TY - JOUR T1 - Effect of Volume and Toast Level of French Oak Barrels (<em>Quercus petraea</em> L.) on Cabernet Sauvignon Wine Characteristics JF - American Journal of Enology and Viticulture JO - Am. J. Enol. Vitic. DO - 10.5344/ajev.2011.10119 SP - ajev.2011.10119 AU - Pedro Rodríguez-Rodríguez AU - Encarna Gómez-Plaza Y1 - 2011/03/08 UR - http://www.ajevonline.org/content/early/2011/03/08/ajev.2011.10119.abstract N2 - The effects of toast level (medium and medium plus) and the volume (300 and 500 liters) of the French oak barrels used to age Cabernet Sauvignon wines were studied during two different vintages. The chromatic characteristics, oak related aroma compounds and sensory properties of these wines were followed for 12 months with the objective of determining the final characteristics of these wines and whether the physico-chemical characteristics of the wines aged each year influenced the resulting wines after aging. Results showed that wines aged in the smaller barrels with a medium plus toast level acquired better chromatic characteristics, higher amounts of oak related aroma compounds and reached higher scores in the sensory analysis. However, it was demonstrated that the physico-chemical characteristics of the wine that was going to be aged also influenced its subsequent aroma profile. ER -