2005 Vecina is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in 100% new oak, like the other cuvées. It is from an 11-acre site directly southeast of the Bond Winery, close to Harlan Estate. This wine tends to be the closest to the Harlan Estate in quality, with notes of new saddle leather, blackberry, roasted coffee and a hint of chocolate—and again—graphite and subtle smoke. Opaque purple, but still incredibly youthful, the wine is spicy, intense, full-bodied and majestic. There is a deep tone to this massive Cabernet Sauvignon, which is set for another 25 or 30 years of life, although it certainly is accessible at present.

The 2005 Vecina is also strutting its stuff. I can't say it showed better than it did last year, but this wine comes close to perfection for my palate. Made in a Graves-like style, it exhibits scents of roasted herbs, espresso, scorched rocks, and liquid minerals seamlessly integrated into a full-bodied, dense wine offering a cascade of black cherries and black currants. Built for the long haul, this powerful 2005 is soft enough to be drunk early, but it will not hit its stride for at least a decade, and should age for three decades thereafter.