Bergman Proprietary Red Wine

Absolutely breathtakingly beautiful wine kindly gifted to my wife and I by our great friends Terry and Diane @Terry Richardson. More on finesse, elegant, pretty, silky, light on its feet side, kinda like ballet dance on tennis court but with enough pop on that serve and forehand. Lots of mineral, sagebrush, reddish dark fruit, mint, dust, river rock, tree root, baking spice and mountain florals. Lively acidity, soft tannins on long finish.

2021 vintage

Four hour decant. Deep dark ruby color. Blackberry, plum, raspberry, chocolate chunk cookie, granite, and lime rind. Smooth, dry palate, with nice, gritty acidity. Firm, medium intensity tannins on the longish finish. This is my first full bottle of Bergman. It’s perfectly nice now (even great), but somewhat primary. There’s tons of structure. Time in bottle will bring depth and nuance. I can see this being a 99 point wine in a few years.

2021 vintage

Blind. A very nice wine, but not one that stood out necessarily among the others at the table. Like a few of the bottles next to it, the Bergman held its own, but kinda tasted the same as its competitors. Black fruit. Plush but still in proper focus. I was trying to find something that set it apart or offered some sense of a personality here. Middle of the pack kind of showing. Check back in 7-10+ years.

2021 vintage

Fall Fun : Blind. #3 in the blind. A little astringent at first but some swirling, opened it up. Unfortunately, this got lost in the blind.

2021 vintage

"What kind of lineup is this?" (Asgard) : Dark red floral and fruits on the nose. Clean, dried earth provides a bit of lift from the fruits. Bitter, red and black fruit, with earth and powdered graphite. Classier profile with more berry characteristics, a lighter hit of fruits and gentle vanilla notes. Needed more air, as this gotten a bit better as time went on. Tied 3rd place for me.

2021 vintage

Two hour double decant. Deep dark intense purple color. Blackberry, blueberry gum drop, dark chocolate chunk cookie, and slate. Smooth, dry palate, with good acidity. Very firm tannins on the long finish. 67% CS, 14% CF, 12% PV, and 7% Merlot Tasted this with Pam at the Bergman property. It’s only going to improve. Longer air time will make it even better if drinking today. Waiting another year or two is best.

2021 vintage

Dinner with Brett Bergman at Lucio’s in HTX. Approximately 7 hr air and this was singing. Far more structure than the ‘22 and the tannins seem to be holding the fruit in reserve, but this has a much higher potential. Lovely mix of red berry fruit and hints of black fruit. Nose was a bit restrained compared to the ‘22 but there is greatness in the future for the ‘21. I’ll hold mine until 2031+.

2021 vintage

6/18/2025 Brett Bergman prepared this with a 12 hour double decant. It was nice to try 21 sitting next to 22. IMO, 22 offers a bit more enjoyment in the current stage of development. Very enjoyable with some fatty, salty meat. 97

2021 vintage

A Journey Through Napa; 5/18/2025-5/20/2025 (Napa Valley) : I tasted at the Bergman Estate with Brett (sadly no written tasting notes). Poured from a 375ml bottle. Was really singing that day. I kept telling Brett that their wines make me think of "elegant complexity" when I try them. There is a lot going on with their wines, and I am truly excited to see how they evolve and age (96-99).

2021 vintage

Outstanding mountain fruit from the mid slopes of Spring Mountain! Great lively fruit, low oakiness, great finish.

2021 vintage

Six hours, double decanted. On the nose, I got black cherry, red fruit, and slight nutmeg/spice. Upon sipping, I tasted blackberry, red fruit, some plum notes, and slight baking spice. The tannins were more present than the 2022 Covalence we had on the same night but were still velvety. It almost tastes like a young left bank Bordeaux. In one word, this wine is "elegant." With proper decanting time, it is showing well but I would hold off opening for …

2021 vintage

Upon the advice of Pam I opened the bottle around 10:00 AM on Christmas Eve, briefly decanted, then recorked the wine for 5 hours. I tried an ounce right after opening and the wine was not showing well as it was dominated by quite strong tannins. At 3:00 I decanted for another hour, then recorked once again for another hour, before pouring my first healthy portioned glass. What a difference the wine prep made as the Bergman absolutely transformed into …

2021 vintage

great softness/mouthfeel, flavors very balanced extremely long finish a pleasure to drink if not completely worth the price

2021 vintage

Winesgiving (Cornerstone) : Elegant on the nose, with soft but firm red fruits, and quite floral. The aromas here are punching quite nicely, giving a classy presence. The palate demonstrates that similar elegant and classy profile from the nose, with a ruling grace. Light on on its feet but swift and powerful. Balanced red fruits with earth and minerals, with well integrated acidity. Bottle was double decanted back into the bottle, and left to slow-ox for 6 hours as recommended …

2021 vintage

Open 4+ hours before tasting: Spring florals, complex/layered leaning toward a mountain (red) fruit profile, a touch of dried herb, a mineral lift. A bit of tannic wall still present, but it was beautiful with outstanding balance and length: weightless power. Left with cork in bottle for another 6 hours, the tannins had receded and black raspberry and dark chocolate emerged. There is a looong life ahead for this masterpiece. To me, this is a perfect wine, my first 100 …

2021 vintage

2024 Napa - New Places / New Faces : Tasted as part of a visit with sfwinelover1 and Roy Piper in a 2018-2022 vertical. 70% Cabernet Sauvignon / 18% Cabernet Franc / 6% each Petit Verdot and Merlot. Made by Graeme MacDonald and blended by Nigel Kinsman, the ‘21 was an outstanding effort, even if young. Red fruit, nice structure and mouthfeel, though less structure than the 2020. Again there is a common foundational mouthfeel across these wines. I think …

2021 vintage

Fall Napa Adventure; 10/31/2024-11/1/2024 (Napa) : See my note for the ‘18 PR for notes on the tasting and PRs generally. This was consistent with TN for this from 9/25, but it was great to be able to put it into the context of the other vintages (on 9/25, I only had the ‘22 in addition to this). Not as accessible as the even vintages or as structured as the ‘19, the additional time on oak and presence of merlot …

2021 vintage

From a tasting yesterday at the Estate with Pam, CT friend gymnastpro and his friend George. Pam was a splendid hostess, telling us all about the property, history and operations as we toured the facility and vineyards; it’s a stunning site, although a bit of a nail biting drive getting there! I can’t add too much to the 2 excellent TNs, particularly my CT friend cyclist’s, but I will say Pam did a great job getting this young wine to …

2021 vintage

70CS 18CF 6PV 6M. 250 cases. In bottle 4 months. 6th leaf on vines. Stunning new vineyard at 500-700 feet near lower portions of Spring Mountain. Abreu planted/designed/farmed. 5 hour decant. Tasting blackberry and mulberry over integrated red fruits. Darkest profile of 18/19/20 vintages maybe due to highest percentage of PV (which I love in the blend). Nigel Kinsman winemaking touch in blending (brought to barrel by Graeme Macdonald). Fruit smooths out with time in glass. Dark chocolate “ring” around …

2021 vintage

Decanted for 5 hours and then poured back into bottle and brought to a tasting dinner. This was absolutely incredible. It has all the hallmarks of Nigel's winemaking (Nigel Kinsman is consulting here with Abreu farming) style but with a kiss from the Bergman vineyard’s unique terroir. It opens with such a distinct note of menthol along with very balanced tannins and acid then moves into smooth plum, blackberry, and red fruits galore. Over the night this evolved into the …

2021 vintage

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Bergman Proprietary Red Wine

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