6/11/2020 - timfh Likes this wine:

I was intrigued by this wine especially after the other reviews. In response to the first review, I do like Turnbull and Anderson Conn Valley, not some much Ramey, and I did like this wine. It opened up after about an hour which brings up my biggest issue with wine reviews is how did you treat the wine before drinking. In response to the second reviewer who had not sampled the wine, “grapes can’t spell”. You missed the whole slightly humorous point. Please reread with this in mind and remove your review or taste the wine after an hour decant.

4/2/2020 - timfh Likes this wine:

Under Corona quarantine I’m able to order carry-out from the Yacht Club including wine. This was recommended by the manager, and, although not a big Rodney Strong fan, I added a bottle to my order. The result: A really interesting wine for it’s age. The initial taste are smooth and a bit chemical/metallic, maybe tin and zinc. Very different. Followed by a long lingering finish. This has a very specific taste. Maybe not for everyone. I like it and will buy more.

2/10/2016 - timfh Likes this wine:

I purchased one bottle based on an external review, opened the wine an hour before drinking based on CT reviews. Tastes of cherries and blackberries with a finish of leather initially followed by what I would describe as zinc. The zinc portion of the finish lasted for a while and, although not unpleasant, I could have skipped it. Also, without the metallic finish I would have rated this wine 90-91. I'll buy more at this price.

12/17/2015 - timfh Likes this wine:

I had a bad experience with a BV wine years ago and it left a bad taste in my mouth, literally.
I recently saw a sale price on these and, after reading CT reviews, purchased 6. Also, based on CT reviews, I opened the wine an hour before I planned to drink it.
The result, a fantastic wine, especially for the price. My reviews are biased by a wine's finish and this wine has a long cherry and leather finish.

12/13/2015 - timfh Likes this wine:

I thought these were all gone but found one in a cabinet under the bar. I opened it tonight and, as I drank it, I looked at the details on cellar tracker, purchase price, cost, and reviews. The last review seemed a bit high when I first tasted the wine, but was on target after the wine had been opened for two hours. An interesting and long finish bringing to mind ripe plums including their skin.

12/4/2012 - timfh wrote:

We opened a bottle of this earlier this week when we had a guest for dinner. Everyone liked it so, we continued opening bottles as we had more guests for dinner. Everyone liked it. The wine is drinkable without decanting but does open up a bit after being poured for a while. The tastes are of tobacco and leather with a lingering leathery finish which must be what we and our guests enjoy. It is definitely not fruity and clearly not green.

11/24/2012 - timfh wrote:

We're big Caymus fans. Last year we even put on board a case of Caymus for our sailing charter in BVI. When I saw the availability of a red version of Conundrum I picked up a bottle and we enjoyed is almost as much as the Caymus version. We then bought 4 cases, one of which is already gone as I write this note.

9/11/2012 - timfh wrote:

I went to a tasting of this vineyard at Wine and Cheese and bought one bottle at that time. The bottle experience was better than the tasting experience and I bought the last case that W&C had in stock. The wine is very drinkable now, full bodied with taste of smoke and oak followed by a long leathery finish that was concentrated on the roof of the mouth. I won't know how it ages since I expect we'll finish the case before the end of the year.

11/14/2011 - timfh wrote:

Still a little young but drinkable upon opening. Taste of cherries followed by a long leathery finish. This is another wine that my wife says I should have bought more.

11/3/2011 - timfh wrote:

We not only purchased the additional 6 that I mentioned in my earlier tasting note but went through those quickly and purchased another12 which puts our volume of purchases on par with vintages of Caymus, Faust, and Quintessa. We use a vinturi on almost all wines unless they're decanted or opened earlier in the day. This wine starts out with black cherries and moves quickly to a pleasant and lasting finish of leather. We typically have the wine with dinner during the week followed by dark chocolate and fresh fruit.

9/7/2011 - timfh wrote:

Well, we drank 6 bottles of this in two months from a cellar with about 1,000 bottles and just ordered another 6. So, it must be good. We'll have to follow up with a detailed tasting note when the next 6 arrive.

8/10/2011 - timfh wrote:

This has really improved since my last note.

6/7/2011 - timfh wrote:

Should have purchased more.

