Purchasing Stave-Quality Oak

Throughout the year, Charlois Group buyers travel across French forests in search of the finest oaks to be used in crafting barrels for aging wines and spirits.

The Charlois Group is the leading purchaser of oak from the ONF (National Forestry Office), whose sustainable forest management practices prominentlyfeature the regular oak stand silviculture method*.fine-grain oaks, ensuring high-quality barrels by limiting tree diameter growth to less than 5 mm per year through regular silvicultural interventions.

Oaks are purchased either as standing trees, roadside logs, or cut pieces. In all cases, Charlois Group buyers visit the site to assess volume, quality, and other factors before making a purchase.

Wood purchases can be made directly with the seller or through price submissions at competitive sales events involving multiple buyers. During such events, sellers provide catalogs containing detailed information, including:

• iIdentification Information: Item number, log numbers (cut pieces), parcel number, forest of origin, and the responsible agent (ONF).;
• Composition Details: Number of trees or pieces per species, volume by category, quality, and diameter.
  ;
• Additional Notes: Remarks on quality, delivery, skidding, or other factors.

Oaks purchased as standing trees are harvested within 12 months of sale (in accordance with the sustainable management plan), adhering to best forestry practices and parcel-specific regulations.

Forest Markings

Harvest Markings: Trees to be harvested are marked with a red (or sometimes orange) dot.

To minimize soil disruption during skidding operations, forest owners and operators mark vertical blue or white lines to indicate skidding paths reserved for tractors, skidders, and carriers.
Once felled, logs are transported to the edges of parcels and stacked roadside, awaiting pickup by log trucks for delivery to Charlois Group stave mills.

*The knowledge and expertise of regular oak stand silviculture : dedicated to producing high-quality timber by growing trees of nearly identical ages over a period of 100 to 200 years—has been recognized as part of the National Inventory of Intangible Cultural Heritage since June 2022.

Visuals © D.R.