Wednesday, November 30, 2005

Wine Review: Beaulieu Tapestry 1994 (NW)

Reddish, brown color
Smokey on the nose like a single-malt Scotch
Some licorice and earthy qualities on the palate
Elegant, lengthy finish

Well, I finally opened the '94 Tapestry that had been sitting in my cooler. I wasn't sure what to expect and was actually a little disappointed. While it obviously showed some age, I didn't really enjoy the flavors. This bottle was earmarked for Thanksgiving Day. PB of this blog joined me for a tasting well before the big meal and we had slightly different impressions of the wine. His review is posted below.

Tapestry is an exciting blend that I've enjoyed. While The Wine Spectator gives extremely low scores to recent vintages due to a "musty" taste, early versions of Tapestry such as this 1994 were very well received by Spectator and other critics. To learn more about the difficult period at Beaulieu Vineyard, refer to PB's review.

My impressions of this wine didn't change after I tasted it with dinner, after dinner, and even the next day. It always seemed smokey, devoid of fruit, and a little unusual. Normally I like wines that are unusual, but this one never really impressed me. It could have been that I was in the mood for a really fruity, juicy wine. Fortunately, we had two other bottles open at the same time during our Thanksgiving meal, and I got my fixed of ripe fruit (review will follow). I paid $50 for this bottle of Tapestry a couple years ago, although it would have been much less than that on its release in 1997. Oh, well! Raise a glass!

No comments:

Post a Comment