Unfortunately, with a small barrel like that, you’re going to have a high ratio of oxygen:wine. If you think about a traditional-sized barrel, it’s about 59 gallons (225 L); there’s a lot of wine in there. Especially if your barrel is much smaller, the surface area-to-wine ratio is much bigger for your mini-barrel than for a traditional barrel. Your 8–10 gallons (30–38 L) are therefore going to see a lot more wood contact, and a lot more oxygen transfer, than would 59 gallons (225 L) in a traditional, bigger barrel. This same principle is why some winemakers like to use bigger puncheons (like 132 gallons/500 L) so their wine gets proportionately less wood and oxygen exposure. This is popular in Rhône varieties like Grenache, Syrah, and Mourvèdre. I suggest you not use your barrel for as long as you’re talking about — you’re getting way too much oxygen there and as a result, like you say, too much acetaldehyde. First off, be sure you’ve got at least 25–30 ppm free SO2 in your wine to help keep the aldehydes down.
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