Bryant Family Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

Decanter 1 hrs. Very smooth but full bodied. Excellent.

2001 vintage

Bryants that are "over the hill" according to CT drinking windows continue to impress me. While this certainly won't improve much (if any), it is still excellent drinking, especially for those of us that like our tannins a bit more resolved. Good flavors and depth without the tannic hit.

2001 vintage

A bit funky at first. After 30min or so, showed great balance and depth with lots of secondary flavors. A good wine for sure but no wow factor.

2001 vintage

OK and still quite drinkable. Just never worthy of cult status.

2001 vintage

This bottle seemed tired and definitely past it’s prime .. a bit disappointing but on the positive side, just made room in the cellar for another bottle.

2001 vintage

Good deep fruit color, good Cab nose, nice palate feel and a good finish. Nothing spectacular about this bottle, just in a good drinking window. Drink.

2001 vintage

Not sure if we liked this or not….went to drink for this night but it was already gone😊

2001 vintage

Tasted at Memorial Day family gathering. Nuanced, deep, rich fruit in great balance with moderately firm tannin and a fair amount of acidity. Long finish. Everyone loved it.

2001 vintage

black cherry, tar, forest floor, cedar, leather, tobacco pipe, cassis, violet, underbrush, dry herbs and Christmas cake pretty sure my friend didn't cellar this properly. seemed tired, the fruit was aged more than expected. then again, i'm not too firm of a believer when it comes to pritchard hill lasting over 10 years (maybe except chappellet)

2001 vintage

I don't care what Parker says. This is a lovely wine.

2001 vintage

Taste black currant favor it quite smoky easy

2001 vintage

Bryant's 2001 Cabernet Sauvignon still has a youthful opaque ruby/red robe. Offering a bouquet of dark plums, cassis, tobacco, violets and baking spices, it is a full-bodied red with low acidity, plentiful sweet tannins, seamless alcohol (14.1%) and well-integrated oak. The wine's flavors mirror the nose, the middle palate is dense and the silky-textured finish is lengthy. Well-cellared bottles such as this should remain enjoyable throughout the decade. Drink now-2030.

2001 vintage

PnP, and briefly decanted before serving. Fully matured. Nose of raspberry, tobacco and wood. Palate is full body, smooth with rich red fruit, some tobacco and Chinese herbs. Simple structure and straight forward. Medium to short finishing. Not much change for another 1 hour in the glass.

2001 vintage

Chinese New Year (Sun Wah) : Courtesy of MaY. This was a surprise as I expected a bruiser and instead found it to be rather pretty. Notes of black fruit, violets, leather and plum. Integrated tannins. Flavors of plum, currants and cedar. Long finish. Well-balanced across the palate. The floral elements remained quite evident throughout the evening. Gorgeous.

2001 vintage

California Cabernet 2001/2002 Blind Tasting (Hughes House - Chicago IL) : Double blind in 01/02 Cali Cab tasting. Starts out rich, dense, meaty and chewy, then moderate length and complexity with moderately firm structure. Consistent with prior notes on this wine. Incorrectly thought this from 2002. Limited upside from here.

2001 vintage

Blind 2001/2002 Cab Tasting (Chez Hughes) : Double blind in an 01/02 Cali Cab flight. Attractive if simple nose of plum, tobacco and bell pepper. Smooth, polished fruit with light notes of cedar and earth. A bit short and simplistic. Surprised on reveal, but apparently this is an off vintage for Bryant.

2001 vintage

Amazing Wine. Dark fruit, cacao and forest floor on the nose. In the silky mouth feel, the dark fruit and unctiousness prevailed and complement d the sweet tannins. A great wine!

2001 vintage

Back on forth on this bottling. This was less impressive than my previous bottle drank 2 years ago. Good texture and balance, but good fruit flavors just not standing out. Not sure what to suggest here, but may be fading.

2001 vintage

Napa Cabs in Boston : Purple red. Tobacco. Oak. Tertiary starting to come out, but also seemed a little tired. In dumb phase?

2001 vintage

This wine is much maligned by Robert Parker, and unfairly so, in my opinion. I found it quite lovely. Better and more interesting than a Bryant 1998 that was our "first" wine at a recent dinner. But it did fade rather quickly, so if you open a bottle, drink up! This is a wine that has clearly gotten much better with some bottle age. Glad I have some left. In spite of what Parker says, I will drink it happily …

2001 vintage

Not the best Bryant ever, but quite good, with plenty of life left.

2001 vintage

I A pure and powerful cab, forest floor, tobacco, evergreen, and lush cassis.

2001 vintage

Opened to help Kris Bryant and the Cubs for WS game 5, while Kris struggled a bit, the Cubs won! The wine is lovely and elegant in a showy way. Rich red fruits with a crushed violet element.Really well balanced and drinking great! Wonderful pure fruit core with a sweet tannic chew. My guess is this is near peak. If you don't like this, you don't like Cabernet.

2001 vintage

Purple color with a bouquet and flavor of tobacco and leather, similar to the Screaming Eagle of the same year, tasted two days before. Most of the Bryant Family Cabernets that I have had have been dominated by cassis, but I have had an occasional wine dominated by herbal notes, and now tobacco and leather. Pleasant wine but not equal to the Wow's of many previous years and bottles.

2001 vintage

This wine has transcended into a Bordeaux style that exhibits a gentle underscore of fruit and showcases the terroir of Pritchard Hill. It was a treat to have this and see the potential of aged Napa Valley wine.

