I am still baffled that Parker hands out “low acidity” to wines as a badge of honor.
And it’s even more baffling when he says that a wine will age because of it!
Sabon’s 2009 CdP: "The wine’s complexity is nearly off the charts. Moreover, once it hits the palate, the high glycerin, silky tannins, low acidity and luxurious concentration provide a compelling drinking experience. This spectacular Chateauneuf du Pape is one of the wines of the vintage. It can be drunk now or cellared for 15+ years.”
Grand Veneur 2009: "great wine with an opaque ruby/purple color, sensational fruit intensity and notes of graphite, lavender, licorice, lead pencil shavings and subtle smoke, it is full-bodied, rich and powerful with low acidity and sweet, velvety tannins. It should drink well for 15+ years. "
Beringer PR 2004: “dense purple color is accompanied by a rich, sumptuous bouquet of creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, chocolate, toast, and spice box. It possesses fabulous fruit, low acidity, a rich, full-bodied mouthfeel, and a long, pure finish. This cuvee remains one of the most underrated great Cabernet Sauvignons of Napa. In vintages such as this, it is capable of lasting 20-25 years.”
I think it’s the pencil shavings that guarantee longevity.
Steve, such a rhetorical question and coming from you?
When you drink what he drinks and how he drinks them acidity is not one of the top things he is looking for. Let’s face it; acidity is not as prevalent in say 2008 Napa Cab as it would be in a Anderson Pinot Noir. Glycerin IS HIS THING. He has set-up a straw-man he has to keep hitting for, no? If you think about it further he has to continually be at total odds against the IPOB crowd, which as I am learning find acidity quite important in what THEY drink/produce.
See you next week at Cameron Hughes Reserve CLONYC. We can search for acidity… 
That’s all I needed to see…easy pass for me!
John - you may be right.
Do 2007 CdPs have pencil shavings? Those are the wines that set the standard.
OTOH, maybe you don’t need them because they’re not going to last. They’re so delicious they’ll all be consumed within a decade.
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94 Beaulieu Vineyards ‘Tapestry’ [Napa] I’ve just opened up a 1994 Tapestry as I prep the grill for corn and kabobs. Soggy cork, but extracted ok. 13.5% abv on lable. Full bodied, not much sediment. Lots of toffee and plums on the nose, plus a pinch of savory celery salt. For some reason it reminds me of the 2000 Chasse Spleen. Fully mature, color is a murky orange/ochre/brown with lightening at the edges. To my tastes it would be better to drink now, although we’ll see over the next few hours whether it cracks up. Nicely balanced between fruit, acid, and tannin – surprisingly there just a smidge of grip left. I think if this was inserted in a Bordeaux blind panel, most tasters would identify it as Napa – it has that tip of the nose sweet berry fruit, and doesn’t have that earthiness that usually marks classic Medocs. I like it, more than the 1993 we had a few months back. 30 seconds of anise flavored finish. I realize these are not wines for WB, or AFWE factions, but it is a solid, popularly styled wine. I’d bet a lot of people disinclined to like BV would actually be ok with some of their bottlings, if they didn’t have the context of the label/supermarket connotation when they sipped it. For my palate it’s at least a B+ on opening. Maybe it goes up with breathing.
PS: The balance of the bottle was finished a day later. It didn’t crack up or anything. But I’d keep the grade a strong B+. Critics didn’t seem to swoon over it on release, but its good. I have one more, to consume in the next year or two.
I’m not surprised that the 94 Tapestry was decent. The 94 BV Reserve (at least good bottles of it) was very good. My impression is that the shift to a much riper style in the Tapestry occurred sometime after that.
I swept a few 1994 Tapestry from Winebid recently for $30 per bottle.
Lovely wine, far from downslope. Made in the traditional way.
Please visit to try one.
By 1996, Tapestry became bland, sweet, oaky, and more expensive.
Perfect makings for an early crack-up.
I finished my final bottle of the 1994 BV Tapestry last night at a local bistro with a salmon/bacon burger like entree. This bottle was in better shape, despite the 2/3 soggy cork. Very dark, full bodied, chewy wine. The wine was too big for the fish, and the stemware was too small for the wine. It drank well all night, and we sent the last glass to chef. Very clearly California in flavor, and richness, still holding some fruit, and a smidge of tannic grip still left. The bouquet however isn’t complex. Most of these were likely finished long ago, but if you liked older CA flavor profile, these might still be worth a gamble. I picked up a mixed bag of 90’s Tapestry’s from HDH at fair prices a while ago and have quite enjoyed all of them, at least on Day 1.
I have had the '05 and '06 Tapestry lately and enjoyed the '05, the '06 was mediocre. I have some GDL in the cellar but have not drank any recently. I had a '97 GDL a few years back and I thought it was good but not worth the price.
I think I can answer a number of things here. First, the Tapestry is a more mass market effort at a good wine. It’s a sweetish, rich red blend that is something like the Prisoner of BDX varieties with maybe a bit more structure. It is softer than the GDLT, and I’d wager sees less time in new oak and less new oak period. The goal is not a long ager. BV GDLT is typically extracted, big, heavily oaked, and fairly tannic. It is, at times, high alcohol (creeping into the 15s) and can be a massive wine. They’re built more to age and claim “balanced acidity” which I’m not so sure about.
Item No. 2: I think Parker is convinced that rich, higher ABV, low acid wines can age well solely because of 1982 and 1947 Cheval Blanc, both of which he has referenced repeatedly over the years to support the hypothesis that rich, low acid wines can actually hold up for ages.
I had a bunch of the 1997 Tapestry and it was excellent and aged well. The 2006 was ok. The BV GdLT is another level. When it is good, it can be really good. If money is no object =, I would go GdLT all day.
Finishing off the last of long ago auction acquisitions, the 1990 Beaulieu Vineyard ‘Tapestry’ [Napa] should be drunk up, even for those who prefer tertiary flavors. This bottle had a great fill, natural cork soaked about 1/4", and a garnet/orange/bricking/mature robe in the glass. The bouquet offers a mix of soy, sweat, Maggi sauce, barn/fecal notes; on the second night the funkier aromas have blown off and it tastes sweeter, more caramel inflected. The body is medium, 13% abv, substantial sediment despite being stood up for a week prior to opening (no decanting), and the acidity feels high. In this vintage this was 40% CS, 32% Merlot, and 28% (!) cab franc; nowadays the cepage is much less CF, and is mostly a blend of estate vineyards in Rutherford, but also other AVA’s. It’s hard to tell because of age, but I think those mid 90’s Tapestry’s were better. Maybe the winemaker got the blend better dialed in? All in all, I enjoyed this, but among a panel tasting of older Meritage from this era, it would not compare well. It earns a B on my scorecard, but that first horsey/saddle glass was awkward.
PS: I had not even realized this was offered in 1990, or prior. Tasting notes/comments are scant.
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