Driven by high demand from top wineries worldwide, French barrel manufacturers recently paid millions for old oaks at a timber auction.
To be able to meet the increasing demand from top international wineries, French barrel manufacturers are investing more and more money in old oak trees. This growing trend was confirmed at a recent auction of the French forest administration ONF, the "Office National des Forêts", which achieved a new record turnover: a total of 15 million euros paid for 44,000 cubic metres of wood, well in excess of the 10 to 13 million predicted.
One cooperage “Tonnelleries François Frères” (TFF) bought 1,539 cubic metres of wood from hundred-year-old oaks from the state forest of Tronçais at a price of more than one million euros. “We are responding to demand from well-known customers in the USA, New Zealand and South Africa who want exceptional wood in which to age the greatest wines in the world”, TFF senior boss Jean-Robert François told the AFP news agency.
The upshot of the auction: “In 90 minutes, we achieved five per cent of our expected annual turnover of timber sales 2022”, said Aymeric Albert, head of the ONF's timber trade department.
