1/27/2018 - timbuk2 wrote:

Lovely, clean, bright nose, elements of grenache earthniess, but a lighter style more reminiscent of a barbera than WA grenache. Wish I bought more.

7/21/2015 - timbuk2 wrote:

Some chalkiness and minerality, rounded mouthfeel, might have opened up with time, but we moved on

5/7/2015 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tasted with a group a LONG time ago and it was badly corked and I had several pre-eminent wine experts there to vouch for it.

Anyway, I have never taken a corked wine back, but I had just picked this one up, so I notified the merchant right away. Then, never got around to bringing it to them for replacement or refund. They literally kept a single bottle in stock for me for when I returned it so many, many months later (years maybe?) anyway, excellent service from Full Pull, Paul, Matt and the team there.

1/13/2015 - timbuk2 wrote:

Very enjoyable. Great qpr. Smooth and all in balance. Fine tannins. Good acid. Almost to clean. Doesn't have the earthy or funkiness .

10/18/2014 - timbuk2 Likes this wine:

Resolving quite a bit, still youthful, but without hard edges, after a brief burst at opening, the nose is a bit muted, with mostly deep dark fruits. Enough acidity that it needs food. Quite tasty, big wine, good, well made, but just a bit simple and without the tertiary flavors that would make me give it a higher score.

5/5/2014 - timbuk2 wrote:

with D S-B. Decent. Lovely aromatics, good mouthfeel. Not overly tannic. Good balanced wine.

3/17/2014 - timbuk2 wrote:

Nothing fancy, a bit of flint and not highly acidic, but enough to notice it.but so darn drinkable, it just disappeared. Drink up this is unlikely to get better, but decent for almost a decade and the price.

3/17/2014 - timbuk2 wrote:

No rough edges, good fruit, well-integrated and tasty. Nothing elevated or complicated. just good. Probably doesn't have the tannins for longer term aging, but drinking really nicely now.

3/12/2014 - timbuk2 wrote:

Light red, smoke and cherries, cedar, velvety tannins, crisp. Very tasty. Notice this note is COPIED...because Graniwinkle nailed it. I could not improve on that note.

10/25/2013 - timbuk2 wrote:

Totally agreed with this note "Does not live up to its rating. Do not believe time with help this out. Non-distinctive is the best description for this bottle. Lacks the clove and spice that generally emanates from the Quilceda wines." Tasted good, lots of fruit and well-made with fine tannins, but no nuance. Also, did not seem to evolve much with air/time or on 2nd night.

4/12/2013 - timbuk2 wrote:

Started off disjointed, but with a few minutes of air, this wine showed excellent varietal/mourvedre character. Dark in color, leather and spice, fine tannins, medium in body. Really enjoyed this.

1/19/2013 - timbuk2 Likes this wine:

Lovely, distinctive Pinot Gris flavors of stone fruits. Most european tasting new world Pinot Gris I've tasted. Faintly sweet and pretty big mouth feel from the high in alcohol. However, strong off flavors of sulfur or something. I thought it was a bit oxidized, but it was much better on the 2nd night with oxygen and after those flavors blew off. 85 first night, 92+ second.

9/14/2012 - timbuk2 wrote:

Day 1, very dry, full of slate and minerals, floral and aromatic nose that is quite enjoyable, but tastes quite oxidized and out of balance on the palate
Day 3, aromatics and nose is gone, but mouthfeel is full, and balanced and tasty ...what a change, very deep yellow in the glass, really interesting evolution

1/15/2012 - timbuk2 wrote:

2/3 of cork soaked, lightly fizzy which fades rel. rapidly, but still very tasty, pear, strong flavors, almost like cider, a bit of acid and sugar, light botrytis ltaste, a bit over the hill, but quite fun and interesting

12/5/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Lovely, lively, vibrant, flowery nose. Excellent balance, not heavy. Very good.

9/27/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Bigger and more tannic than I remember at the winery. Much better the next night after the fruit showed over the oak.

