Tonelería Magreñán

A Cooperage With Five Generations of History

Tonelería Magreñán makes oak barrels for winemaking and aging. The company traces its cooperage tradition to 1820. In 1950, Rafael Magreñán, a fifth-generation cooper, established his own cooperage in Alfaro, La Rioja, drawn by the region’s wines. The company remains headquartered in Alfaro and sells its products in Spain and around the world.

Wood and Products

The company offers barrels made from three types of oak, each with its own characteristics for aging wine:

• American oak (Quercus alba): The wood is sawn and air-dried for at least one winter in the United States, then continues drying in Spain. Available since 1987, it contributes exotic and vanilla aromas; the company recommends aging periods of 8 to 12 months.
• French oak (sessile or pedunculate): The wood is split along the grain, a process that uses about 80% of the raw material. It is air-dried at the cooperage for at least 20 to 24 months. Selections come from the forests of Allier, Nevers, Vosges, and central France, along with a “Private Collection” selection of wood from Bertranges and Tronçais.
• European oak (sessile or pedunculate): Offered since 1992, this wood comes from forests in Eastern Europe. It has a narrower range of compounds and contributes vanilla notes.

The cooperage also makes acacia barrels and mixed-wood barrels, including Floral Plus (acacia with French-oak heads) and Floral (French oak with acacia heads).

Barrel Lines and Customization

For French and European oak, the “Selection” line distinguishes between medium grain (“Standard Selection”) and fine grain (“Special Selection”). American oak is offered in the “Finesse” line, with medium-fine grain. The company also offers a custom line made with extra-fine-grain wood and a “Private Collection” line distinguished by exceptionally fine grain and extended drying. American-oak barrels in the Private Collection use wood from Missouri, Ohio, and Kentucky and have olive-green hoops. The French-oak version uses wood from Tronçais and Bertranges, air-dried for 36 months, with magenta hoops.

Barrels can be customized in several ways, including the choice and mix of wood varieties, grain selection, capacity, toast level, and finish. The company uses analytical techniques to monitor the development of aromatic compounds during toasting and shape the sensory profile according to the selected intensity and wood type.

Quality and Certifications

Tonelería Magreñán uses traceability systems that assign each wood lot a code maintained throughout production. Each barrel also receives a production-lot code, allowing traceability in both directions. The company is certified by AENOR to ISO 9001 (certificate ER 1411/1999) and ISO 14001 (certificate GA 2002/2012), and participates in the PEFC sustainable forest management program for French and European oak.

Sales Network

The company distributes its barrels in Spain and abroad through a network of agents and distributors. In Spain, Importaciones Decavi, S.A. (Gerard Escudé, +34 670 317 656) serves Catalonia and the Balearic Islands; Exclusivas Arraez Bravo (Lourdes Goya, +34 941 18 00 23) covers La Mancha and Valdepeñas; Vicente Izquierdo (+34 615 821 348) serves the Levante region, Manchuela, Jumilla, and Murcia; Iñaki Valle (+34 678 426 988) covers Castilla y León, La Rioja, and Galicia; and La Enológica Extremeña (Lourdes Goya, +34 941 18 00 23) serves Ribera del Guadiana. In South America, Ángel Peralta (+54 9 263 4637651) handles Argentina and Uruguay, while Eugenia Díaz Aedo (+56 996 38 64 15) covers Chile. The company also has a contact for Mexico through Soluciones Enológicas de México, S.R.L. de C.V.