Every year Famille Sylvain's wood purchasing team, accompanied by Jean-Luc and Remi Sylvain, purchase oak trees directly from French forests. Mostly from forests that are state-owned and O.N.F managed.

Every forest has its own terroir, and the oak coming from each forest is unique. Only through the many years of purchasing their own oak can Jean-Luc and Remi Sylvain understand each and every forest, and the impact these forests have on the final wine.

The aim is to select and purchase the finest oak trees, which are generally 200 to 250 years old. The Sylvain oak purchasing team use their in-depth knowledge of the forests, as well as mapping the forests and climate types to help drive their purchasing decisions.

Like grapes, oak, even when transformed into a barrel, is influenced by terroir. Every forest has its specific characteristics and to produce consistent barrels it's essential to know them.

Famille Sylvain owns two stave mills - one on the Sylvain Bois on the same site as Tonnellerie Sylvain, and Yonne Merain in Burgundy near Tonnellerie Meyrieux and Marc Grenier.

Uniquely, these cooperages are able to source 100% of their oak needs through their own stave mills. At the stave mills the oak trees, in the form of unbarked logs, are split into staves which are then sent to the cooperages for seasoning.

The staves are carefully aged outside for two to four years at the different cooperages. During this key stage, the oak undergoes significant changes: coarse tannins disappear, biochemical maturation occurs, and aromas develop.

At each cooperage, the seasoning process is unique and allows for the climactic differences in each area.

In recent times, the cooperages have been working very hard to increase the biodiversity in the wood seasoning yard. They have done this by adding more plant life between the oak stacks, introducing bee hives and insect farms, having sheep graze the green areas, as well as a water recycling program which has the added benefit of increasing humidity. All of these steps are not only good for the environment, but they also increase the richness and complexity of the oak.

Assembling staves into a barrel requires special skill and precise techniques. The choice of wood is crucial for enhancing the wine. The Sylvain family and its employees use deep forest knowledge and research to connect unique forest terroirs with winemaking terroirs and grape varieties.

Each barrel has its own forest blend. For example Sylvain Reserve Longueur is a forest blend that favours forest from the East, allowing the barrel to be more structural and adding freshness. Whereas the Sylvain Reserve Douceur (with the same grain and seasoning) is a forest blend that favours forests from the West, allowing the barrel to be earlier integrating and add more fleshiness.

The master coopers’ expertise, combined with precise temperature tools and refined toasting procedures, ensures our barrels have the exact toasting required. The coopers tasked with toasting are the most experienced in the cooperage and this results in the cooperages' strong reputation for consistency .

After sanding, barrels are customised. Clients can have their logos or any requested label marked onto the heads, or a bar placed on the head. Customisations are carefully carried out to perfection.

Each barrel leaving Sylvain Cooperage has been through strict quality control protocols including pressure testing and a visual inspection of the inside of the barrel. No barrel leaves the cooperage without passing both of these QC measures.