Sean Thackrey Pleiades XVIII

Weirdness in wine is definitely relative. Idiosyncrasy should be embraced, especially as modern breakthroughs are enabling more wines to taste exactly the same regardless of grape or region than ever before.

This wine has no vintage and possesses a staggering blend of varietals. Those listed are Sangiovese, Mourvedre, Viognier, Syrah and Cabernet, but apparently that's only the tip of the iceberg.

Lovely colour - reminiscent of Burgundy or Piedmont.

Salted caramel and blueberry on the nose one minute, mulling spices and cherries the next.

The dichotomy of the nose exists also on the palate - one sip and there's bunches of blueberries and cherries with cocoa powder and buttered cinnamon. The next sip is herbal; wild forest plums with cloves, cinnamon and allspice. After a few they all blend together and the spiciness comes out a bit more. It's like a winter fruit salad. There's fantastic sense of the complete on the finish. This is cool stuff. I like it a lot, and would really like to try some of the earlier releases. There are slightly oxidative notes, but as it's a multi-vintage blend I assume that's intentional. It certainly adds to the softness.

****

Tasted 10/12/2010 at Luvians Bottleshop