9/23/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

One giant overoaked butter monster, almost undrinkable the first night, it actually improved with some oxidation and became better the next night or two, which saves it from an even lower score

8/15/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Quite enjoyable merlot, crowd pleasing.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 1/4 with 05 Corliss and with Januik. First time I had this was 3 years ago at this event. Was a revelation at that time and it did not disappoint this time. Much different style than the Corliss. Lovely nose with flowers and earth, cooler toned fruit, not as big, or as tannic as the Corliss. More old world in style, but very approachable, but given the progression, this has many years left.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 3/4 with 05 Corliss and Januiki. No score because I really focused on the other two wines which I liked much much better.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 3/4 with 05 Januik and Edouard de Rollat. I would place bets that this will be the best wine of the night in 20 years. Has everything you want, balance, fruit, tannin, acid. This one was aged 4 years in barrel, the longest of the night and I think that shows. This needs a lot more time.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 2/4 with 05 Grand Reve and Delille Chaleur. This was drinking wonderfully well. Probably the most fruit of any wine of the evening, just burstingly open and inviting. Softer tannins than most so probably best enjoyed young, now, in fact. Lovely wine. WOTF for sure.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 1/4 with 05 Grand Reve and Soos Creeki. Lighter ruby in color and lighter tasting than either of the other two wines, but very flavorful. Loads of acidity and tannin and a good food wine. Well made and enjoyable. Probably best enjoyed over a long period to see how it evolves.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 2/4 with 05 Delille and Soos Creeki. This was a tannic monster after 2 hours of decanting. Complex nose and loads of potential, but way too young.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 1/4 with 05 Chester-Kidder and Cadence Bel Canto. This was drinking wonderfully well. Third time I've had this wine, but it has been a couple of years. Tbe room's wine of the flight and my WOTN. Informally it was WOTN overall as it kept getting mentioned and was the first to go empty after the tasting. Had the sweetest, ripest tanniins I've probably ever tasted. Just beautifully ripe red fruit and exotic spicey notes. Tanzer called it hedonistic and I cannot agree more. Just fabulous. Don't know how it will age because the softer tannins are so atypical to my experience with cab, so I need to make sure I enjoy some of it young.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 1/4 with 05 Chester-Kidder and Betz. Lovely cab franc nose, but a bit lighter in the mid-pallet and loads of acidity on this wine. The only non-cab sauv of the night and really an unfair pairing with the Betz.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 1/4 with 05 Cadence Bel Canto and Betzi. This was one of the more unusual wines of the night. Maybe it is the 40% Syrah. I teasing asked Gilles if this is why he makes wine in the US and not France - because in france you could not put this blend together in most places. He was a very pleasant guy, adding more PVerdot to the blend now. He prefers the 04 and the 06 to the '05. This one I'd like to try again and over the entire night because I love Syrah and love Cab, not sure I love them together. Very dark fruit, with loads of tannin and acid and paired better with the food.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 4/4 with 05 Abeja Reserve and Leonetti. This was a hard wine to figure. Thick, full wine on the palate with sweet red fruit and very thick tannins. Overall a tasty wine, but a bit muddy in the flavors. It probably has the structure to evolve and resolve, but it wasn't singing tonight. Clearly high in alcohol. High aciity as well, but that didn't come through for me.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 4/4 with 05 Abeja Reserve and Leonetti. This was drinking my least favorite of the flight and low for the evening. No score due to palate fatiigue. Seemed just too acidic, tannic and and liquerlike to enjoy right now. All out of balance to me.

7/24/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tanzer 2005 WA Cabernets and Blends (Palace Ballroom, Seattle, WA): Tanzer 2005 WA CABs - flight 4/4 with 05 QC and Leonetti. This was drinking wonderfully well. Purest cab profile in the nose and close to wine of the night. Lovely chocolate notes along with a dark ruby color and backberry. Only potential criticism is that the tannin structure was a bit lighter than others and wonder if will age as long. So, don't age it. Drink and enjoy it.

