2016 BV TAPESTRY
Overall score: 19.2 (9.2 for quality, 10 for value)
The panel: Gave it a unanimous recommendation with six scores of at least 9. “Ripe raspberries and dark fruit with peppery undertones. Well balanced and nicely structured.”
My score: 9.3. California’s ongoing drought caused much concern as the 2016 growing season began, but the harvest was ultimately judged to be well nigh perfect, resulting in a dream vintage for cabernet with a tremendous concentration of flavors, intense color and layered complexity. Even “second-tier” wines such as the Tapestry were destined to be showstoppers.
Winery/vineyards/ winemaking: Half of the cabernet grapes grew on the gravely western Rutherford benchlands with the rest being sourced from Stags Leap, Atlas Peak and Coombsville. The
merlot came from the warmer areas of Carneros and the Rutherford Bench while estate vineyards in St. Helena and Calistoga provided the cab franc, petit verdot and malbec. The destemmed grapes were cold-soaked, followed by gentle punch-downs in open-top fermenters and malolactic fermentation in the barrel.
Alcohol: 14.9 percent
Winemaker notes: “Cabernet sauvignon gave the wine its generous core of briary blackberry and cassis, while we increased the amount of merlot to tame the tannins and add plush mid-palate texture. Malbec contributed deep plum notes, while the cab franc and the petit verdot completed the blend with nuances of rose, forest loam and graphite.”
Critical acclaim: The Wine Enthusiast gave it a 91.
Pairing: Prime rib
Price: $65 from BVwines.com