WTN: Opening that bottle - 2006 Thackrey Orion

[David M. Bueker]

• 2006 Sean Thackrey Orion Rossi Vineyard - USA, California, Napa Valley, St. Helena (2/13/2024)
  Bittersweet experience, as Sean Thackrey left us in 2022, and this bottle came from my dad’s cellar, and he departed in 2023.
  
  That said, this was, much like Sean, a mystery, wrapped in an enigma, that took two hours to show itself, then started revealing the mysteries of the universe as told through the lens of an inscrutable blend of myriad grapes. Certainly powerful, the wine also had immense complexity, supported by California sunshine that sustained dark fruit with more than enough depth to carry through for another 18 years. Hiding behind that black fruit curtain was a roaring wood fire, and a dripping haunch of wild game, basted with bacon drippings, and infused with wild herbs and hillside brush. All I needed was a cabin in the woods, and a good book. Magic.

[Jenise]

I thought the Orion was primarily syrah. Or at least, I'm certain that the one I had which was a little older than yours, somewhere around 2000, was syrah. So not the same as yours, but the overall experience was something of a match.

I picked up a few more Thackrey wines when inventory got dumped on WineBid about the time of his death. Unfortunately I missed the first wave so didn't get prime picks, but I did pick up a magnum of pinot noir and a few other things at better than reasonable prices.

Did Dick have other Thackreys?

[David M. Bueker]

He had three or four bottles total. From the records I have been able to piece together he bought a few and never drank any of them. Kind of the story of the cellar.