TSO's eyes « Visit to the United States » Every year, it’s always a pleasure for me to go and meet winemakers from California, Oregon and for the very first time Washington Estate. In order to maintain the quality and regularity of our barrels, it is highly important to taste fermented wines and / or aged in wooden barrels. TSO’s philosophy is to understand you, to get to know your goals, your wines as well as your tastes, so that we can bring you a barrel as a complement to your wine. In the United States, Cécile LEMERLE-DERBES ensures a great and valuable technical follow-up, thanks to her advises, labour rigour or even her presence. She co-ordinates the communication between you and TSO France, to ease any administrative detail. I spent the first week of my journey in California to discuss about the impact of our woods and toast on your wines. Some of you preferred French Oak fine grains for their Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah, Pinot Noir, Zinfandel, White Sauvignon or Chardonnay. Others choosed the fine French Oak from Fontainebleau, Ile-de-France, Vosges … In both cases, M and M+ toast together with, sometimes, toasted heads TH get perfectly along with Californian wines. Our toasts are very long, get inside the wood’s heart in order to bring a fine and merged wooden note, fat body and a long mouth ; at the same time that they respect wine’s balance and nature. My journey continued in Oregon, Pinot Noir and Chardonnay’s area. Compared with California, wines are structureless, with lower degrees, more acidity and more subtle aromas. Therefore, the wooden note must be more delicate, without dryness, though fine, with fat body and long in the mouth. TSO proposes 228 litres barrels with long toast and very poorly elevated in temperature. Some richer wines support a M+ toast : fruit sensation is lower, but it is rounder, longer with toasted brioche, very much appreciated. TSO’s style perfectly fits with these wines which need a special care. In the Washington Estate vineyard, 2001 wines are very much mature. During the taste, a powerful and aromatic “nez”, with many black fruits and sweet spices from Centre France woods together with a M toast. TSO’s M+ toast allows keeping wine’s expression, while bringing sweetness to Cabernet, Merlot, Syrah or Chardonnay. At the end, I would like to thank you for welcoming me and allowing me to understand better your labour from the vineyard to the wine. I wish we could soon get the opportunity to welcome you in either our Staves Workshop or our Cooperage to share our mutual “savoir-faire”. I remain at your disposal for any comment you should have. See you soon, Kind regards. Sophie JAMIN CHANGEART – Wine expert and Commercial Manager - TSO TSO's eyes - Archives January 2003 November 2002 October 2002