Concrete tanks for our wine
Resalte is strongly committed with the improvement and development of the quality of our wines, trying to be at the avantgarde. Throughout the last years, the elaboration of different plots in open barrels has been investigated and that has led us to bring concrete tanks to the winery.
Why using concrete tanks for the wine?
Concrete has been used for the wine elaboration during centuries (some rests were found in Roman villas) but it became less and less common some decades ago because the concrete tanks by that time were not safe for the alimentary and wine industry, making the stainless steel the main option for wineries.
Nowadays, concrete has achieved a high level of development to be safely used in the wine industry and its benefits are widely known and specifically researched. Different sizes and shapes are available: there are with egg shape, mainly used for white wine or squared tanks like ours, which are used during the production of our red wines to increase the surface contact between the wine and the yeast hat.
Advantages of the use of concrete tanks
Concrete has several advantages versus stainless steel, which is more common in wineries. As concrete is a material with porosity, wines have an oxygen interchange with the exterior and that results in a slow evolution which helps to obtain smoother and fine tannins. Therefore, wines with a great harmony, both on the nose and on the palate, are achieved, with balance, long finish and a fruitier profile. These factors will increase the ageing potential but keeping the personality and fruity character of the grape variety. On the other hand, stainless steel is impervious to oxygen. Concrete tanks does not add aromas to the wine, it is neutral. Thus, fruity aromas and flavors are preserved.
The thermal conductivity of concrete is very high. Therefore, it is a material which needs less energy consumption to control and keep the required temperature inside the tank. Indeed, the own heat resulted from the fermentation warms the concrete tank without any heat addition.
Stainless steel is the opposite. It needs a permanent thermal control to keep the temperature inside the tank in the required ranges. As concrete tanks does not generate electrostatic charge, the natural haze resulted from the wine production will precipitate to the bottom of the tank, making a natural clarification.
The wine tanks of Resalte
In our new concrete tanks, 6,000kg of grapes will be produced and they have been tailored designed following our know-how and with the intention of improving the characteristics of our vineyards. These concrete tanks will be used to elaborate our oldest estates which are destinated to make the high-end wines of Resalte.
Furthermore, we also want to use these tanks as the final step in the coupage of Resalte Expresión and Gran Resalte. This way, after finishing the ageing in oak barrels, these wines will spend a couple of months in concrete tanks in order to round them and leave some time to the coupage to achieve a perfect integration. As a consequence, the ageing potential is enhanced and wines achieve a higher step in complexity and elegance.
Our journey to find and obtain the best from our vineyards will never finish. This year, we are elaborating with 3 different materials: stainless steel, oak and concrete. We will continuously re-evaluate the result to produce wines with different characters and with the maximum respect to the grape variety and terroir.
I hope you will enjoy these wines as much as we enjoy producing them.
Enrique Andrades
Winemaker at Bodegas Resalte
