WTN: '95-96 Thackrey Roussanne & '97 Orion

[geo t.]

We tasted five wines from Sean Thackrey with some friends of ours last week; you can read the full account in 5 from Thackrey. Perhaps the most interesting wines of the night were the following:

1995-96 Sean Thackrey Roussanne Alban Vineyard, $45: Apparently, Mr. Thackrey couldn't get his hands on enough of either vintage to make a go of it, so he combined both to come up with this limited bottling. Medium gold in color, it's really showing its maturity, and in a nice way. The aromatics reminded me of nothing so much as soft mahogany, and Putnam remarked that it smells like a mature dessert wine. The slightly maderized flavors echo and expand, giving up something resembling earthy caramelized peach with hints of quince and starfruit. A note of oak that was more prominent a few years ago has taken a back seat, or maybe it's stashed in the trunk; whatever the case, it's only just discernable. Everything is kept moving along nicely with zippy acidity, and the wine finishes fairly long. When we first tasted it in Toledo, I wondered whether it was worth the money, and after tasting it this time, I can say that it certainly is/was. It would be interesting to taste along side one of the Chave Hermitage Blancs from the same time period, but alas, this was our last bottle.

1997 Sean Thackrey Orion Old Vines Rossi Vineyard, 13.9% alc.: Still a dark garnet, with nary a hint of brick, this has mellowed considerably since we tried it at Toledo 3; it shows lovely aromatics of dark plum, dark berries, the requisite eucalyptus and just the right kiss of oak. These follow through beautifully on the palate with moderate tannins, balanced acidity and a long, somewhat earthy finish. The wine opens and evolves continously in the glass, becoming ever more beguiling; a wine to linger over, a wine to meditate upon.

Reporting from Day-twah,

geo t.

[chrisnorth]

in the mid-90's i picked up a case of 1989 orion (the first vintage? in any case an early one) at auction for a song. sadly the last bottle was polished off last year, but this was a spectacular wine. never had a bad orion but this was one of the best; unfortunately once the release price crept up to around $100 i stopped buying it.

Edited January 8, 2005 by chrisnorth (log)

[geo t.]

in the mid-90's i picked up a case of 1989 orion (the first vintage? in any case an early one) at auction for a song.  sadly the last bottle was polished off last year, but this was a spectacular wine.  never had a bad orion but this was one of the best; unfortunately once the release price crept up to around $100 i stopped buying it.

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The '02 is $75 a bottle from the winery, if you're on the mailing list.