Red Wine

[4score]

Some less expensive Barberas and some Langhe Nebbiolos and a portion of Cotes du Rhone and Cotes du Villages never see oak. I personally like at least a bit of oak even in light weight reds.

I agree. Generally, the lighter reds don't need oak. When I was in France on a trip to the Rhone region, they talked a lot about limiting the oak and said the US uses "too much oak" when it's not necessary.

I happen to like a little oak so I did my 60 gallons of barbera in new American oak (barrel) for 9 months. Just enough to add some oak flavor and nose without stepping too much on top of the bright red fruit.

I have learned that a 5-gallon carboy with one little oak stave (stick or spiral) REALLY adds oak fast. I mean it was deceptive! A couple months of that may be all you need.