93 Beaulieu Vineyard BV ‘Tapestry’ [Napa] Served cool, cork broke, so double decanted. 13.5% abv. Classic Bordeaux varietal blend. Light sediment. Bricking at edges, fully mature. On the lighter side for a Napa Meritage styled wine. Mint and thyme on the nose. There is good fruit, no rough edges, sharpness nor oakiness…but the fruit density isn’t there. One can taste the fruit, but it doesn’t linger in the mouth. That’s ok, I still like the wine. The SO and I finish the whole bottle with Swedish meatballs, roasted red potatoes, boiled broccoli and lingonberry sauce. The wine doesn’t stick out in any way, beyond being enjoyable and elegant. It has survived better than one would have thought. The Bordeaux blends from Napa in 1993 were far better than the real thing in the same vintage across the globe. For a large production, supermarket availability wine – I think its pretty good but I’ve always had a soft spot for BV. It’s a B in my ledger, but given my Francophile palate, perhaps I’m more tolerant of its development. I suspect most full throttle Cab fans would have found this to be fading.
I have yet to try recent vintages, but am hearing good things about modern Tapestry’s. I enjoyed the 2013 Rutherford level wine.
