Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry Red Blend Napa Valley 04

Tasting Notes:
The 2004 Beaulieu Vineyard Reserve Tapestry weaves five classic varietals Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot and Malbec into an elegant, beautifully balanced wine. The deep, expressive aromas and flavors are filled with black cherry, briary blackberry, cassis, dark cocoa and cedar character. Pre-fermentation maceration, gentle punch downs in open-top fermenters and in-barrel malolactic fermentation all contributed to the wines richly textured flavors. We barrel-aged the wine for 20 months, with 70 percent new barrels, to add warm vanilla nuances. For even more complexity, we used a tapestry of different oak barrels; over half were French, with the balance being American, Hungarian and Russian. This wine makes a delicious complement to seared duck breast, mesquite grilled steak, filet mignon with shiitake mushrooms or roast lamb.

Ratings:
90 points. A full and beefy blend of cabernet sauvignon with merlot, cabernet franc, petit verdot and malbec, Tapestry is pulled mostly from BV vineyards 1 and 2 in Rutherford, the same sources that provide grapes for BV's Georges de Latour Private Reserve Cabernet. It's spicy and round, with fine tannins worked to a smooth dark-chocolate richness. A smoky red for a steak sizzling off the grill. Wine & Spirits - December 2007