An exquisite effort, the 2002 Melbury Proprietary Red boasts a dense purple color to the rim along with a sweet perfume of acacia flowers, blueberry pie, licorice, and a hint of hot rocks. A wine of great intensity, tremendous voluptuousness and opulence, fabulous purity, low acidity, and silky tannin, this stunning 2002 can be drunk now and over the next 15-20 years. This is the newest brainchild of the irrepressible Bill Harlan and his sensational winemaking team of Bob Levy and Michel Rolland. These are all 100% terroir-based Cabernet Sauvignons from distinctive sites in Napa Valley. There are 600-700 cases of each cuvee. The Melbury represents a hillside vineyard site above Lake Hennessy, the St. Eden is a valley floor vineyard in the Oakville corridor, and Vecina is a western hillside vineyard adjacent to Harlan Estate. I also tasted a stunning wine from Spring Mountain, which may be the next site that Bill Harlan offers to Bond’s mailing list clients. The quality of these singular, extraordinary offerings is world-class.(Release date 4/06)Tel. 707.944.9445, Fax. 707.944.9554, Email info@bondestates.com

A luxurious style—plush, rich and concentrated, with layers of mouthcoating currant, black cherry, blackberry and plum, with a touch of mocha-laced oak showing through on the finish. This wine packs a wallop of flavor but manages elegance and polish. Best from 2007 through 2014. 700 cases made. -JL

Enormously rich, like biting into a warm chocolate truffle with a cherry-blackberry core. Ultrasmooth, a bit soft and melted, but oh, so supple and velvety, with fine, firm tannins. Completely dry and balanced, this is a wine of harmonious complexity.——S.H.(9/1/2006)—— 95