Well, I entered my very first Mead competition with .....yes....my very first Mead; a Mixed Berry Melomel in the Texas Mead Fest.
I had even back-sweetened, but was still rather tart and very dry. It was overall rated at "Good", getting a 28 out of 50, but stated the berry notes overwhelmed the honey. They also gave it a 5 out of 6 for clarity, 7 out of 10 for Bouquet/Aroma, 12 of 24 on Flavor, stating - "Flavor of strawberry astringency, slight metallic. Dry fruit after taste, light alcohol."
Overall Impression was 4 out of 10 - "Nose is raspberry flavor and strawberry, dry and astringent with upper fruit sweetness. Light alcohol"
I am wondering if this was "astringent" because it was such a young Mead, just bottled in June........Hopefully it will smooth out over time with more of the honey sweetness coming through.