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Bond

The Winery

BOND Estates

Bill Harlan followed his passion to craft the finest wines in California as he developed Harlan Estate winery, and then Bond in 1997. Located in the western hills of Oakville, Harlan founded Bond Estate identifying it as a “Grand Cru” of Napa. Today we are highlighting the five vineyard, single varietal Cabernet wines from Melbury, Pluribus, St. Eden, Quella, and Vecina. These vivid wines only use the best fruit available from each of the quality focused vineyards. Every wine coming from Bond focuses on uniquely showcasing each vineyards terroir.

Melbury

This vineyard is located on the steep, rocky slopes north of Lake Hennessey, and east of Rutherford thriving in ancient sedimentary soil. The wine made from this vineyard takes on characteristics of sweet perfumes, red fruits, and spice. Each Melbury label consists of the color pink writing of the vintage, name, and seal.

Pluribus

This high-elevation vineyard is on the steep slopes of Spring Mountain, planted in white Tufa volcanic bedrock. Pluribus is a Latin word for ‘many’ which was choose to imply the many factors that are involved in creating wine. These wines are distinctive and offer stunning flavors of plum and black raspberry and exhibits scents of cedar.

St. Eden

This beautiful estate is located north of Oakville Crossword and is BOND’s only valley floor vineyard. Wines from this vineyard has been credited from Robert Parker as ‘first-growth Pauillac-like character’ with remarkable nose of crushed rocks, roasted herbs and notes of dark chocolate. Within this label is green writing with a green seal.

Quella

This winery is based in an ancient river bed composed of cobble and rocks in the eastern hills overlooking Napa Valley. Quella displays flavors of mint, herbs, minerals, and blue fruits. Within this label is blue writing and blue seal.

Vecina

Vecina means neighbor in Spanish, which is neighboring Bill Harlan’s first winery: Harlan Estate. This 11 acre is the most southern part of the property sitting on the edge of the Maycamas Mountains. Wines produced from the vineyard are big wines full of intense and savory flavors mostly dark fruits. Orange is a prominent color on the labels of these wines.

Matriarch

Matriarch is an evocative second label blend used from each of Bond's vineyards.

bond.wine

2004
Out of Stock
1.5L
WS94–97
WA95–96
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Tasting Notes

WA95
This is a special project of Harlan Estate’s owner, Bill Harlan, that is handled by the same winemaking team as Harlan Estate’s, the inimitable Bob Levy assisted by the well-traveled, brilliant oenologist, Michel Rolland. They have 20-year leases on what they believe are some of the finest vineyard terroirs in Napa, from which they produce between 600-700+ cases of these single vineyard offerings from distinctive micro-climates. Anything produced that is not up to world-class quality is culled out and bottled under the name Matriarch. These wines see essentially the same upbringing as the Harlan Estate. They are bottled after at least 22 months of aging in 100% new French oak, and see virtually no fining or filtration. While each offering is completely different from its siblings, they all compete very favorably with Harlan Estate. The newest offering in the Bond portfolio, Quella, comes from a 10-acre vineyard in Spring Valley (located just off Howell Mountain Road) planted on the volcanic white ash called tufa, which contains plenty of cobblestones. The other cuvees include St. Eden (a valley floor vineyard in Oakville), Melbury (on Pritchard Hill overlooking Lake Hennessey), Vecina (a west-facing hillside site near Harlan Estate), and E Pluribus (a Spring Mountain vineyard west of the charming town of St. Helena). The lots culled out from the single vineyard wines are blended together to produce the Matriarch. This is not simply a second wine as nearly one-third of Bond’s (and Harlan Estate’s) production is sold off in bulk, which means the Matriarch is a serious effort on its own merits.
WS94
Fresh black cherry, currant and plum aromas are pure and riveting. Firm, rich and polished, with hints of nutmeg, rose petal and wild berry that are deep and complex. Intense, focused and concentrated, this is beautifully balanced, deep and persistent, with ripe, integrated tannins.

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