1/28/2011 - timfh wrote:

We opened a bottle of this last night and found that the wine was even better than last year and, although a little harsh right out of the bottle, after breathing for about 15 minutes was excellent with a long finish.

1/18/2011 - timfh wrote:

Shouldn't have opened this yet but had to try at least one of the 375's. Clearly has long term potential. We won't open another for several years. Love the finish.

1/14/2011 - timfh wrote:

I just purchased a case of this wine based on the CT ratings and am glad that I did. It's great when the professionals underrate a wine since that helps keep the price down. I opened the bottle and let it breathe without decanting. The wine starts off with the cherries and backberries that others observed and then moves to the cassis which I knew but coudn't identify initially. It wraps things up with a medium length finish tasting of vanilla and oak.

10/2/2010 - timfh wrote:

We're big fans of Quintessa wines and enjoy Faust almost as much. This wine does need to open up for about an hour, though. We have more in the cellar and just ordered even more. It's good that others are assigning lower ratings. This keeps the price down and the supply available.

9/18/2010 - timfh wrote:

Excellent cab. Very interesting finish.

7/23/2010 - timfh wrote:

Just a hint of vanilla in the finish.

7/22/2010 - timfh wrote:

Another great vintage, just a little better than the 2005.

7/20/2010 - timfh wrote:

This is as good as or better than the 2004 vintage.

7/15/2010 - timfh wrote:

Cherries on the front end and a nice finish. I didn't decant, just poured. This is one of my favorites for just drinking without paring with food.

7/14/2010 - timfh wrote:

As with the 98 vintage, this wine must be paired with food to be enjoyed and even when that is done, the food should be the focus while the wine is just along for the ride. I did this with a grilled rack of lamb (Seasoned New Zealand from Trader Joes) and the two worked well together. The wine is smooth, no fruit and no acidity, with a long finish. The combination of the two was planned in advance and, in lieu of decanting the wine, I opened the bottle in the morning and let it sit open during the day.

6/19/2010 - timfh wrote:

I opened this in the wine cellar around noon today in anticipation of a celebration dinner at a French restaurant tonight. Our daughter is taking her medical boards today and has been studying for a month with little alcohol. I'll report back on the results, of the wine, that is.

6/19/2010 - timfh wrote:

This is actually a very nice wine for the price.

6/14/2010 - timfh wrote:

Fruity initially with a mild yet lingering finish.

6/14/2010 - timfh wrote:

Fruity initially with a mild but lingering finish.

6/4/2010 - timfh wrote:

After decanting for an hour plus, this wine deserves a higher rating.

3/29/2010 - timfh wrote:

Performance is similar to the descriptions of the 2005 vintage. Takes about an hour to open up after decanting. Really enjoyable finish especially with a little chocolate.

3/27/2010 - timfh wrote:

Took a bottle to dinner and shared a bit with the waiter who was impressed with our selection. Delicious wine. Needs a little time to open up. A bit peppery initially with a long pleasant finish. Just ordered another case.

3/14/2010 - timfh wrote:

This is clearly a Paso Robles wine. A large portion of my cellar is from that region and it's one of my favorite areas. This is a decent young wine with a fruit forward taste and a blackberry finish. We give it a 90-91 rating whcih is comparable to many of the wines that I like from that region.

3/13/2010 - timfh wrote:

We almost always take our own wine to restaurants and last night when the waiter saw our selection, he waived the corking fee. He said it was at the waiters discretion. I had never heard that before but plan to ask for the same waiter in the future. I also just ordered more of this Barolo since it was quite good.

2/28/2010 - timfh wrote:

This wine was rated a 99 by one of the professionals but we didn't form the same assessment.

2/28/2010 - timfh wrote:

We took a bottle with us to BVI for a dinner at the Brandywine Bay restaurant on our anniversary and it didn't seem to fare well after the long trip because it clearly wasn't as good as the bottle that we opened in the previous month. I have more of these and hope that this was an abberation in the quality of this vintage.

2/12/2010 - timfh wrote:

This wine was said to have been rated 94 in an upcoming edition of Wine Enthusiast. So, we had to try it, especially at this price. As indicated, our rating is not as high but it is a decent yet young wine. It should be decanted for at least one and probably two hours before drinking. We did also buy an unopened case of it for distant future consumption following our trial bottle.

