Designation for wine ageing in barriques (small wooden barrels), which, in contrast to conventional wooden barrels, are toasted on the inside walls. This is therefore a special form of barrel age ing with the aim of introducing wood and roasted flavours into the wine. Barrique ageing thus allows different flavours to enter the wine. The name is derived from barrique, the type of barrel mainly used in Bordeaux with a standard volume of 225 litres.

However, larger barrels of up to 700 litres are also used for barrique ageing. However, the barrel size up to which one can speak of "real" barrique ageing is not stipulated by wine law, but is regulated on a country-specific basis. As a rule, the barrels are made of oak from special oak trees, mainly from France and America, but also other types of wood such as acacia or chestnut from other countries.
![]()
For my many years of work as an editor with a wine and culinary focus, I always like to inform myself about special questions at Wine lexicon. Spontaneous reading and following links often leads to exciting discoveries in the wide world of wine.
Dr. Christa Hanten
Fachjournalistin, Lektorin und Verkosterin, Wien