How long should I oak my Syrah for?

[Nebbiolo020]

I have 2 30 gallon American oak barrels and some Syrah that wasn’t originally planned for this year that I’m considering putting in my American oak barrels and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for how long I can leave Syrah in new American oak barrels without oaking the hell out of it.

I have used American oak at just one winery I worked at and those barrels were nearly neutral so I don’t have a lot of experience with American oak.

 

[winemaker81]

Let your previous experience with 30 gallon barrels be your guide. American oak will impart different flavors and aromas than French or Hungarian, but the overall "too much oak" limit will be similar.

If the flavoring is your concern, start taste testing at topup about 3/4 of the way through your planned time in barrel.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

Let your previous experience with 30 gallon barrels be your guide. American oak will impart different flavors and aromas than French or Hungarian, but the overall "too much oak" limit will be similar.

If the flavoring is your concern, start taste testing at topup about 3/4 of the way through your planned time in barrel.

I have been told by a friend who is also a winemaker that you have to be careful because it’s stronger flavored and can dominate the fruit easily of course I found out after making this post, I’m thinking I’ll start at 4 months and taste a sample and then see if it’s ready if not I’ll just keep tasting it once or twice a month till I get it right because I don’t want to oak it too much and ruin all the fruit notes.

I was going to buy French oak but the supplier didn’t have any and the price went up a lot so I got the American oak barrels they had.

 

[winemaker81]

My experience is with oak adjuncts, and I got about the same results (oakiness) regardless of adjunct type, hence my comment. Specific flavorings do differ by oak type: when my son & I conducted our Wine Stix experiment last year, the American oak produced fruitier flavors than the Hungarian, and definitely more than the French. Our month-by-month tasting notes are not exciting reading, but it may give you ideas. YMMV

That said, IMO your plan is a good one. As I'm fond of saying, it's easier to add more than to take some out. I suggest you stir the wine at each barrel topup. I use a drill mounted stirring rod and get the wine moving (no vortex). I've been stirring up the cubes and any fine lees to ensure the wine is homogenous before tasting (barrels manufactured 2010). I'm due for topup now and bottling next month, so I didn't stir last month nor will I this month, as I want the lees to settle. I pump to a Brute to homogenize the wine (whatever topup is left will be blended in) and ensure the K-meta is well distributed.

My barrels are long since neutral, and I'll be adding 4 oz medium toast Hungarian cubes to one with Grenache, and 5 oz to one with Tempranillo. I will also have a 23 liter carboy with Petite Sirah, Syrah, & Mourvedre -- I'm doing a 10 day EM on these grapes and the indication is a very heavy wine. I'll probably add 2 oz cubes to the carboy.

I add less cubes than some might, but the cubes will remain in the barrel/carboy for the duration, roughly 12 months.

 

[Nebbiolo020]

My experience is with oak adjuncts, and I got about the same results (oakiness) regardless of adjunct type, hence my comment. Specific flavorings do differ by oak type: when my son & I conducted our Wine Stix experiment last year, the American oak produced fruitier flavors than the Hungarian, and definitely more than the French. Our month-by-month tasting notes are not exciting reading, but it may give you ideas. YMMV

That said, IMO your plan is a good one. As I'm fond of saying, it's easier to add more than to take some out. I suggest you stir the wine at each barrel topup. I use a drill mounted stirring rod and get the wine moving (no vortex). I've been stirring up the cubes and any fine lees to ensure the wine is homogenous before tasting (barrels manufactured 2010). I'm due for topup now and bottling next month, so I didn't stir last month nor will I this month, as I want the lees to settle. I pump to a Brute to homogenize the wine (whatever topup is left will be blended in) and ensure the K-meta is well distributed.

My barrels are long since neutral, and I'll be adding 4 oz medium toast Hungarian cubes to one with Grenache, and 5 oz to one with Tempranillo. I will also have a 23 liter carboy with Petite Sirah, Syrah, & Mourvedre -- I'm doing a 10 day EM on these grapes and the indication is a very heavy wine. I'll probably add 2 oz cubes to the carboy.

I add less cubes than some might, but the cubes will remain in the barrel/carboy for the duration, roughly 12 months.

I have a stirring rod and will keep in mind stirring it and see how it turns out, if the American oak enhances the syrahs rich fruit then I’m all for it because I tend to like big fruity Australian Shiraz/Syrah based wines.

 

[Ajmassa]

I have 2 30 gallon American oak barrels and some Syrah that wasn’t originally planned for this year that I’m considering putting in my American oak barrels and I was wondering if anyone had any recommendations for how long I can leave Syrah in new American oak barrels without oaking the hell out of it.

I have used American oak at just one winery I worked at and those barrels were nearly neutral so I don’t have a lot of experience with American oak.

New barrel rule of thumb I learned from this site is to simply correlate gallons with weeks. Then double it on the second wine. So 30wks/wine 1 then 60wks/wine 2.

Obviously it’s subjective w many variables but it’s really just to have a reference point to know when to start monitoring more closely. Especially helpful when using smaller barrels of varying sizes. If there’s ever a wine that could benefit from the major punch American oak offers imo it’s Syrah. Good luck to you sir!

 

[BarrelMonkey]

@Nebbiolo020 do you have any results/insight yet from your 2022 syrah? I'm planning on making syrah in 2023 (most likely using a 30 gal barrel) and am asking myself the same questions about how long to leave it there. Tasting will be the final arbiter, of course, and right now I'm leaning towards Hungarian oak.