2001 vintage

Deep purple color with a bouquet and flavor dominated by sweet tar with some underlying herbal notes. Not the typical profile of a Bryant Family Cabernet from my prior experience, but very intriguing and very good, with nice balance and nuance and a long finish. No need to hold on to the last bottle much longer.

2001 vintage

Nice to check in on this sev yes after initial tasting. Still in s good place, slow oed for 45 min. Stark and very new world isn't on palate. Nose more restrained then yes ago. Soft mouthfeel. Tannins give structure and good complexity. More mature and elegant than years ago. Drink now, not sure it will improve.

2001 vintage

Perhaps an off bottle. Very very musty both on the nose and on the finish. It was still good but the other bottle of this we drank was nothing like this.

2001 vintage

Appearance: deep bing-cherry-red color, with some bricking indicating the age. Bouquet: first whiff a little caramelized, giving way to more pleasant fennel, a bit of shoe polishe. Nose is not loud. Palatte: rich, dominated by oak. Food matches: would hold up well to brown gravy with a rich meat like lamb or beef. Good match to stews, beef bourguignon.

2001 vintage

The wine looks purple colored. The legs are medium. There is light sediment in the bottle. It has aromas of berries, oak and black pepper. I have tasted this wine before and it has definitely peaked some time back, but it was still a great tasting wine. Definitely decant it for several hours.

2001 vintage

tons of sediment. this was drinking far better than anticipated. life left, but certainly on the decline. frank's wines aren't built for the long-haul, but they can drink well up to 15 years after vintage date. chocolate, plum sauce, soft vanilla bean, dried berry, some tea leaves, very nice. if scoring, 91-92. can hold, but won't drink better tomorrow than it does today.

2001 vintage

Another 2001 that is at a really good point right now. Had this alongside a 2001 Caymus Special Select, a 2001 Matriarch, and a 2001 Larkmead and all are showing really well right now with secondary tastes and length. Frank Altamura's should go longer, but it's fully there right now

2001 vintage

Bought directly from the winery and stored in my offsite since. Not decanted. Blind, it could've passed for a modern-style Bordeaux. Along with the blackberry and dark cherry notes were wonderful leather, tobacco and tar aromas. What a nose! On the palate, still perfectly structured, with great balance to the dark fruit profile with secondary nuances adding interest. Ageing very nicely - no rush on this, but it's pretty great now. Medium to long finish.

2001 vintage

Still a huge wine, but the tanins have softened beautifully. It is a mouthful and it needs a little air to get to full velocity. I am really happy I waited to drink this... and will enjoy the rest we have over the next year or so.

2001 vintage

Outstanding! Typical Betz well made wine that has cellared beautifully.

2001 vintage

Super wine with great smoothness and flavor, especially for a “California” blend.

2001 vintage

Mouth filling fruit and fairly soft tannins- wish they'd held up a bit more but still a good wine. Don't see it getting better. Had this and 1999 Haut Bailly with steak and the California lovers preferred Frank Altamura's wine and my wife and I preferred the Bordeaux

2001 vintage

Wow, showing beautifully at this stage. A bright, lifted violet nose moves to a deep, cassis laden palate that manages to remain quite vibrant. Textbook Cabernet. Brilliant.

2001 vintage

Amazing, sweet spot, great balance.

2001 vintage

Still going strong. Nose of blackberry cobbler. Palate is plush and round. There are some tannins left but they are fleeting. This is dying just yet but I wouldn't hold for more than a couple of years.

2001 vintage

Too early to be drinking. Try again in 2013.

2001 vintage

Outstanding Drinking Wine - with or without Dinner

2001 vintage

good, smooth tannins, easy drinking, blackberries

2001 vintage

Minneapolis Wine Club does Washington State Reds (Surprise winners) (Tracy's) : A nice overall showing with cherry, smoke, herbs, sour cherry and floral notes. Still a really dark wine and should age for another five years. Medium finish and decanted 2 hours prior and at the end of the night it was a little better.

2001 vintage

Waited to long. A lot of oxidation. Very brickish in color.

2001 vintage

Betz Family Winery - 1997-2008 Cabernet Sauvignon Retrospective (Russell's, Bothell, WA) : The nose had aromas of currants, roasted coffee, and caramel, but it also had a bit of a musty aroma that hung over everything like a hazy cloud. Not a wet cardboard like smell - no one thought it was corked or off... just a musty aroma that was a bit of a downer on an otherwise fantastic nose. The palate had flavors of plum, currant, cherry and …

2001 vintage

Betz Pere de Famille Vertical Tasting (+more) (Bothell) : nose: some stone, sweet pepper palate: some greenness on the palate in comparison to what I usually expect from the cabs, but not a lot. mostly i recall a very pretty pomegranate flavor.

2001 vintage

Lovely showing. Bright florals move to a very clean and pure palate. Sweet core with very bright acidity and nice depth. Still a bit firm with plenty of depth and time to develop further but also quite lovely now.

2001 vintage

Perhap this wine was in a dumb phase, but I was disappointed. Black cherry nose was pomising, but the taste lacked complexity and depth through all 3 phases.

2001 vintage

Refined nose featuring blackberries, cherry, leather and touch of nutmeg. A refined and balanced wine, fruit isn't big, but is well balanced with smooth tannins and the leathery notes in the wine.

2001 vintage

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Bryant Family Vineyard, Cabernet Sauvignon, Napa Valley

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