A few weeks ago, Gilt.com had a sale on groups of three wines each from Sean Thackrey, 10 percent off the price of the wines and minimal shipping cost. We love the wines but have not seen them in years; Thackrey, who can legitimately be called legendary if not mythic in California, produces small quantities of highly individual and allocated wines, about 4,000 cases altogether, from vineyards in Napa Valley, Mendocino and Marin County. I debated for a few days and finally took the plunge. I ordered three bottles of Pleiades Old Vines XXII, the most recent non-vintage blend of red grapes from various sources that Thackrey has produced since 1992, and the Cassiopeia Wentzel Vineyard Pinot Noir 2010, Anderson Valley; the Sirius Eaglepoint Ranch Petite sirah 2010, Mendicino County; and the Andromeda Devil’s Gulch Ranch Pinot Noir 2006, Marin County. This weekend, I opened the first bottle of Pleiades Old Vines XXII to drink on Pizza and Movie Night.

Bottled in June 2012, Pleiades Old Vines XXII, California Red Table Wine, is a blend of sangiovese, viognier, pinot noir, syrah and mourvèdre “to name but a few” as the label says, leading of course to rank speculation: petit verdot? tempranillo? alicante bouschet? The color is vivid ruby-red with a tinge of magenta at the rim; aromas of raspberries and black and red currants are nestled in elements of briers and brambles, rose hips and violets, a hint of cloves. Speaking of raspberries, the wine is pleasantly raspy and earthy, and while at first one thinks, “O.K., this is nice, drinkable, tasty,” as the minutes pass the wine gains power, dimension and edge; the tannins gather force, expressing themselves in a slightly gritty squinchy fashion, while bright, nervy acidity flings an authoritative arrow through the whole array, keeping it fresh and lively. Blue fruit joins the panoply amid a broader range of dried spices, flowers and graphite, though the emphasis remains on a peculiar intensity of blackness involving black currants, raspberries and plums — but always that wild touch of red. An imminently sane 13.2 percent alcohol. Drink now through 2016 or ’18. One of California’s great loopy, blended wines. Excellent. About $24.