Tonnellerie Saury has been making traditional barrels since 1873 as well as running an unit dedicated to the design and production of oak casks and tanks established in Charente since 1870. The knowledge and experience acquired over decades ensure skill in practices and tradition of excellence that are required in manufacturing larges containers. Based in Cognac, in the cradle of French cooperage, where skills are passed down from father to son, craftsmen coopers have all the necessary skills to meet the most demanding client specifications.
From the choice of raw materials to assembly of these prestigious products, nothing is left to chance. The design of Saury tanks is adapted to each individual order, both for fermentation and the maturing of wines or spirits, thanks to a very wide range of specific and unique accessories.
Our reputation and experience in wood procurement means that we have the necessary access to purchase the very best batches of wood from the best French forests. We source our sessile and pedunculate oak mainly from state forests managed by the ONF (Office National des Forêts). For each timber sale, we visit great French forests, selecting and estimating cuts that will produce the best sawn timber, on average 50% of trunk. These trees are, at least, one hundred years old and mainly come from PEFC-certified forests. The lumber is then refined naturally in the open air. The wood size stock is the best guarantee of ideal ageing and consistent production. The excellent thermal inertia of vats and casks we offer our customers is guaranteed by the quality of the wood selected.
For each project, a complete analysis of the technical constraints is carried out in the field, and accessories are precisely determined according to the use of the tank or lightning conductor.
A complete specification, detailed project plan and quotation can then be drawn up. Toasting, which combines the ancestral skills of tunsmiths with the latest oenological knowledge, is the most important stage in the manufacturing process. It is also the mechanical means by which each stave is bent by combined action of heat and water. Using the same process as for barrels, the master tunsmiths carry out a bousinage lasting several hours, after a slow heating process. It is during this stage, a veritable revelation of aromas, toasting penetrates deep into the heart of the wood to extract its most subtle aromas.
Each vat or cask is an unique product through which personality of the cellar master will express itself. Whether intended for wines, spirits, vinification or maturing, closed or open top, for French or foreign vineyards, the large containers designed by our master tunsmiths know how to meet our customers’ expectations perfectly, with appropriate accessories.
