Marc Grenier

Marc Grenier established his Foudrerie in the heart of Burgundy in 1982.

Retiring in 2015, Marc Grenier handed over the ownership and running of the Fourerie to the Sylvain Family. Marc worked with Rémi Sylvain to guarantee the transition of his know-how and to maintain the quality of his products. The two families share the same philosophy and desire to maintain a business on a human scale with historical artisanal know-how.

Each vat and each cask produced in the Marc Grenier facility are tailor-made to meet the technical demands and aesthetic needs of each and every client. Marc Grenier tanks and barrels feature in prestigious cellars worldwide.

Rare artisan Know-How

Large oak vessels require rare know-how, combining tradition with modern equipment. Using specific techniques of cabinetmaking and carpentry, this art is truly French artisanal, with 80% of the work carried out being manual.

The Living Heritage Company label was awarded to the Marc Grenier Foudrerie in May 2023. The EPV label distinguishes French artisanal and industrial companies with rare and exceptional know-how. Obtaining this label is recognition of the excellence of the work provided by the Marc Grenier team.

Unique to Marc Grenier is the splitting of the foudre staves, as opposed to sawn staves. This method of splitting is commonplace for smaller barrels but is highly uncommon in foudre production. By splitting the staves along the grain, the level of wine penetration is less, resulting in a more harmonious and subtle oak profile in the initial use of these foudres. Additionally, the less wine that penetrates the staves, the lower the risk of microbial issues.

Selecting Our Oak

Concerned about providing optimal raw material, Marc Grenier, selects French oaks, which are generally 200 to 250 years old, mainly from prestigious national forests managed by the ONF but also from local forests in Burgundy to combine wine growing and forestry terroir.

Unbarked oak trees are delivered, then painstakingly split into perfect staves, by first cutting logs into sections, then they are split into staves. The wood is then aged naturally and exclusively in the open air, for around 3 to 4 years.

Explore our full range of barrels, casks, and vats

The full range of barrels, vats and casks from Famille Sylvain have a number of things in common. They respect and enhance fruit purity. They are renowned worldwide for their unparallelled consistency. Their quality is derived from being fully integrated from the purchase of the tree to barrel manufacturing.