Identification of substances responsible for the ‘sawdust’ aroma in oak wood

✍ Scribed by Chatonnet, Pascal; Dubourdieu, Denis

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1998
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 309 KB
• Volume: 76
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0022-5142
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1097-0010(199802)76:2<179::aid-jsfa924>3.0.co;2-6

✦ Synopsis

The unpleasant "sawdustÏ odour sometimes found in wines aged in new barrels was studied by gas chromatography olfactory detection and mass spectrometry. A particular aromatic zone has several chromatographic peaks, corresponding to certain characteristic odours which can be detected by smelling the gas effluent. These include the subtle rancid, weedy odour of "sawdustÏ. Various carbonyl components have been identiÐed in this particular zone. These include (E)-2-nonenal, 3-octen-1-one, (E)-2-octenal and 1-decanal. These molecules are the primary cause of disagreeable oak wood odours. By measuring (E)-2-nonenal in wines, after derivation by O-(2,3,4,5-pentaÑuobenzyl)-hydroxilamine (PFBOA), it was possible to correlate the concentration of this unsaturated aldehyde with the intensity of the "sawdustÏ character noted in tasting. The possible explanations for the presence of these carbonyl compounds are debatable. The carbonyl content varied from one wood sample to another. However, controling the toasting of the wood, both in the laboratory and in the cooperage, produced a major reduction in the extractable (E)-2-nonenal content and eradicated the "sawdustÏ character of the wine.

1998 SCI.