MADEVA EMBODIES THE

‘MADERA NUEVA,

NEW WOOD’ CONCEPT

Madeva is an affordable and simple alternative to rejuvenate barrels to their original state by replenishing the compounds and providing the same oak characteristics as before.

Cask ageing, the masterpiece of craftsmanship, is the building block for any fine spirit. When distillates are aged in oak, the wood’s qualities contribute to the finished spirit’s taste, aroma, and colour profile. This direct contact between cask and distillate has a signature role in ‘spirit mouthfeel’, making it an essential aspect of the distillation process.

Casks affects distillates in two primary methods, namely: the extraction and modification of oak compounds and oxygen diffusion.

As complex and mechanical as the ageing process is, it holds one crucial drawback…

The cask has a limited lifespan.

As a cask changes during the ageing process, a need for cask rejuvenation and replacement arises. As the compounds become depleted from the cask, casks inevitably become less effective over time.

MADEVA IS OAK

In essence, wood is a robust network of polymers. Like any wood, oak wood contains lignin, cellulose, and hemicellulose. Within this network of polymers lies a significant number of extractives such as tannins.

These extractives are the essential tools within the cask ageing process, and the key to Madeva’s effectiveness as it contains the same phenols, aldehydes, monomers and acids as contained in oak wood. This all translates into oak barrels rejuvenated using Madeva being replenished with the same components that have been removed, delivering high quality matured spirits once aged in these renewed barrels.

MACROMOLECULE DEGRADATION AND WOOD EXHAUSTION

During ageing, the distillate undergoes a change of composition on a molecular level, such as increase in phenolic and evaporative content. Although many of these compounds are easily extracted from the wood, macromolecule degradation, also known as the breakdown of large molecules, is important for the ageing process.

Up to 5% of the cask’s oak lignins may be dissolved in the distillate during ageing. This modification of lignin introduces coniferyl, p-comaryl, and sinaptyl (alcohol constituents) into the ageing distillate, which promotes the contribution of both ethanol and water.

Oxygen diffusing through the cask prompts the release of aromatic aldehydes and acids from oak lignin, creating evaporative phenols. Simultaneously, cellulose and hemicellulose degradation introduce sugar molecules into the distillate. This direct cask-distillate interaction incorporates these monomers from the wood into the liquid. Over time, this continual release of extractives causes the wood to become neutral, as the staves become exhausted of their valuable extractives.

cask ageing

MADEVA – A NEW APPROACH

Madeva simplifies and streamlines barrel rejuvenation, achieving an oak-aged effect with the same cask for even longer.

Madeva is a liquid oak extract that treats the inner surface layer of the exhausted oak wood, replenishing its depleted compounds.

Madeva is applied directly to the internal surface of empty casks, making as much contact with the internal cask surface as possible.

A minimum of 48 hours allowance is recommended for Madeva to become integrated with the cask. Casks can be filled with wine or spirits immediately after treatment.

INPUT FROM THE TEAM

Our highly experienced team is always on standby to answer your technical questions, provide you with background information on Madeva and its applications, and guide you through the process of using our product.

Should you require a more detailed initial trial and testing assistance, the team will gladly assist you through this process, share dosing testing protocols, cask storage information, and hopefully be at the panel tasting of your spirits matured in your Madeva reconditioned barrels.

Connect with our Technical Team.