OAK WOOD FROM TUSCAN VINSANTO BARRELS

Chai — The Soul of Oak Barrels

In the vocabulary of perfumery, oak — belonging to the genus Quercus — has appeared for centuries in its most familiar form: oakmoss. Evernia prunastri — the lichen that grows on its branches — has long been, in its natural form, one of the founding materials of the perfumer's art, bringing to formula that dark, damp, almost animalic undergrowth note that still defines the idea of "chypre" today. But oak holds a second aromatic nature, less celebrated yet equally compelling, which reveals itself not through its symbiotic organisms, but through the wood itself. It is an olfactory heritage that winemaking has known well for millennia. In Chai, we chose to bring this tradition directly into perfumery, using an absolute from Vinsanto barrels from Tuscany.

From Celtic Peoples to Tuscan Wineries

The use of wooden barrels for wine preservation is rooted in Celtic Europe: it was likely the transalpine peoples — skilled woodworkers — who developed the first stave-built barrels. The ancient Romans adopted and spread their use on a large scale, recognizing the advantages over traditional amphorae — greater durability, ease of transport — and above all discovering that this "living" container was capable of transforming wine, deepening its aromatic complexity over time through the aromatic compounds released by the wood itself. Among the species used, Quercus petraea — is the one chosen for Chai: a fine-grained wood used for Tuscan Vinsanto barrels. The oldest wood, the kind that has most deeply absorbed the life of the wineries, is carefully selected, debarked, and smoothed. Processed with low-temperature extraction methods to preserve the most delicate molecules, it ultimately yields its absolute: a concentrated material that carries within it the olfactory memory of everything those barrels have held — honey sweetness, dried fruit, and molasses of dates and figs.

Toasting: The Chemistry of Aroma

The construction of a barrel follows a precise artisanal process. The wood is cut into planks and left to season in the open air for one or more years — a necessary step to break down some bitter compounds. The planks are then shaped into staves and assembled into the characteristic cylindrical form. The decisive step is toasting: the staves are heated from the inside with a controlled fire that renders them pliable, allowing the cooper to achieve the characteristic curved shape. It is during this same phase that the true chemical transformation occurs — heat breaks down lignin, cellulose, and hemicelluloses, generating new aromatic molecules that did not exist in the raw wood.

The degree of toasting determines the entire olfactory profile of the wood: a light toast preserves more natural, woody characteristics; a medium toast — as in our case — develops the richest and most complex aromatic range. The key molecules are the oak lactones, in particular γ-nonalactone and β-methyl-γ-octalactone, commonly known as whiskey lactone — the chemical signature of oak, responsible for notes of coconut and sweet wood with a slight lactic, boozy creaminess; vanillin, whose concentration increases significantly with heat, bringing warm, soft sweetness; guaiacol and eugenol, which introduce smoky, spiced, and tobacco-like notes; furfural and furaneol, responsible for the characteristic scent of toasted caramel, with hints of chocolate and coffee.

The resulting profile is woody, lactic, and spiced, with tones of vanilla, tobacco, caramel, subtle hints of chocolate and coffee, a smoky thread, boozy notes that speak directly of the wine those barrels once held — and a gourmand character achieved entirely from a natural material.

One Wood, One Fragrance

In Chai, the Vinsanto barrel absolute is the heart of the composition: an ingredient that carries with it a precise geographical and cultural identity — that of Tuscany and its winemaking tradition — transforming it into olfactory matter. A choice that shows how, in perfumery, uniqueness is often found not in the exotic but in the familiar — in what you already know, seen from an new unexpected perspective.—

Sources:

Springer Handbook of Odor, Andrea Buettner, 2017

Givaudan conference - The sacred woods (Esxence 2024)