A few gems identified from Beaune last week from Wanda Cole-Nicholson, Alexis Iaconis, Jeremy Eubanks and Peter Plaehn.
This week: Forests of France used for barrel production
Name 4, their location and qualities.
I suspect several people will chime in so I'll just name 1 of the 6-8 famous ones (depending on how you count).
Limousin
West-Central France sort of between Bordeaux and the Loire
Mostly Q Robur (known here as Limousin Oak; also called English Oak), but also has plenty of the Q sessiliflora loved in brandy. BOLD flavors used almost exclusively in brandy (Cognac is close by). The trees here produce a medium to wide grain wood, on the hard side of the French Oak spectrum. It is very high in tannins with tons of vanillan. Seguin Moreau is the best known cooper of Limousin oak. The majority of their barrels go to Cognac, but their presence is certainly felt in the fine wine world as well.