7/19/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

highly extracted and tooth staining purple, a bunch of oak, pretty closed and tannic, dense, new world, decent wine, but nothing all that memorable, and if you like old world, run, it is very new world.

1/10/2011 - timbuk2 wrote:

CORKED. At a restaurant too. Damn.

9/9/2010 - timbuk2 wrote:

Lovely nose with leather and earth along with dark fruits. Tight and tannic at first, but really opened up nicely. Not a huge Gave a small glass to the waiter earning us free corkage!

12/26/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

LOVED this - others in the group didn't get it - luscious caramel and apricots and hint of botrytis, thick without being cloying

12/24/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

From memory from this summer - but loads of petrol and oil and mineral and held up pretty well and gotten interesting and more old world

12/24/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

Solid bottle of wine - decent fruit, slightly off balance with the acid/tannins, but ok.

10/9/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

Less earthy and more fruit driven than I remember at the release party - but still it is a dark, tightly wound wine. Needs time to open up...must be the mourvedre in the mix that makes this much darker than other grenache based wines I've had (or previous vintages of this wine).

9/12/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

baby...deep and dark, good change of pace...needs time, decanting, time

9/12/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

good solid gruner profile...enjoyed

8/26/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

deep dark, still a baby and a pit primary, enjoyable, but a bit tannic and hopefully that will continue to improve with age

6/12/2009 - timbuk2 wrote:

Lots of sediment and crystal formation, really wild nose and flavors, almost spoiled and unbalanced at the beginning, but it did settle down and round out with time. Was this an off bottle? No points given for this reason. The Mcrea Boushey has always been a bit gamey and interesting to me and almost CDP for that reason, but this one seemed more like a flawed wine.

11/28/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

No score due to too much thanksgiving going on. Lovely fruit, good structure, earthiness and complexity. A bit lighter than many Cali pinot, not a bomb. Look forward to trying another after some time. Definitely 90++, loads of potential.

8/24/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Fabulous wine, even thicker and sweeter than my last taste 2 years ago, but still a balanced lovely shiraz.

6/1/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tasted at Seattle Wine Company. This wine is singing, deep dark fruit, smooth mid-palate. All about the fruit, so different from the '05 Boushey, really an interesting vineyard comparison. Harvested in early September vs. Mid-October for the Boushey.

6/1/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Tasted at Seattle Wine Company. Very different than the '04 Ciel, much less dark fruit and much more interesting nose with lots of gameyness, leather, earth. Not quite barnyard but much more CDP in style.

5/4/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Crisp, fresh, light, with wonderful citrus and bright acidity. Does not have the grassiness or herbal notes is you like that, but wonderfully refreshing and oh that acidity.
Excellent. For what it is, doesn't get much better than this. Great QPR. I probably rated it a bit high, probably really a 91-92, but trying to offset the guy who gave it a 74 because he doesn't like the VARIETAL. I mean, if you don't know or like the varietal, don't ruin/screw up the scoring for those that DO!!!

4/18/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Light yellow in color. Crisp, clean, fresh. Lovely balance of citrus fruit and acidity. Excellent acidity that I want in a Sauv Blanc without being mouth puckering. Seemed to gain weight and depth with air without losing its nice balance between fruit and acid. Very enjoyable. Will buy more.

4/10/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Lovely, feminine shiraz. Elegant, thick dark fruits without overpowering alcohol or wood. Very nice and great QPR.

4/7/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

port hadlock trip

3/12/2008 - timbuk2 wrote:

Popped and poured at a restaurant...but this needed a lot more time and air. Different from the other notes, this was a lightish, sem-transparent ruby color. Definitely not a Cali. pinot. Lovely nose, but the pallette didn't match, limited fruit and a bit astringent. With time it was adding body and mouthfeel and filling out. Did not score, probably 86-87 with upside that we didn't see. Two days later, it was a bit over the hill, so I think we missed the sweet spot on this one