On Monday January 27, we visited Tonnellerie Saint-Martin in Buzet-sur-Baïse, Lot-et-Garonne. This family-run business has specialized in the manufacture of high-quality barrels since 1922. We chose to work with this cooperage because we share the same family values.
Tonnellerie Saint Martin selects only the highest quality wood for its barrels. Particular attention is paid to traditional wood-fired toasting, guaranteeing optimum product quality.
We had the opportunity to visit Tonnellerie Saint Martin and immerse ourselves in the heart of their workshop. Accompanied by Damien Gaboreaud, the cooperage’s sales representative, and Cédric, an expert in barrel sinking and breaking, we were able to discover the company’s traditional know-how.
We went on site to learn the traditional techniques of barrel assembly:
Fonçage, which consists in fastening metal rings around the barrels to hold them in place, thus ensuring that the barrels are watertight and solid.
The opposite operation, called “défonçage”, consists in removing these rings, generally for maintenance or repair operations.
In the morning, we were given a guided tour of the cooperage, immersing us in the various stages of barrel-making. We then took part in an in-depth training course on barrel ramming, with the aim of mastering these techniques and being able to reseal open barrels after the harvest, once the vinification process is complete.
This privileged moment enabled us to examine in detail the aromatic profiles and evolution of the wines.
The visit enabled us to familiarize ourselves with these essential techniques in the art of cooperage, reinforcing our expertise in the wine maturing process.
In the afternoon, we tasted the barrels of Quintessence Blanc 2024, currently being aged (weekly stirring of the lees underway), and Quintessence Rouge 2023, in its final maturation phase. The purpose of this tasting was to determine the contribution of wood from Saint Martin barrels, but also from other coopers.
The day ended with a tasting of batches from the 2024 harvest, probably destined for the Quintessence Rouge, in order to choose the best barrels for this vintage.
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