Come discover the taste of wines straight out of the barrel in Tenuta Torciano! Our Wineries throughout offer this unique experience so guests have the opportunity to taste what everyone else will be drinking in a few years. Thieve wine deep in a cave, pour off tap or blend your own unique wine right out of the barrel at these wineries. After an introduction to the history of the area and of the Torciano Estate, you will be accompanied to discover the fascinating world of wine, illustrating the secrets of the harvest, the winemaking and aging process. The visit will be conducted by the wine expert. Together with him, and his knowledge, you will be able to immerse yourself in the true tradition of wine, with the incredible experience of barrel tastings, where you will refine your sense of smell and taste and then taste wines from the barriques paired with local products.
Tasting wine directly from the barrel can be difficult. That's because truly age-worthy, collectible wines made at the top wineries in the world tend to be harsh in their youth and these important wines need to age 4/6 years in wooden barrels . When tasting wine from the barrel, you need to taste “around” the harsh flavors, finding the broad brushstrokes of balance and age-worthiness hidden underneath all of that tannin and oak. Here's one way to approach barreled wine for the first time:
STEP 1: LOOK FOR FRUIT FLAVORS AND SCENTS
Ignore the oak and tannins for now, and search for the subtle fruit notes instead. What kind of fruit are you tasting? A balanced wine will taste like a happy medium between these two: slightly sweet fruit, with some hint of floral or herbaceous depth.
STEP 2: ANALYZE THE TANNINS
After you've found the fruit, you can revisit the tannins. Age-worthy wines will have very prominent tannins at the barreling stage that will cause your lips to pucker. However, these tannins should still be relatively smooth on the palate.
STEP 3: SMELL THE OAK
Wine straight from the barrel will naturally smell like new wood or oaky spices. It's alright if this scent is overpowering in the glass at this stage. The oak aroma and flavor will likely dissipate as the wine matures in the bottle later. What you should look for is a wine that still has some layers of fruit and tannin, in addition to the oak.
STEP 4: IS THE WINE WELL-BALANCED?
This brings us to the last step when tasting wine from the barrel. After you've identified all three components, from fruit to oak, go back one final time to see how all of these moving parts relate to each other. Each component will feel a little unrefined and rough, but they should taste like they're in proportion with each other.