Speakeasy Wine Tasting

Dellwood Speakeasy, Dellwood/White Bear Lake, MN
Tasted Saturday, December 14, 2019 by rocknroller with 156 views

Introduction

Robert and Cheryl hosted this event at an old estate just off and overlooking White Bear Lake that used to have a Speakeasy hidden in the basement. The likes of area gangsters and Frank Lloyd Wright all made appearances here. We had a group of eleven for the tasting. We were fairly well behaved so we didn't get raided, and we fortunately were not forced to escape down the 250' underground tunnel into the subzero night to avoid the heat.

Thanks to Robert and Cheryl for all their work in arranging and pulling this evening off. And to Kathy for sharing her beautiful and historic home with us. And as always to everyone for their wine and delicious cuisine.

Flight 1 (2 Notes)

Flight 2 (1 Note)

  • 2010 Domaine William Fèvre Chablis Grand Cru Vaudésir 94 Points

    France, Burgundy, Chablis, Chablis Grand Cru

    Pale green tinged color. Drank a glass plus over 2 hours. Another excellent bottle with saline, lemon, fennel, leather, limestone and subtle lemon blossoms. This maybe wasn't in overdrive tonight, but have no fear, there's another gear here.

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Flight 3 (1 Note)

  • 2010 Joseph Drouhin Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru Les Folatières

    France, Burgundy, Côte de Beaune, Puligny-Montrachet 1er Cru

    Medium gold color. Drank 2 glasses over 3 hours. If you're wondering how the 2010 vintage is drinking, might I direct you here. This was brilliant, absolutely drinking with grand cru weight and character. Wonderfully complex and engaging. The constantly changing nose is filled with Meyer lemon, orange peel, ocean breezes, mushroom, lemon blossoms, with hints of vanilla and almond milk. The palate leaves nothing behind and is full bodied with a lemon oil textue, infused by clementine and marmalade, orange peel, golden melon, hints of vanilla panna cotta and a lovely oak framing. This is spot on and showing nice maturity already. Drink or hold judiciously. 94+pts.

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Flight 4 (2 Notes)

  • 2011 St. Innocent Pinot Noir Temperance Hill Vineyard 94 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Eola - Amity Hills

    Light medium translucent ruby red color. PNP, drank a glass over 90 minutes. This bottle just screams purity at the top of its lungs. Laugh all you want, but I'll compare this to the purity you get from Rousseau. This was a head turner, absolutely reminiscent of the 2007 vintage with such beautifully pure red berry fruit, a spicebox of lifted spices and high toned cinnamon and a floral potpourri on the nose. I couldn't get my nose out of the glass --- except to take the next sip. The palate translates the nose perfectly with a light medium body and an elegant, featherweight dance across the tongue to the lingering, tingling finish. The deceptively colored palate is completely harmonious and vibrant. I can't for the life of me understand the previous notes on this other than this: like the '07's, the '11's show the benefit of aging in a cooler vintage. My WOTN amongst some killer whites, but this stole my heart.

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  • 2011 Colene Clemens Pinot Noir Adriane 91 Points

    USA, Oregon, Willamette Valley, Chehalem Mountains

    Pretty much a carbon copy of the bottle we had in 2015. Good, earthy with plenty of sappy, candied, dark cherry and dark currants, bigger in style, more full bodied though not overly heavy, baking spices, wood and pepper on the finish.

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Flight 5 (1 Note)

Flight 6 (2 Notes)

  • 2008 La Rioja Alta Rioja Viña Arana Reserva 91 Points

    Spain, La Rioja, La Rioja Alta, Rioja

    Very dark red color. Slow-O for an hour, drank a glass over an hour. Horse barn, funk, black fruits, rose petals, vanilla. The palate is very earthy, medium plus body, cassis, wood, rose hips, ground pencil. Showing well. 90+ to 91pts.

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  • 2012 Marqués de Murrieta Rioja Reserva Finca Ygay 89 Points

    Spain, La Rioja, Rioja

    VEry dark red with a purple hue. Drank a small glass over 45 minutes. Sweet, brown sugar nose, fig, vanilla, black cherry, plum, a bit of earth. The palate is riper, very dark, baked black cherry cobbler, dark berries, young, dense, full boded, fig, a bit of funk later. This came off a bit heavy handed for me and overly ripe. Some aging may round it off.

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Flight 7 (1 Note)

  • 2009 Château La Tour Blanche Sauternes 91 Points

    France, Bordeaux, Sauternais, Sauternes

    By coincidence, I had the opportunity to drink this again just 3 days later. This bottle, was similar, peaches, pineapple, spices; but more angular on the finish with the spices dominating the finish and being a little sharp.

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