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The Pleiades White Blend 2019 is a wine from a recently formed wine company that is an extension of Sean Thackery Wines. Who is or sadly was Sean Thackery (he passed away in May 2022)? Well, that is a long and exciting story.
Sean Thackery was an art dealer and curator (he collected ancient books) in San Fransico in the 1970s. He was the kind of guy who would have friends over for an evening so they could converse in Latin all night. They would serve wine at their gallery showings and he decided he would try to make his own wine.
Many of his antique books had sections on farming methods and winemaking and while Mr. Thackery had no formal training used these 2,400-year texts, as well as a variety of books from the 1500 and 1600s as a guide.
The first batch was a success and a friend that was well connected in the wine business asked to try a bottle. He was impressed and had a few bottles sent to Robert Parker. Robert Parker is the dean of wine critics and why wine ratings have points (90 Points!!). Parker too was impressed and wrote about the wine.
So the art dealer/curator was now a winemaker. If you look at the biography of most winemakers, they went to school and the University of California, Davis campus which has a famous wine curriculum. Sean Thackery is self-taught using ancient writing to guide his wine.
He does not make wine like any of the other wine companies. His winery was his backyard and looks ramshackle, there is a huge redwood vat covered by a tarp under a tree. While other wineries are temperature and humidity-controlled, Sean made his wine in his backyard.
Modern wine-making says to ferment the grape juice as soon as the grapes are crushed. 500-year-old books told Sean to let the juice rest after crushing and the wine will taste better, so that is how his wines are made.
The Pleiades White Blend 2019 is a newer wine, it is a blend that includes Marsanne, Viognier, Sauvignon Blanc, and Verdelho to list a few. In the past, Sean Thackery Wines produced small-batch Red wine. Sean dies at age 79 and the Pleiades Wine Company was formed to allow his legacy and his wines to live on after he was gone.
The vineyard source for the Pleiades White Blend 2019 is not mentioned, but I read an interview where he said he uses single-sourcing for each grape varietal before blending. The Pleiades White Blend 2019 has California as the place of origin on the label but his wines are known for detailing only the most basic information.
The Pleides Wine Company also has a Sauvignon Blanc and a Rosé in the line-up to augment the other Classic Red wines. The wines are all named after the stars. Sean Thackery’s wines were always well-priced considering they were made in such small quantities, the Pleiades White Blend 2019 has only 900 cases, less than 11,000 bottles, and I found it for $19.99.
The Pleiades Red wine is non-vintage is uses roman numerals to differentiate the vintages, that is a wine that is in the same price range and can be cellared for 45 years or more. Sean Thackery said the main purpose of a winemaker is to provide pleasure. He made his wines as affordable as he could because he wanted real wine drinkers to enjoy his wines and not some CEO to but it as some status trophy.
Since these wines are not produced the way virtually every other modern wine is produced there will be noticeable variations between vintages. The alcohol content is 13%.
The Pleiades White Blend 2019 Tasting Notes
The color is a clear, pale wheat yellow. The nose is very interesting, there is melon, honey, apple (core and all), pear, faint barnyard, stone fruit, exotic spice, and orchids. The Pleiades White Blend 2019 is dry on the palate and offers an array of flavors and textures.
This White wine blend tastes like tart grapefruit, green apple, pineapple, rough-textured spice, and sleek guava. The mid-palate adds soft orange blossom honey, a salty sensation, apricot, dried pear bits, and a hint of cream.
The nose had some weight to it, but the flavors were light and delicate and very flavorful. This is one of those wines that as the wine in your glass changes temperature the flavors will also evolve.
The Summary
- The Pleiades White Blend 2019 is highly recommended.
- It lists for $25 and I found it for $20 and at that price, this is a flat-out bargain.
- This is a unique wine no other wine company makes wine like Sean Thackery and now Pleiades Wine Company makes wine. That alone is reason enough to try the Pleiades White Blend 2019.
- Tasting it is the other reason.
I totally agree with your very detailed assessment of the 2019 Pleiades…a lovely & unique white wine blend. Where did he even get Marsanne to blend into this amazing wine? I bought 6 bottles at my Sonoma Co Grocery outlet for less than $10 each (I should have bought more!). It saddened me to read that Sean passed away recently.