2018 Bourbon Barrel Aged Chardonnay.

There’s plenty of rich varietal fruit in each of them, with the bourbon adding vanilla and caramel flavours to the chardonnay and cabernet and the rum imparting spice, and coconut to the merlot.