| PLEIADES TASTING NOTES |
| Topic: TN: Sean Thackrey Pleiades VIII Author: David M. Bueker Date: Fri Jan 5 11:54:35 2001 Sean Thackrey-Pleiades VIII Garnet in color without any purple accents. On the first day the nose was all black pepper with just a little blackberry hiding underneath. Second day brought softened pepper and brighter fruit, but some alcoholic heat. The flavors of this wine reminded me of a good, solid Cotes du Rhone or possibly Gigondas. Peppery fruit and relatively soft tannins. The pepper, along with some herbs and blackberry are very forward, but only light to medium bodied. Tasty, but not good QPR when there is great CdR to be had for under $10. |
| Topic: TN: Sean Thackrey Pleiades IX Old Vines Author: geo t. Date: Wed Jul 11 22:16:59 2001 Sean Thackrey Pleiades IX Old Vines, $18, 14.2% alc.: The dark garnet color gives a hint as to the non-vintage nature of this wine, as it doesn’t have the pink rim of a younger model. Like the wide spectrum of varietals in its makeup (including Syrah, Merlot, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Mourvedre and more), there’s a broad band of red fruit in the flavors and aromas as well. Some initial burnt rubber blows off to reveal an interesting mixture of red currant/raspberry/strawberry/rhubarb that gains notes of gunpowder from the profusion of fireworks that were blown off in our neighborhood on the 4th of July. It has an earthy depth to the flavors, is medium full to full bodied, with resolved tannins and just enough acidity to keep it lively and do what it’s supposed to do. Perhaps surprisingly, none of us noted any eucalyptus. We enjoyed this quite a bit with our friend Rod Leon, finding the $18 price tag very reasonable for what is in the bottle. It’s a bit of an oddball, but I suppose that’s to be expected from a “maverick” like Sean Thackrey. And that’s just fine with us! |
| TN: NV Sean H. Thackrey Pleiades VII Old Vines Napa Valley California. Posted by Bob Ross, New Jersey on Dec 19, 1999 at 13:00:53 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NV Sean H. Thackrey Pleiades VII Old Vines Napa Valley California. 13.5% alcohol. $23. End of Vine. Bottled May, 1998. Thackrey recommends aging this wine for a year or two, and it is remarkable how quickly it has improved. I purchased three bottles in May, 1999, had one bottle with friends last August when we all liked it, but it seemed a bit out of balance, acidic and disjointed. That changed last night with the second bottle and Janet’s chicken stew. TN: Deep red color; medium hue; lovely aroma of red fruits, pepper, a bit of earth, tobacco and chocolate; delicious red fruit tastes with hints of black pepper, earth and chocolate; lovely balance of light acidity and mellow tannins; medium mouth feel; long, fruity finish with several spice, chocolate and tobacco notes. Drinking beautifully now. 4*. The label on this wine has intrigued me for a couple of years: the blend includes “Carignane, Syrah, Petite Sirah, Zinfandel, Mourvèdre, Sangiovese and Grenache, to name but a few.” If seven different grapes are only a “few”, how many grape varieties contributed to this delicious blend? David Marglin writes that Sean “isn't always sure himself what kind of grapes are in his wines. "I find the vineyard, I buy the fruit, I know it's mainly Syrah, but sometimes there's other varieties in there, too," he says. And Mildred Howie quotes Sean: “At a seminar which brought together some of the "Rhone Rangers" last year, Sean told the audience, ‘I say I make my wine from the inside out. I drive the truck up to get the grapes, bring them back and make the wine. Most of the decisions about what the finished product will be come from the fruit and the vintage. There is no way to make a generalization about my wines. The question of the vine's ancestry is as interesting to me as my own ancestry is.’ His final statement that day was a personal comment: ‘I never release any wine I don't like myself.’” Whatever is in there, this stuff is a lovely glass of wine. |
| TN: A couple of nice cal. reds Posted by Jim Grow on Jan 19, 2000 at 20:09:04 Thackery Pleiades VIII, med. purple color and very murky with dominant nose and flavors of BARK and raspberry. The flavors were so distinctive it must be the Carignane coming out above the zin and petite syrah. Seems I killed an infant as there is a lot of stuffing here but somewhat disjointed at present. How's my bolding abilities. Thanks again Chris. I feel empowered! |
| Topic: TN: Sean Thackery Peiades VI Old Vines California. Author: Bob Ross, New Jersey Date: Sat Aug 12 08:05:10 2000 NV Sean Thackrey Pleiades VI Old Vines California. 13.1% alcohol. End of the Vine. $23. Got to love that label: “This sixth edition of the Pleiades, bottled in May of 1997, includes Syrah, Zinfandel, Carignane, Petite Sirah, Sangiovese, Nebbiolo, Grenache, Mourvèdre and Merlot, to name but a few [emphasis supplied].” Purple color; very fragrant with aromas of berries, fruit and a bit of spice and earth; complex taste of berries, fruit, earth, spice, all a bit on the sweet side, but changing significantly over time; medium to full mouth feel; long, interesting finish, very concentrated and full of pleasure. 5*. But, there was an amazing change over night in a half bottle stored in refrigerator – almost all the fruit was gone and the earth and spice became predominant and not very pleasing. This wine fell apart in the way a much older wine would have done. 2*. |
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| Topic: TN: It''s like... (caution: semi-adult content)Author: Thor Iverson (Boston, MA)Date: Wed May 30 21:52:54 2001 Food started arriving, and so we immediately moved on to a wine that would compete with, and attempt to dominate, everything else on the table. We were not disappointed. The "light" wine of Sean "terroir is bullshit" Thackrey''s stable, the Thackrey "Pleiades" VIII "Old Vines" (California) was completely dominated by the character I have gotten in every single bottle of Pleiades I have ever tasted: Worcestershire sauce. Really, the aroma of this Maggi of liquid condiments was very hard for me to get past. There was also some blackberry cola, and some sweet berries on the finish, but while this wine settled down to be softly fruity after a little time on the palate, the finish was redolent of yet another salty dripping sauce: soy. This wine called out for wasabi and ahi tuna like Hef calls out for another case of Viagra. |