Sean Thackrey Visit

Visiting with Sean Thackrey is always a great experience. If you don't know Sean and his approach to winemaking, the most important thing for you to know is this: He doesn't have any rules. One year he might age a wine in 100% new oak and the next year he might not use any new oak. He changes the blend of the Pleiades as it evolves in barrel, adding a little bit of this (from one vintage) and a little bit of that (from another vintage). The concept/religion of terroir is overhyped if not entirely fictitious. If you're a sommelier who relies exclusively on AOCs, DOCs, and AVAs in order to do your job, he knows you aren't going to be serving his wine. And that's okay with him.

As someone who does believe in the concept of terroir--at least most of the time--Sean's antithetical approach is a welcome breath of fresh air and a great counterpoint. I've loved his wines since my first taste and think, for example, that there's no better value red wine than the Pleiades. With that having been said, read on.

• 2012 Sean Thackrey Viognier Lyra Noble Vineyard

  USA, California, Sonoma County, Knights Valley

  Light golden color. The bouquet shows pear, tropical fruits, white peach, and nectarine. There are some nice floral elements, too. On the palate there's sweet stone fruits and melon. This is a rich and lush wine, bright enough to be drunk as an aperitif or with food. While enjoyable, it lacks the strength and distinctiveness of character of Thackrey's reds. I wonder if as a result I'm not allowing myself to appreciate this for what it is. RECOMMENDED.

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All of the reds were tasted from barrel. This wasn't the first time I had tasted from barrel, but it was certainly the first time I had tasted wine in such raw form (the 2013 Andromeda, for example, had gone into barrel two days prior to our arrival). The highlight of this "flight" was the 2011 Cabernet Franc, the first such effort from Sean and an extremely low-production wine.

• 2013 Sean Thackrey Pinot Noir Andromeda Devil's Gulch Ranch

  USA, California, San Francisco Bay, Marin County

  Tasted from barrel. This free run juice was drained from the fermenter just two days ago and put into new oak, and boy can you taste the new oak. Dark purple in color, the bouquet is dominated by heavy spice, smoke, and toast. The palate is similarly dominated by new oak flavors. It's fascinating to taste a wine in such raw form, and while you can get a sense of the beautiful fruit underneath, it's quite buried and I'm certainly not in a position to judge it. NOT RATED.

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• 2013 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Tasted from barrel. More than any other wine I've encountered, the Orion is immediately recognizable from its color, in this case pitch black with hints of glowing purple at the edge. I was surprised by how balanced this was, as Orion normally needs years of age to refine. The bouquet is dominated by a chalky note that reminds me of Tums. Beneath that is your expected black fruits. The palate has a similar chalkiness to it, which is quite different from prior vintages. NOT RATED.

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• 2012 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena

  Tasted from barrel. Tasting this immediately after the 2013 really puts vintage variation on display (even taking into account the rawness of the 2013 at this point in time). The color is a glowing, purple-infused magenta. The expressive bouquet of black currant, cassis, and licorice is captivating. There's some earthiness and spice to be sure, but none of the chalkiness found with 2013. This spent two months on the skins and you can really sense the resulting texture and depth. NOT RATED.

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• 2011 Sean Thackrey Cabernet Franc Hossfeld Vineyard

  USA, California, Napa Valley, Atlas Peak

  Tasted from barrel. This will be Thackrey's first Cabernet Franc release (it doesn't have a constellation name yet because, as Sean put it, he's running out of recognizable ones). He sourced the fruit from the Soda Canyon Ranch vineyard and only has three barrels, which he expects to bottle in the next 1-4 months. Dark ruby in the glass, the bouquet shows a nice gaminess, accompanied by licorice and herbs. This is a Thackrey wine through and through. RECOMMENDED.

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• 2012 Sean Thackrey La Pleïade

  USA, California

  Medium yellow in the glass, the sweet nose showed pleasing notes of white peach, tropical fruits, and fresh tropical flowers. However, I found the palate a bit dull, and in general I was disappointed. This isn't to white blends what the Pleiades is to red blends, which is to say a revelation. That having been said, I tasted this at too high a temperature and after tasting four big reds, three of which were in quite raw form, so I look forward to giving it another try in the near future. NOT RATED.

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