| Abstract
| - The aromatic compounds associated with aging in wood have been studied in Monastrell winescontaining different quantities of tannin. Analyses were carried out before and after a six month periodin wooden barrels (225 L) of American and French (Allier) medium-toasted oak. Three classes ofwine were made: one from a free-run must; one to which enological tannin was added; and one towhich was added the wine obtained by pressing the grape pomaces. The aromas were determinedby GC−MS, and the quality was evaluated by a group of expert tasters. The aromatic compounds,some of which came from the wines themselves and others which came from the wood, all increasedin concentration by the end of the aging process. The ratio between cis- and trans-whiskylactonecontents in wines reflected the different types of oak wood used. The note “vanilla” used by thetasters is probably not totally due to the presence of vanillin. The wines of best quality were thosewith a natural tannin content which had been aged in American oak, whereas the wines to whichenological tannin had been added but aged in the same wood were considered the worst. An equalizingeffect on the sensorial wines qualities was seen to result from the use of French oak. The furfural,eugenol, and cis-, and in some cases trans-, whiskylactone contents identified the wines from thedifferent classes of wood. The wood from which the barrels were made had a greater effect on winesdifferentiation than the tannin content. Keywords: Wine; aroma; aging; oak wood
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