Fresh St. Louis Wine Market barrel pick just in from Blue Note!
This is a hand-selected barrel picked by our staff, aged 4 years, high proof, and is a mash of 70% corn, 21% rye, and 9% malted barley. This is a release of 114 bottles, and we are very excited about having this around for the coming months.
“In June of 2019, the rick house that stored much of Blue Note’s inventory collapsed in a terrible summer storm, spilling thousands of barrels and millions of dollars into the muck and mud. Most of the barrels were destroyed by the incredible force of nearly 10 million pounds crumbling six stories to the ground.
We thought all was lost, but a special few somehow survived the disaster. Surviving the collapse, however, turned out to be only the beginning of the barrels’ journey.
The barrels were left exposed to the elements for the next four months before the wreckage could be properly assessed and cleaned up. In these ensuing months, the sweltering summer heat bore down upon the barrels daily, darkening the outside and forcing the bourbon inside incredibly deep into the oak. Several thunderstorms passed through as well, pummeling the barrels for days, causing their bands to later rust and break. As summer faded into fall, the nights grew colder, forcing the whiskey back out of the now-worn oak. After the wreckage was cleaned up and every barrel was assessed, the company found that some had survived. ” -Blue Note Bourbon.
The Baudana family have tended to the Cerretta and Baudana Cru’s in Barolo for over 30 years! They are one of the oldest families in the Serralunga d’alba region of Barolo. In 2003, the Baudana family, realizing that they had no children and no heirs, needed to find a steward to continue and elevate the production of wine from these Cru’s. Thankfully, they knew a wonderful family that would be the perfect ones to carry the torch, the Vajra’s. I once spoke about this very subject to to Francesca Vajra the last time she visited St. Louis. She made it very clear that this rarely happens in Barolo. The land that these families own are incredibly precious to them and that land transfers to other families DO NOT HAPPEN. Fortunately, the Vajra’s were entrusted with the estate and have continued to produce amazing Nebbiolo. The 2014 Baudana is an incredibly strong wine. The richness and power that the blue soil provides from the Baudana Cru are very apparent here. What a wine! What a story!
