Winemaker Notes
The 2018 Tapestry offers a beautiful rusticity in this elegant expression of this tremendous vintage, showing the true artistry of blending five Bordeaux-heritage grape varieties grown within the Napa Valley, which together contribute multi-layered flavors and complexity. The Cabernet Sauvignon imparts a generous core of bramble berry fruits with blackberries, blueberries, black cherry compote and cassis, with hints of anise, while the Merlot brings vibrant, riper notes of plum and dark cherry. The Merlot also softens the tannins and adds a plush texture with notes of black currant and plum on the palate. Malbec contributes fresh wild raspberry notes, while the Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot complete the blend with darker berry fruits and savory spices alongside delicate floral and woodsy nuances of violet, cedar, forest floor and wild sage. Well integrated notes of mocha and molasses also pique the senses incorporated from having been aged in new French oak barrels – which heighten the overall aromatic expression and lengthen the finish. The firm, velvety tannins provide structure and depth, ensuring this wine will live up to its age-worthiness. This is a perfect bridge between old and new world – showing the restraint, elegance and sophistication of Napa Valley and highlighting the 2018 growing season.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
This is layered, with chewy tannins and attractive blackcurrant and blackberry character. Chocolate and walnut highlights. Full and flavorful, but not heavy in any sense of the word. Cabernet sauvignon, merlot, petit verdot and cabernet franc. Better in a year or two.
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Wine Enthusiast
This is a blend of all five major Bordeaux red varieties, leading with 78% Cabernet Sauvignon. Licorice, toasted oak and black plum and berry wrap around intense structure and rounded richness, finishing in tobacco and plum.
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Wine & Spirits
Trevor Durling blends this wine from five Bordeaux varieties, focused on parcels of cabernet sauvignon and merlot on the Rutherford benchlands, with contributions including Coombsville and Carneros. He takes a detour to Howell Mountain for cabernet franc before returning to Beaulieu’s estate vineyards in Rutherford for petit verdot and malbec. It comes together in a savory wine with delicate flavor complexity and gentle Rutherford grandeur. There’s something a little salty and sweaty in it that brings to mind cilantro, pointing the wine toward carne asada with salsa fresca.
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Wine Spectator
This delivers a pure beam of cassis, plum purée and anise notes, offering a flash of sweet spice on the finish. Moderately toasty, with a very polished mouthfeel. Crowd pleaser. Cabernet Sauvignon, Petit Verdot, Merlot, Malbec and Cabernet Franc. Drink now through 2030.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2018 Reserve Tapestry Proprietary Red Wine is blended of 78% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot, 5% Malbec and 1% Cabernet Franc. Deep garnet-purple in color, it bursts with open-knit notes of black cherry preserves, warm cassis and redcurrants, plus hints of forest floor, clove oil and Ceylon tea, with a waft of wild sage. The full-bodied palate has a soft texture of ripe, fine-grained tannins and lovely freshness, finishing savory.
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2018 Red Blend Tapestry is a perennial good value and has up-front darker currant and plum fruits as well as notes of tobacco, chocolate, and spicy oak. Medium-bodied, firm, and focused on the palate, it shows the style of the vintage nicely and should keep for upwards of a decade.
Rating: 90+
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.