Wood Influence: Age of container

Barrels may be valued simply because they are containers made from a material that clarifies and stabilizes the wine naturally, offers the wine some mild but useful oxygenation, or also because they can actually add oak flavour to the wine. The newer the barrel, the more wood flavour it is capable of imparting and in most wine regions new barrels command a premium, with one-year-old barrels selling for approximately 70%, two-year-old barrels selling for less than 50%, and five-year-old barrels selling for just 10% of the cost of a new barrel.