The story of how Bob and Stacey Bressler got into the wine business is a great one — maybe the best of them all. Having done well enough in their day jobs in Silicon Valley to retire early, Bob and Stacey began looking for a home in Napa Valley. Longtime wine lovers, they adored the lifestyle and beauty the valley offered, and in January of 1999 they purchased a house on the west side of St. Helena. Beckstoffer’s Dr. Crane Vineyard was just a stone’s throw away, and Hayne Vineyard was next door, but as Stacey tells it, “We were going to hang out, drink wine from our favorite growers, and just relax — not even a thought of making wine or growing grapes.”

But fate was not to have it. During their years buying and enjoying Napa Valley wines, Bob and Stacey had gotten to know David Abreu and his wife, and shortly after buying the house they invited them over to see it. David took one look at the property and gave them the low-down: They were on some of the best vineyard land in Napa — right on the Old Sulphur Creek bed, with phenomenal, well-drained alluvial/gravelly loam soils that would be perfect for Cabernet Sauvignon. “You need to plant this!” Abreu told them.

They didn’t pay much attention to his advice — they only had an acre or so of land — and left town the next day without a second thought. When they returned the next week, they couldn’t believe their eyes. The entire backyard had been dug up, staked, and prepared for vines. A quick call to David gave them the answer — he was the culprit, claiming it was just too good to pass up. So, by default, the Bresslers were now in the wine business, at least as growers. At that point they still had a few years to decide what they would do when the vineyards began to yield a crop.

In 2000, fate intervened again, and the property adjacent to them became available — another near-perfect site, this one containing several acres of mature Cabernet Sauvignon planted in 1986. Bob and Stacey snapped it up. They now had about five acres of vines, with a newly acquired parcel ready to go, so they began to look for a winemaker. They were thrilled to be able to hire Mia Klein. Stacey explained, “We wanted someone whose wines we loved, and someone who could work well with David.” Mia has been there ever since, and David still manages the vines.

The first vintages (2000-2003) were 100% Cabernet Sauvignon from the mature vineyard they purchased. Meanwhile, they grafted over some of the young vines to Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot. Since 2004, a percentage of Petit Verdot, Merlot, and Cabernet Franc have been blended in, but it varies from year to year depending on the nature of the vintage. They also make a second wine from the young vines and any lots that don’t make the cut for the “Grand Vin.”

Bressler’s style is one of elegance and finesse. The wines are complex and beautiful with no lack of richness — perhaps a combination of Mia’s lovely touch, the location of the vineyards, where Bob says the vines reach ripeness at about 24 Brix most years, and the fact that while Bob and Stacey began as die-hard California Cabernet lovers, they have now developed a love of Burgundy. For me, this is a gem well worth seeking out — a tiny property producing minuscule amounts of classy and expressive Cabernet.