Designation (also "large wood") for a wine barrel made of wood. It has no meaning under wine law and does not indicate a specific volume. It indicates that it is not a "small barrel", i.e. a barrique (225 litres), but a "larger volume" such as a half-barrel (600 litres), a single barrel (1,200 litres), a double barrel (2,400 litres) or even larger. This also means that the wine has been matured in wooden barrels, but without the wood flavour. Large wooden barrels are experiencing a renaissance again, both for fermentation and for ageing. These are also increasingly being subjected to toasting (especially up to around 2,400 litres). See also the lists under cask, cask types and largest casks in the world.
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The Wine lexicon helps me to keep up to date and refresh my knowledge. Thank you for this Lexicon that will never end in terms of topicality! That's what makes it so exciting to come back often.
Thorsten Rahn
Restaurantleiter, Sommelier, Weindozent und Autor; Dresden