Testimonials

optima

Linda Domas Winemaker Linda Domas Wines McLaren Vale

Diverse Barrel Solutions has provided exceptional service and the Optima barrels that I have used have provided me with excellent results across my wine styles. I have also been very impressed with the service and results of the Phoenix process.

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Pat Moore Winemaker Tamburlaine Hunter Valley

At Tamburlaine we use both the Optima French and American Puncheons across all our wine styles and wine regions. The oak tannins are soft and subtle. Optima gives us the complexities we are looking for. Optima ‘stacks up’ to other fully imported oak.

le_grand

Renae Hirsch Winemaker Henrys Drive Padthaway & McLaren Vale

We have used Le Grand barrels for the past two vintages and found them to be of excellent quality, they work very well with our fruit. The barrels provide a good support with fine oak tannins which carry the fruit through to the finish; the oak integrates well and adds an important dimension to the wine.  We have been happy with the results of using Le Grand and will be continuing to use these barrels into the future.

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Jac Cole Winemaker Spring Mountain Napa Valley

I have been a client of Le Grand USA for the last two years and am happy to
continue to include Le Grand in my barrel program again this year. The
barrels are an excellent compliment to the wines I produce here at Spring
Mountain Vineyard and consistently rank in the top two or three producers I
use.

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Justin Lane CEO/Winemaker Alpha Box & Dice McLaren Vale, Barossa & Langhorne Creek

The Le Grand barrels provide me with an unique set of barrels which focus on matching grape varieties via a combination of toast styles, seasoning and mixed grain selection rather than focusing on the traditional approach of forest selection and toast levels. Le Grand is the only cooper that could confidently recommend an oak style for my Tinta Molle and Touriga Nacional!

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Gérard Bécot Owner Beau Séjour Bécot premier Grand Cru Classé de Saint Emilion Saint Emilion

Beau Séjour Becot 2008 ML in Le Grand barrels :

Testing for futures April 2009:

Gérard Bécot (owner) said about the Le Grand oak “ very good sweetness, fruit is well preserved with good tannins. Long and enjoyable finale”

phoenix

Andrew Spinaze Senior Winemaker Tyrell's Vineyard Pokolbin, Hunter Valley

“Diverse Barrel Solutions took care of everything for us - right down to the truck bringing its own power supply from Adelaide. I was impressed with the precision of the Phoenix laser cutting process, and found that the barrels post-Phoenix were absolutely cleaned of all wine residue.”

phoenix

Tim Adams Chief Winemaker Tim Adams Wines Clare Valley

“We trialled Diverse Barrel Solutions Phoenix French oak barrels which had been previously used for red wine for five years, against new Optima French oak and also new French from other suppliers.

The Phoenix French oak barrels performed extremely well in these trials and proved to us that this is a rational and sustainable use of our barrels and a positive contribution to quality. The wine from these barrels and new barrels was blended and subsequently won the 2008 International Wine Challenge trophy for the best Semillon worldwide.“

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James Evers Winemaker Yaldara Estate Barossa Valley

“We had 20 five year old barrels Phoenixed last year and it has saved us a lot of money. We’ve always assumed that after five years the barrels can’t be reused, which seems like a huge waste given that they are such a capital expense for wineries. It’s great to see that some people are out there looking to try and extend the life of barrels. If we can extend the life of the barrel from five to eight years and basically get a new barrel for the last three years, that is a major benefit.”

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Mike Brown Winemaker Gemtree Vineyards McLaren Vale

“Diverse Barrel Solutions rejuvenated about 25 red wine barrels for me which I am now using in a Petit Verdot trial. So far we’ve done two tastings and I’ve been pleasantly surprised by the results – the rejuvenation process has added a lot of complexity to barrels that I would have turned into flower pots.

“I gave them 2000 and 2002 oak barrels – realistically they only had another year in them. The process has given me at least three more years of oak. Using the Phoenix process I’ve saved $1.60 per litre this year.

“I have never rejuvenated barrels before because I thought it brought out too much greenness in the oak. But this new laser technology profiling is great.  Given the current cash flow constraints of everyone it is a piece of technology that can be adapted to the Australian wine industry very easily. You are getting the benefit of the ageing process and the breathing process of the wine in oak without having to purchase new barrels.”