Bryant Family Vineyard

“Our vision is about achieving excellence. We endeavor to create beautiful wines that are the ultimate expression of the exceptional terroir. We also believe that relationships are key to success, and seek out the most qualified, passionate, talented, and dedicated individuals to accomplish our goals.”

       - Bettina and Donald L. Bryant, Jr.

In 1985, Donald L. Bryant Jr., a successful St. Louis businessman, purchased the 13-acre site overlooking Lake Hennessey with the intention of building a home. After learning that the site had excellent potential for grape growing, he decided to turn it into a vineyard. With Helen Turley (of Marcassin) at the helm, the first vintage was released in 1992. The wine was immediately received with critical acclaim, with the vintages from 1993 to 1997 all scoring 97 to 100 on Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. This immediate and astonishing achievement propelled Bryant Vineyard to the center of California’s cult wine phenomenon, wildly driving up demand and prices.

According to Parker, “wine from this hillside vineyard near Napa’s Pritchard Hill has already become mythical. This is a wine of world-class quality, and is certainly as complete and potentially complex as any first-growth Bordeaux. It is not too much to suggest that in the future, Bryant’s Pritchard Hill Cabernet Sauvignon might well be one of the wines that redefines greatness in Cabernet Sauvignon.”

However, not every year was a smooth sail for this legendary vineyard. In the early 2000s, the winery experienced turmoil beginning with Helen Turley’s well publicized lawsuit against Donald Bryant over her firing. In the years that followed, the vineyard saw many winemakers come through – first Philippe Melka, then Mark Aubert (2007-2009), Ross Wallace (2010), Helen Keplinger (2011), and Todd Alexander (2012 -2013). Since 2013, Marc Gagnon, formerly of another cult icon - Screaming Eagle, has been the winemaker.

Despite the troubles, Bryant Family Vineyard, located at the northern end of Pirtchard Hill is one of the greatest sites that Napa Valley has to offer. With west-facing slope perfectly positioned to capture the prevailing cool lake breezes, while also providing protection form drying canyon winds. The unique combination of rocky Sobrante soil, sunlight, cool breezes, soil depth, and meticulous farming yields wine of exceptional quality year after year.

Stylistically, to borrow James Suckling’s words, the Bryant Family Vineyard wines are aromatic and vivid with blackberries, fresh mushrooms, blackcurrants, and flowers. Full-bodied, firm, and very silky. They are reminiscent of the great Napa reds of the 1950s and 1960s and will age well