BRYANT ESTATE, formerly known as Bryant Family Wines was founded by Donald Bryant. Originally from St. Louis, he founded the Bryant Group Inc., in 1967, a wealth management and employee benefit firm. He was an avid collector and supporter of the arts, having served on the board of Museum of Modern Art in New York. His love of wines included collecting bottles, especially from premium producers located in the Right Bank of Bordeaux.
His original intent in Napa Valley was to purchase property as a second home for his children, informing his real estate agent he wanted to be located close to a body of water (Lake Hennessey) and be within a relatively short drive of the Silverado Trail. He purchased this 14-acre property in 1985 from a family who lived in Southern California. He never built a family home. At the time the vineyard was planted to Chardonnay, not an uncommon variety here in those years as David Arthur and nearby Long Vineyards were also growing and producing wines from that variety. The vines at the time of his purchase dated to the late 1960s and early 1970s and the vineyard was not being well managed.
Viticulturist David Abreu recommended planting Cabernet Sauvignon. The first vines of this variety were planted here in 1986. Helen Turley oversaw both their vineyard and also winemaking in those early years. They made wine from the property in 1990 and 1991 but did not bottle those commercially due to issues with brettanomyces. 1992 was their first commercial vintage, 300 cases of wine. By the mid 1990s critics had taken note of the exceptional quality; Robert Parker awarded their 1996 BRYANT ESTATE Cabernet Sauvignon 99 points and the following year gave them their first 100 point score.
A number of winemakers have crafted the wines here following Helen Turley; these include Philippe Melka, Mark Aubert, Ross Wallace, Helen Keplinger, Todd Alexander, Marc Gagnon and since 2018, Kathryn ‘KK’ Carothers. Bordeaux based international wine consultant, Michele Rolland was hired in 2006. Regardless of winemaker and vintage, this site speaks consistently, true to its terroir.
Today BRYANT ESTATE is 36 acres of which 13 acres are planted to grapevines; 11 acres are planted to Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance being Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. Four blocks below the winery are planted entirely to Cabernet Sauvignon. The site is perched at an elevation ranging from 900 to 1200 feet on Pritchard Hill, directly overlooking Lake Hennessey. As a result of this location, unlike other properties on Pritchard Hill, the vines are influenced by the lake resulting in cooler temperatures than the surrounding region and also maintaining ever-present breezes.
The views from here are spectacular and inspirational, overlooking Lake Hennessey and directly into Napa Valley in the distance. To the east the slopes are steep, rugged and covered in chaparral and scrub forest. Nearby winery neighbors include Colgin Cellars, Chappellet Winery and Gandona Estate. The soils here are primarily volcanic with some sandstone; parts of the vineyard are planted on slopes up to a 30% grade with the vineyard rows following the contour of the slopes. The vineyard was farmed organically starting in 2006 and in 2018 fully transitioned to biodynamic farming.
While they maintain a lab for grape analysis in the winery, all the picks are done strictly by flavor. This comes from intimately knowing each of their blocks. And the grapes are micro-harvested, with up to 120 small picks occurring late at night for several weeks targeting individual clusters with the grapes loaded into small picking bins for a short delivery to the winery.
Prior to building a winery, BRYANT ESTATE made their wines at Napa Wine Company in Oakville; their first harvest here was in 2002. The winery was designed by San Francisco born, Japanese architect Gyo Obata. He co-founded the global architectural firm HOK, based in St. Louis. A small but functional cave connects directly to the three-story winery building and is used for aging the wines. A diversity of barrels are used including the coveted Taransaud manufactured T5 barrels. The winery is setup to be gravity flow with the grapes arriving on the top level and are gravity fed to tanks below. BRYANT ESTATE utilizes only small tanks, including several stainless steel 2-ton fermenters, larger concrete tanks and two small amphora vessels created by TAVA, a ceramics manufacturer for wineries based in northern Italy. These amphora were created from soil collected from 11 locations on the property. And with their own bottling line, bottling can be scheduled as needed, typically in August and December. Extremely rare for a Napa Valley winery, they also do all their own storage and fulfillment from the property.
A sticky note hand-written by Don is cherished by employees and still kept inside the winery; it reads, “It’s all about the wine”. Sometimes the simplest messages convey the strongest meaning.
In 2014, Don’s wife Bettina assumed role of president and proprietor. She was born and raised in Nashville to Swiss immigrant parents; they instilled in her a love of art and wine at an early age. Trained in classical music and dance, she was selected by Mikhail Baryshnikov to join the American Ballet Company at age 17. For seven years, she toured both domestically and abroad. Later she attended Columbia University, graduating with honors in Art History. Following graduation, she managed both corporate and private art collections including sales and acquisitions; it was through art that she met Don.
In 2020 forest fires crept up a nearby canyon but did not encroach on their property. Fires are always a concern here; their neighbor Chappellet Winery has spearheaded fire mitigation on Pritchard Hill and has worked with their neighbors to better manage fire prevention. BRYANT ESTATE maintains a large water tank filled each year with rainwater; this contains enough water to irrigate their vineyard and provide for all needs in the cellar. And it can be used for fire fighting if required.
Select Wines
BRYANT ESTATE produces three primary red wines each year; the flagship offering is the always 100% varietal Bryant Estate Cabernet Sauvignon. This was first produced in 1992, was the only wine produced for 15 years, and is made each year with grapes growing exclusively on the estate. An article in the Wednesday December 6, 1995 issue of the St. Louis Post-Dispatch mentioned the co-owner of the Wine Cellar (wine shop) in St. Louis at the time, recommending wine enthusiasts purchase a bottle of the 1992 Bryant Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon for $37.
