Wine Advisor
Bryant Family, Cabernet Sauvignon 2016
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Lisa Perrotti-Brown
Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon entirely from the Pritchard Hill estate and aged in 90% new oak, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is deep garnet-purple colored and has a disarmingly profound red roses and red and black currant nose with wild blueberries and yeast extract accents plus tapenade, tilled soil, subtle exotic spices and pencil shavings and the faintest waft of lavender. The palate is ethereal in its weight with a medium to full-body supported by firm yet perfectly ripe, grainy tannins structuring the tightly wound savory layers and leading to a very long, fragrant earth finish. So poised, so classy, so Bryant.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Bryant's 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon is majestic. Soaring aromatics and silky, lacy textural nuances speak to finesse above all else. Polished and utterly impeccable, the 2016 builds on the success the estate first reached in 2014 and takes it to a very natural conclusion. Crème de cassis, blackberry jam, chocolate, mint and wild flowers all grace the palate, with impossibly silky, fine tannins that accentuate the wine's pure elegance. So many Napa Cabernets reveal themselves with ease, but the 2016 Bryant is a wine that brings the taster in, and only starts to show all of its cards with time.
About the Producer
Bryant Family Vineyard, located in Saint Helena, California, was established in 1987 by Don Bryant and Barbara Bryant. The original winemaker was Helen Turley and the current winemaker is Helen Keplinger. The Bryant family winery was praised by Parker from the very first vintage. The estate can produce upwards of 2,000 cases per year. The 5.3 hectare vineyard is located on Pritchard Hill at an altitude of 1,500 feet and is blessed with a microclimate where the cool breeze from the west across Lake Hennessey in the summer helps to cool the vineyard and facilitate the growth of the grapes. In addition, the soil is of high quality and covered with small and large stones for good drainage. The ideal distribution of light in the morning and evening, combined with the good drainage of the stony soil, also makes the vines more inclined to root deeper to absorb water. The average age of the vines is 10 years and the planting density is 5,000 vines per hectare. Yields are in the region of 3.8 tonnes per hectare. During the harvest season, the fruit is carefully selected by the workers. Fruit from different parts of the vineyard, and even from different sides of the yin and yang, are placed in different picking baskets, which are only half full, and transported to the winery. At the winery, the fruit is sorted and destemmed and, after a second re-sorting, it sinks by gravity to the bottom of the tank. The fermentation is preceded by a cold maceration of 5 days and then all the grapes are fermented in open top stainless steel tanks before being aged for 18 months in new French oak barrels. Bottling is done without any filtration or clarification. The winemaking consultant at the winery is Michel Rolland, the famous wine patriarch. In addition to the main label, the Bryant family winery also produces a secondary label (Bettina Bryant), which follows the style of a "Bordeaux blend", combining Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Merlot and Petit Verdot. It is also worth noting that Parker gave the estate's 1997 Cabernet Sauvignon 100 points and WineSpectator scored it 94 points. This Cabernet Sauvignon is well balanced, dense and capable of being cellared for 30-35 years. The recent best vintages of the estate are: 1996, 1997, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006.
