2016 Bryant Family Vineyard Bettina

Community Tasting Notes (1) Avg Score: 97.3 points

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  3/18/2021 - msuwine wrote: 96 Points

  This intense and classy Cabernet blend is bursting with everything you could ask from a wine at this price point, with this pedigree, at this point in time. In short: this is stunning now, and it is on its way to something better (even "perfect"?) with more bottle age. I have tasted a number of Bettinas over the past year or so (the 2009 being my favorite so far, with the 2010 and 2014 not far behind), and - even among such lofty company - this 2016 stands on its own, well on its way to greatness.
  
  Dark red, almost black in color, and full in body, the wine explodes with classic Napa aromas of black cherry, boysenberry, mocha, graphite, crushed gravel, and fresh rosemary. (Really, imagine the first time you visited, smelled, and discovered Napa: this wine takes you there, all over again.) The flavors are raw, not quite resolved, but layered and delicious nonetheless, with notes of grilled blueberry, blackberry tart, espresso, and tapenade, followed by a thick and tannic finish that is more pleasurable for what it bodes for the future than what it is in the moment. Blend of 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Cab Franc, and 3% Petit Verdot from Thorevilos and some estate fruit. 15.5% alcohol. Made by Marc Gagnon, who was at Bryant from 2014 to 2018. 96+ for now, with upside in 2023 or later.

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