The Art of Winemaking

“A wine in the bottle is the accumulation of incalculable little brushstroke nuances. It is the clipping of one cane instead of another, the removal of one cluster over an adjacent one, the timing and the moment of picking, and the deliberation of including 50% of one barrel into a blend. While there are an infinite number of potentialities that come out of small choices, much of it comes down to this: it is intention behind them that matters. Caring so much about every detail influences a wine in such a way and makes it what it is. Being in touch with the process, to be present with each other, each vibration, each experience, each smell, each taste, and each interaction with the small moments, from start to finish, these are nuances that make a difference and make the content of a wine what it is. It is intention for the grander vision. A winemaker has a concept for the final product, sometimes even an unconscious one. It is when we go with our gut and our intuition to make decisions that physical results are achieved.”

Kathryn Carothers

Bryant Family Vineyard

Released in 1992, the Bryant Family Vineyard 100 % Cabernet Sauvignon is grown on our 13-acre estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill. The vineyard climbs from 900 to 1200 feet in elevation as it ascends above the shores of Lake Hennessey. With its various exposures, slopes, aspects, and soils, the complexity of the site yields unusually dynamic wines as a single varietal.

Our Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon captures the core of our hillside estate. Layers of vibrant cassis, black cherry, and black currant interplay with savory infusions of graphite, sage, tapenade and tobacco that unfold in unwavering strata. Texturally, the palate displays profound density and minerality, woven with finessed tannin and backed by a brightness, purity and freshness that transcends to a seemingly endless and pure finish.

Bettina

Released in 2009, the BETTINA Proprietary Red Wine is a Bordeaux-inspired blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Sourced from David Abreu’s vineyards, Madrona and Las Posadas, and integrated with Bryant Family Vineyard fruit beginning in 2018, the wine is co-fermented, bringing the skins of one varietal in contact with the juice of another.

2019 BETTINA WINEMAKER NOTES

Embodying a brooding and tensioned energy, our 2016 BETTINA encapsulates the character and essences of the Madrona, Thorevilos and Las Posadas vineyards. Deeply aromatic with notes of blue and black fruits, violets, camphor and crushed rocks, the profile is exquisitely nuanced, persistent and finessed. On the palate, the BETTINA has a fleshiness to seamlessly integrate powerful tannins, which effortlessly and pleasurably manifest into an elongated and smooth finish.

“A striking wine graced with exquisite aromatics and beautifully delineated fruit... woven together beautifully in this fabulous Bordeaux-style blend.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous

DB4

Released in 2007, DB4 celebrates our founder, Don Bryant, and his love of the “4” blocks, which form the heart of our estate vineyard. Young, fresh, and approachable, DB4 can be described as the precocious younger sibling of the wines we produce.

“One of Napa Valley’s hidden gems, this is a wine of freshness, silkiness and approachability.”

Antonio Galloni, Vinous

A combination of Bryant, Madrona, Thorevilos and Las Posadas fruit, our 2016 DB4 immediately dances from the glass with aromatics of fresh red and blue fruits, rhubarb and menthol. Very lively and electric, the profile exhibits this freshness and is laced with notes of forest, wet river rocks and a dusting of cocoa. The palate is concentrated, refined and elegant, and gives way to a balanced and polished finish.

25th Anniversary Release of Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

A quarter century ago, Bryant Estate released its first Cabernet Sauvignon from its majestic hillside vineyard on Pritchard Hill. Perched above the fog line at a 900-foot elevation, the steepness, undulating shape, light and ventilation make our estate one of the most dynamic sites in the world. The tenacity of our vineyard and winemaking teams ensures wines of incredible refinement and longevity. 2016 provided ideal growing conditions: a rainy winter replenished the soil profile, thereby establishing a reliable foundation for long and steady canopy growth and fruit development. Without any extreme weather events, the growing season was consistently even, as reflected in the fluidity and seamlessness of the wine. The hillside vines yielded fruit of singular quality with resounding clarity.

The 2016 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon received 100 points from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, and Antonio Galloni from VINOUS described the wine as “majestic… polished and utterly impeccable.” Without question, this wine classically captures the core of the hillside estate. Layers of vibrant cassis, black cherry, and black currant interplay with savory infusions of graphite, sage, tapenade and tobacco that unfold in unwavering strata. The palate displays profound density and minerality, interwoven with finessed tannin and backed by a brightness, purity and freshness that transcend to a seemingly endless finish.

Tasting Notes

Composed of 100% Cabernet Sauvignon 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.

BETTINA 10th Anniversary
Inaugural Artist Edition

BETTINA 10th Anniversary Box
BETTINA 10th Anniversary Label

This tenth anniversary presentation is a collaborative adventure - a weaving together of friendship, art, wine, and a celebration of nature.

I met the Los Angeles based American artist Ed Ruscha in the late ‘90s. An aspiring art historian, I was fascinated by his distinctive word paintings and trompe-l’oeil gunpowder drawings. Years later when I pondered an artist wine label series, Ed was always my first choice. The opportunity to collaborate with him on this project is a true honor.

When Ed presented the abstract artwork that encases this bottle, he said it reminded him of falling grapes. It invokes the dizzying cascade of grapes during gravity flow winemaking and creates an environmental backdrop that is at once tactile and celebratory. Embedding the word NOW on the label is a subtly powerful gesture. Rather than existing as a mere piece of text, it takes on its own form and encourages us to be present and mindful. For me, the time is now to be caring stewards of nature, to embrace beauty and to treasure community.

Thank you, Ed.

Bettina Bryant

bettina Bryant