In order to provide you with a complementary response to its range of barrels, Saury’s team is proud to offer you a range of barrels made in Romania, from exceptional Romanian forests, in a country where the forest represents, like in France, more than 30% of the territory and has not stopped growing since 2001*.
Transilvania Bois and Tonnellerie Vlad joined the Charlois group in 2019. Sharing common values in terms of heritage and transmission, the Vlad family in Romania and the Charlois family in France also shares comparable expertise in terms of know-how, forestry, stave milling and cooperage in their respective countries. Like the Charlois group, Tonnellerie Vlad undeniably has complete control over its supply of Romanian oaks thanks to its own forestry/stave mill Transilvania Bois.
Due to the quality of the oaks that can be found in these forests, Tonnellerie Vlad has adopted a very qualitative approach for the manufacture of its barrels. The profession of cooper is not only a matter of wood, but it’s also a know-how acquired after years of experience. Wood, fire and man are thus part of the ingredients of Tonnellerie Vlad to produce barrels.
A bit of history… Tonnellerie Vlad began in 1998 when the Vlad family created Transilvania Bois. Located in the northen part of Romania, in Sighetu Marmatiei in the Maramures region of Transylvania near the Carpathian Mountains, this company primarily worked in forestry and stave milling. Passionated about the woodworking trades, the Vlad family has always been interested in the profession of cooper. In 2003, armed with enough experience in this field, they stood up a workshop equipped with high-performance production tools and offered a range of oak barrels marketed under the Transilvania Bois Tonnellerie brand. The brand then developed itself rapidly in the main wine-producing countries, in Europe, the United States, South Africa and New Zealand. Today, Transilvania Bois Tonnellerie has become Tonnellerie Vlad. The choice of the patronymic name symbolizes more than ever the family tradition of companies with strong know-how and their transmission.
Traditionnal heating
Tonnellerie Vlad offers the main barrel capacities in different heating intensities, from 1 to 4 hours, adapating to every needs. It has developed an « artisanal toasting », a distinctive and proven concept.
The « artisanal toasting » differs from traditional toasting by the use of incandescent oak embers, renewed several times, to penetrate several millimeters (4 to 10 mm depending on the intensity) in the stave. This heating, very slow and low in temperature, enables it to bring out more vanillin. The oak flavors are very fin and subtle. The reuse of the barrel as a second wine provides 60 to 70% of the contributions of a new barrel.
The oak
Transilvania Bois is supplied from the three historic Romanian regions: Transylvania, Moldavia and Wallachia. Tonnellerie Vlad’s oak barrels are made from a blend of these forests and are FSC® certified.
The Romanian oaks selected by Tonnellerie Vlad produces medium to extra fin grain woods. Their geographic characteristics brings aromatic nuances marked by vanilla. The nuances of fresh and spicy wood are minor.
And to perfect its image of a land of legends, as an expression of its character, the oak of Tonnellerie Vlad comes from forests located on the « magical » 45th parallel, reputed to be the latitude of great wines…
For more information about Tonnellerie Vlad’s range of barrels : contact@saury.com (www.tonnellerievlad.com)
*source : La banque mondial – Organisation des Nations Unies pour l’alimentation et l’agriculture.
