2018 Bryant Family Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

Community Tasting Notes (7) Avg Score: 97.5 points

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  6/12/2023 - Montesquieu Likes this wine: 96 Points

  Genuinely terrific today, but not yet transcendent. Hold for another 5+ years if you can.

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  5/31/2022 - csimm wrote: 97 Points

  2018 Colgin, Harlan, Eisele, Bryant (and........ Chappellet): Blind. The Bryant was my fourth out of five. Normally that might create the impression it somehow had a bad showing or failed in some way. This is the problem with comparison tastings. There’s always a winner and the rest are second-best. All four (of the five) wines performed beautifully. These notes are more for proportional and relative perspective.
  
  This is a great wine, though this bottle’s showing was not as amazing as the previous experience I had with it back on Halloween. It’s “just” a 96-97 point showing this time around, with slightly less drive than I recall from my first encounter with the 2018 Bryant Cabernet. A ton of deep blackberry fruit, rich black cherry, and a slightly dusty encapsulation make for a strong and gorgeous showing that is simply out paced by the few others at the table. Somewhat ironically, the tail has a slight bitterness, but it is overcome quickly by the waves of yummy fruit. Certainly, this is more opulent than the others, and likely the most accessible of the lot, but slightly predictable the same way a Realm Crane is predictable. (Ok, everyone just calm down. I know those are different wines and all, but once you’ve had one Realm Crane, well, you know…). Wait, that reeked a bit of self-snobbery – a thousand apologies…).
  
  In any event, this bottle of Bryant shows a stunningly gourmand profile. Its richness makes it a right-now wine in many ways, but it certainly has the frame (and a nice hit of minerality I might add) to go the distance. Ideally, hold for a few more years to curve the edges even more.

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  5/17/2022 - Cristal2000 Likes this wine: 97 Points

  Blind of 2018 Harlan, Colgin Tychson Hill, Bryant Family Estate, Eisele and Chappellet Pritchard Hill. Bottles were slow ox'd starting at 9am and consumed at 6pm. Six total tasters, one of which was CSIMM1161. The final order was Colgin, Harlan, Eisele, Bryant and Chappellet. The top 3 were neck and neck, with Bryant a little father back and then Chappellet not really even in the discussion.
  
  Surprisingly, the Bryant was the extrovert of the group. Showed the most alcohol, extraction and wood. Of course, you're never going to confuse this for a Bevan wine, but in this company it stood out for those qualities. Nevertheless, it's still a tremendous wine that no one will be upset about having in their cellar.
  
  Aromas of blackberries, anise, tilled soil, violets, pencil shavings and sweet oak. On the palate, this is rich yet composed, with some oak left to integrate. Fabulous full bodied concentration with spicy undertones, there is excellent freshness to the fruit and lots of building complexity from the mineral driven elements. Very well layered, it was surprising to see the fruit showing off so much already. This needs some time in bottle to bring all the parts into balance, but it's great. The finish is very long, dry and satisfying.

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  4/9/2022 - MC2 Wines Likes this wine:

  Napa in the City: Masterclass & Lunch (The Pool/Grill): One of the few Cali cults that we have very little experience with and most of it has been from the 90's so before KK's time. So I was definitely interested and I'd say this turned out to be a nice one to try. Blackberry and darker fruits. More big and bold and definitely from a mountain. There's a good balance to it though - perhaps more powerful than elegant but there is elegance here too. Thinking it could be worth a visit next time we're in Napa.

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  4/9/2022 - nywine68 wrote: 95 Points

  Napa in the City. 2019/2018 Napa Valley Masterclass with Antonio Galloni and top winemakers (The Pool restaurant, Manhattan): A dark fruit profile with lots of depth and complexity. Solid structure and tannins with enough acidity in the background to give it the requisite balance. A long finish with complexity hurried underneath. This is not nearly ready for drinking yet and will only get better.

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