Oak-matured wines:: influence of the characteristics of the barrel on wine colour and sensory characteristics

The influence of oak origin (French or American oak), volume (220, 500 and 1000 1 barrels) and age of the barrel (new or used) on the colour and sensory characteristics of a red wine, after 6 months of maturation, was studied. The colour of the wines is characterized by the red, yellow and blue percentages, total polyphenols index, free anthocyanins, polymeric anthocyanins, colour density, hue, tannin content and HCl index. The results of a multivariate analysis of variance showed that colour evolution is faster in small, new American barrels than in large, used barrels or in French barrels. This evolution towards a more stable colour is manifested by a higher content of polymeric anthocyanins, hue and HCl index and lower percentage of red colour. The sensory analysis also reflects these results: the samples obtaining higher scores, at this stage of maturation, are those aged in small, new American barrels. (C) 2003 Society of Chemical Industry.