Sean Thackery Pleiades XV

A gem of a wine bottles in August of 2006, featuring a blend of 12 grapes, some of which are Carignane, Mouvedre, Petit Syrah, Barbera, Sangiovese, Syrah, Viognier, Pinot Noir and some more. It is a field blend with grapes from St. Helena, vinted and blended in open air wood barrels in Sean's backyard in Bolinas.

I was first turned onto this wine in Nantucket, with XII - no vintages, just batches (one a year). Sean is a real genius. We were lucky enough to get XII through XV for BONDA and a few cases for ourselves.

This batch is super smokey when first opened, revealing the Syrah and Barbera. With ten or so minutes, the wine mellows to raspberry, herbs, black cherry - a fresh mix of red fruit with a soft mouthfeel and mellow tannins. The Pinot Noir and Mouvedre showing through - the Carignane playing with the Viognier - light and intense. The evolution of the Pleiades is quite something to discover.

I made an dish for dinner that I learned in college. It is orzo cooked in chicken broth and herbs, briefly stir fried with yellow and red peppers, garlic and chicken. The flavors of the wok fried chicken went surprisingly well with the wine - the peppers adding interesting interplay as well. The thyme and rosemary in the orzo also complemented the Pleiades.

This is a wine I can drink all the time, with any dish, at any time of the day. I love it.

Introduction

When I was about to turn 33, I wanted to make a mark and start a writing project that I could see to the end. Many of my other projects, well all of them, did not make it past notes or first chapter stages.

But this was a non-fiction project I could really get into: Drinking 365 different wines in 365 days. Yes, a challenge, a quest, an excuse. If I had thought about it then, the blogosphere would be the perfect place for such a project.

Alas, I did not think of it - but merely made notes on the wines and what was going on in my life. Eventually I will use these notes to complete a book about wine, food, life.

My intention with this blog is to post my original notes on the days they were written - although two years later - while I edit them into something of merit.

The launch date is March 29th, 2008 - my 35th birthday. I don't want to ruin the surprise of the limits I put on myself or what happened during my 33rd year - but as a prequel, I will feature a daily account of the wines I drink until the launch or the regression of 365 wines in 365 days.