| Hola Free Rangers, I promise I didn’t set out to write about death and loss in two consecutive e-mails. Anybody in just about any industry will tell you that it’s crap marketing, but maximizing revenue has never been my strong suit or even a point of reasonable concern, accept in our darkest days toward the end of last year (when there was little to be done about it). But just about the time I was finishing up that last note, Sean Thackrey died. He apparently had some terrible cancer for a number of years, which he kept largely to himself. I only knew of vague health issues, and very recently found out that he had an oxygen tank by his side most of the time for at least the previous few months. Shortly after sharing a bottle of Thackrey Aquila 2000 at the shop with Connor and Nina, I arrived home with the last glass of that lovely red sloshing around the bottom of the bottle, and was informed by Wesley, who has roots and people in Bolinas, that Sean had passed the night before. At that point I was crying into his/my Sangiovese (that was old enough to drink itself), which I’m fairly certain Sean would have found hysterical. Besides the obvious loss, I feel like an art dealer with a warehouse full of Picasso’s upon hearing that the artist had just passed. But I’ve read that Picasso was just an asshole, and I was quite fond of Sean Thackrey, still am. As a hoarder by nature (and a pleasure junkie by design), I will end up keeping an inordinate amount of his bottles for me, myself, and mine. Even in his healthier days, Sean relished the idea that many of his wines would significantly outlive him- most especially Orion California Native Red (a 30-50 year wine, at least)- and it gave him joy to think that others would draw pleasure from them for many more moons to come. I suppose that Connor, Nina, and I were amongst the first to experience such pleasure from his hands after blood ceased to flow through them. We here at Free Range will proudly guard his legacy, and preach the gospel of Sean, as long as his bottles and all of us remain viable in this earthly realm. I’ll gladly discuss and offer more of his wine later, but for now, I’ll just leave each of the last 3 deal pages live for the week, including that last Thackrey page with the few remaining bottles of his Fifi Rosé 2014, and a good few more Sirius Petite Sirah 2005, and Aquila Sangiovese 2000. And just one more time, here’s a link to that full tale of how a chunk of his library wines came be in our grateful hands (and tasting notes of the aforementioned three): The Last of the Big Time Spenders Sean Thackrey deal page Elijah Craig Deal page Kings County Deal page And for this week, Derek has put together a new 6-pack offer for you. Derek, the floor is yours. I’ve gotta go finish packing up my apartment. Just remember that brevity is the soul of wit, or as Mr. Plinkett would put it, “don’t waste my time!” Of course this comes by way of two world class ramblers, so do what you’ve gotta do. Thanks and wow, I swear I can feel the spotlight glaring down on me, in silent judgement of my first official sale pack. Thankfully it’s a warm hue, not dissimilar from the pending summer sun, which is somewhat reassuring. As many of you have been asking for a chill-able red to throw into the mix of warm weather wine options, we are pleased to offer the following summer starter pack(s), representing our favorites in all styles of refrigerator friendly wines. Starting with chill-able reds, the ever popular and limited Ampelia Unlitro is back in prime form, and will sit in the bag next to our longstanding favorite Bura Plavac from Croatia with its signature sea-breeze salinity. There’s a beautiful orange wine in the bag too, Sabbia Gialla, showcasing the native Italian grape, Albana, as a more full bodied richly textured skin-contact white. As bubbles are always nice to have on hand, we’ve added one of our favorites, (dry) Jeio Rosé Prosecco, an excellent apéritif or base for an off-the-beaten-path spritz. To round things out, we’ve thrown in the stunningly balanced and aromatic JeanDauvissat Chablis that will go with or without almost anything, and finally is a bottle of tried-and-true crushable Chateau Maris Rosé. Normally $128, yours this week for only $99! – Derek (!) Click here for hidden sale page (!) *** Online exclusive! *** *** This week only! *** Cheers, Jack Proprietor Free Range Wine & Spirits P.S. Free Range E-mail Archive |