Bettina was first produced in 2009, the year that Don and Bettina were married on the property. This wine is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot and is crafted from select Howell Mountain vineyards in addition to grapes from BRYANT ESTATE. Grapes from David Abreu’s Madrona Vineyard were included in the blend through the 2023 vintage. Starting in 2018 the four varieties are co-fermented. In 2019, celebrating the 10th anniversary of Bettina a special artistic label was designed by American pop artist Ed Ruscha. This has led to the label changing each year, designed by individual artists.
And DB4, first produced in 2007, refers to Don Bryant but also the four red grapes blended in this wine from four distinctive blocks and the four seasons. This wine was first produced in 2007 and incorporates grapes from premium non-estate vineyards.
Two other wines are also produced. The BRYANT ESTATE Cabernet Franc is only made during years that this variety produces an exceptional wine. A rare bottling indeed, it has only been made twice in BRYANT ESTATE’s history including in 2016 and in 2023. In 2016 it sold out to list members within a day. And each year only two barrels are produced. And beginning in 2023 after several years of making but not selling, BRYANT ESTATE produced a 60 case production Chardonnay from Sonoma Mountain, their first ever white wine. Total production each year is around 1,000 cases.
The 2022 BRYANT ESTATE DB4 is 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Cabernet Franc, and 15% Petit Verdot and was aged for 22 months in 85% new and 15% neutral French oak barrels. This wine is deep ruby and opaque. A true definition of aromatic elegance and harmony; its scents include dried rose petals, violets and a light minerally/ferrous character, true to this site. This scent began to express itself more prominently starting with their 2019 vintage – perhaps an indication of converting to biodynamic farming. Its fruit includes dark raspberry, red plum, and a finishing savory character including old cedar box, library book and a light tobacco spice. And as the wine evolves it opens to a note of white chocolate and toffee. Superbly balanced and seamless, this wine tastes like red plum, red cherry, dark raspberry and blueberry. The focus here is on the fruit with the oak providing a lighter complement and a supporting role. The brightly endowed finish lingers with lightly gravelly tannins in tandem with fruit. The listed ABV is 14.9%. DB4 is always a separate barrel selection created in harmony with the BRYANT ESTATE Cabernet Sauvignon and Bettina.
The 2015 BRYANT ESTATE, Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is deep ruby and opaque; at 10 years post vintage, the aromatics are starting to show a light bottle bouquet. Sweetly fruited, the nose is a ripe expression of dark fruits including blackberry, boysenberry, Persian mulberry, dark plum and black cherry. And layers of baker’s chocolate, tobacco spice and roasted herbs with a garigue quality including sage and rosemary. Ripe but with loads of depth and flavor intensity, on the palate there are flavors of dark plum, dark cherry, blackberry compote, Himalayan purple mulberry and blueberry. This wine finishes brightly lit, intensely flavored and still shows plenty of primary fruits. The grainy tannins fully coat the palate and linger with a gravelly and light dusty character which outpaces the fruit on the finish. And a note of tobacco spice and an earthy attribute. The listed ABV is 15.5%. This is a clear expression that wines of high alcohol from certain sites within Napa Valley can age well.
BRYANT IMPORTS
During 2020 Bettina began thinking about how to support and introduce small family owned wine wineries in Europe to a very select market within the U.S. She began seeking out limited production premium producers; partnering with several in Switzerland, Italy and Portugal. Each producer farms with intent and are environmental stewards of their individual properties, and produces hand-crafted premium wines. Bettina has visited every estate represented in the portfolio. A very limited number of wines, even as low as 60 bottles, are only available in the U.S. through membership in the BRYANT IMPORTS mailing list. BRYANT IMPORTS launched in November 2023.
Bettina sometimes says, “remain discreet, yet grow in substance” in regard to Bryant Estate. This is a similar ethos for BRYANT IMPORTS.
The wines are primarily offered to their allocation list. As of our latest update to this profile, the wait list for the allocation list is about 2 years. Some members have been part of the allocation list since their first vintage; some of their children are now also a part of the list. And refreshingly, the wines are sold first come first serve with a single bottle purchase continuing to maintain membership standing.
A very limited amount of their wines are selectively distributed; the wines are readily available through a number of online retailers including Napa Valley based fine wine merchants Five Star Wines run by Nino O’Brien and Petaluma based Aabalat, Fine & Rare Wines. And locally one may be able to find select vintages at select retail spaces including Oakville Wine Merchant, K. Laz Collection and V Wine Cellars, both in Yountville.
BRYANT ESTATE has been very supportive of a number of charities focused on the following support: artist advocacy, environmental stewardship, social impact and mental health support.
One charity they have been an integral part of from the beginning is Inspire Napa Valley, led by Kerrin Laz. In his later years, Don Bryant suffered from Alzheimer’s Disease; Inspire Napa Valley is a charitable organization that raises awareness and funds for Alzheimer research. Their inaugural event was held in a series of locations around Napa Valley in May 2018 including an exclusive dinner at Abreu Vineyards (Las Posadas Vineyard) on Howell Mountain. The initial Inspire Napa Valley raised over 1 million dollars supporting the Alzheimer Association and has since raised significantly more money from subsequent events. This annual event is always a rare opportunity to meet owners and winemakers and taste wines from some of Napa Valley’s most limited production and rare wines. A number of these producers rarely pour their wines at events including Bryant Estate.
For more information, to join the wait list for the allocation list, visit: www.bryant.estate
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