2/6/2010 - timfh wrote:

We've consumed three bottles of this over time and would rate all of them at 93.

2/6/2010 - timfh wrote:

Individual ratings obviously vary with individual taste. Based on the ratings shown on CT we had this as the first wine at a restaurant dinner while two more highly rated wines were opened for later consumption. However, the Quintessa was the favorite of the night and didn't require much time to open up with a tremendous finish.

2/1/2010 - timfh wrote:

We took this to a restaurant and, like past reviewers, the cork fell apart. The issue may be with the cork and not the storage. The wine was somewhat muted but good with a brief finish. The wine was not past its prime but is on the downward slope and soon to be corked. If you have any, drink it soon and be careful with the cork. I bought laddered vintages of this wine and am looking forward to the 91 vintage.

2/1/2010 - timfh wrote:

As mentioned in my earlier review, this wine needs more time or some serious decanting. I decanted this bottle and left it in the decanter overnight then put it back in the bottle the following morning and vacuum sealed it. We drank it in the evening and once again, this resulted in a decent but not exceptional experience. Wines should come with a decanting rating in addition to the taste rating that we use. I do that on my labels in the cellar so that we remember which wines need more air and which can be consumed right out of the bottle.

1/6/2010 - timfh wrote:

I didn't decant this after opening since my wife has reduced her wine consumption and I try to avoid finishing an entire bottle myself. The wine started off with a very fruity and pleasant taste followed by a brief but enjoyable finish. Not a real exciting wine but very enjoyable. This vintage probably won't improve with age and might even deteriorate with air. I'll find out with the remainder of the bottle tonight. Follow up: As expected, the wine didn't improve after a day in a vacuumed bottle. My wife did join me for the second day of this bottle and said that she enjoyed it but for me it was not as good as the first day. Ergo; in spite of the professional review, do not decant. Open it and enjoy it.

12/22/2009 - timfh wrote:

Requires decanting and opens up about an hour later. Chocolate covered cherries with a long and pleasant finish. A little bit of hot pepper flavored chocolate extends the finish even longer.

9/23/2009 - timfh wrote:

Just a little bubbly and acidic when first opened. The evidence was in the bubbles showing in the bottom of the glass. Light and fruity with a finish that showed up about an hour after decanting.

8/31/2009 - timfh wrote:

We're not big fans of French wines but did enjoy this bottle. However, it didn't fare well overnight when we left about half of the bottle covered in the decanter. It's interesting how some wines wiil actually improved after extensive decanting while others will have to be consumed by me as a new bottle is opened for the rest of the family.

8/31/2009 - timfh wrote:

This is a better wine that the average currently indicates.

8/31/2009 - timfh wrote:

I occasionally get in the mood for a Malbec which is a different grape, purple, inky and sharper than other grapes. Andeluna is one that I have enjoyed a few times and offers taste of black cherries with a medium finish. It's was a good wine for the grilled salmon that we had for dinner.

8/31/2009 - timfh wrote:

Don't even think about drinking this until it's been decanted for an hour or more. When I first opened the bottle, smelled the cork and took a little sip, I almost poured it out thinking it had turned to vinegar. However, the wine continued to open up over time. As guest tried to take a drink I received different unfavorable commments and I suggested that they wait until dinner was served to make a final decision. They did and the wine performed superbly with food and time. The wine was purchased to some extent because of my wife, Galina's, name, who has also improved with age.

7/9/2009 - timfh wrote:

My son and I took this as a challenge in light of the earlier review and as a precaution decanted the wine for 2 hours before dinner. I can confirm the earlier review as I sampled the wine using a sommelier glass during the decanting period. After 2 hours it morphed into a wine that had little personality but then, surprisingly, during a dinner of mixed grill the wine came back to life and had a very interesting personality, starting off with a strong fruity taste followed by blackberries or cherries depending on who you talked to (there were 4 of us doing the tasting), and finally a long finish of mild leather. All in all a great wine after about 3 hours. So, leave this in the cellar for a few more years or decant for a minimum of 3 hours and enjoy.