Special thanks to the charismatic Jean-Marcel Jaegle, CEO of Dargaud & Jaegle.

Situated in the Beaujolais region of France, next to the famous Moulin à Vent, Dargaud & Jaegle is one of the 10 most famous places to make casks in France.

There are many cooperages in the country but only one with a story out of a fairy tale book. First named after Marcel Dargaud in 1921, the small cooperage destiny was changed by the arrival of a young boy from the Jaegle family.

(Picture: Wood yard where the wood is drying)

(picture: Burgundy tradition casks)

It all started during WWI when Jean-Marcel Jaegle’s grandfather, a bread maker in Colmar, left the Alsace region to escape the Germans. Hurt in the battle, he could no longer defend his country. So, the village of Juliénas, another of the Beaujolais great wine areas, requisitioned his talent as bread maker. This is where he met the beautiful woman who soon became dear to his heart. Unfortunately, they died young, leaving their young son, Jean-Marcel’s father orphaned. Mr and Ms Dargaud, close friends of the Jaegles and godfather of the young boy, soon became his adoptive parents and let him work in their cooperage.

Years later, in 1968, the Dargauds decided to rename the Dargaud cooperage Dargaud & Jaegle, promising a long succession of both families. Jean-Marcel attended a wood school in the Jura to be able to work in the cooperage. Today, his wife and two children, are working with him. Why? Because, as Jean-Marcel simply states, “un tonneau c’est formidable” (a barrel is formidable!).

And why again? With all the benefits of an egg or a nut shape, this is a very solid and flexible container. Moreover, the specific shape allows the sediments to lie together at the bottom while also making it easy to fill in completely at the top, in order to avoid the wine oxidation.

Dargaud & Jaegle is situated at the limit between Macônnais and Beaujolais but makes cooperage for wines produced on both hemispheres (about 30% in the US, 30% in Europe and 30% in the Southern hemisphere). This leads to different shapes and volumes of barrels dictated by each region’s culture.

(picture: delicate moment where the casks are boiled for 20 minutes and then warmed up with fire.)

When talking about the barrel’s possible shapes, Jean-Marcel has very particular explanations, and tells them with the most mischievous look. In France lays an eternal debate between Burgundy barrels – la pièce, and Bordelais Barrels – la barrique. As with punts under bottles, the story for the shapes of la pièce and la barrique are not entirely believable. However, wine makers and wine lovers have churned out the most original explanations, two of which I particularly like:

• The barrique shape is from the amphora, used in the Mediterranean region while the Burgund one is more from the German Celtics casks, or beer pint. Therefore, regional history lead to different shapes
  

• The different shape springs from the fact that people from the Bordeaux region are more lazy than the Burgunds, so they tend to prefer barrels with softer curves that are much easier to produce. No offence intended .

Picture: Gilles Monrozier (Wine Maker, Domaine Monrozier) and Jean-Marcel Jaegle.

Dargaud & Jaegle cooperage makes 28000 casks/year. That is a 100 casks a day and about 20 people to produce a cask in about 1h30. The cooperage is a happy working place, modernizing more and more every year.

If the management is of certain quality, that quality is also in the woods, selected carefully in the most beautiful forests from the Center – East and North of France. The best known is the forest of Troncet, which gives birth to the most prestigious barrels. Today there is even a prestigious cask called “Marcel Cadet’ in remembrance of Jean-Marcel story. Cadet means “the younger child” as when Marcel Jeagle arrived at the Dargaud he was only 13.

Dargaud & Jaegle, like every cooperage, has their own secrets, for instance on the way to heat the cask to improve the aromatic richness without altering its character (more information on http://www.dargaud-jaegle.com/).

An opportunity to visit a cooperage is worth seizing, It is very impressive and entertaining.

(Picture: heating of casks)