Bond Estates Tasting: The Wines

This final post in the series of posts on the Bond Estates tasting organized by Stacole Fine Wines and led by Bond Estate Manager, Paul Roberts, focuses on the individual wines in the portfolio and the tasting experience of the attendees. It should be remembered that Bond's objective is to have the wines representative of the terroir in which the grapes are grown and for this terroir-driven difference to be the key characteristic of the portfolio. With the exception of Matriarch, the entire portfolio was tasted. Each wine is described in turn.

This wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon (Cab) sourced from grapes grown on "... a spectacular property on the slopes north of Lake Hennessey, in the hills of Rutherford." This 7-acre hillside vineyard resides at elevations ranging between 348 and 522 feet and has a sedimentary/compressed clay soil profile. This wine demonstrates "... plush red fruits (currants, bing cherries), redolent with spice and the scent of violets." The '03 and '06 versions of this wine were presented for tasting. The wine presented sweet red fruit, a floral violet and sweet tobacco on the nose and loads of tannin on the palate. Robert Goulet felt that the '03 had more body than did the '06. Robert Parker rated the '06 a 94 while James Laube (Wine Spectator) rated it a 92. $275.

This 100% Cab debuted with the 2006 vintage and is made from grapes sourced from a 9-acre site in the eastern hills overlooking Napa. The site is located between 433- and 595-feet elevation , has a southwestern exposure, and has a soil profile of ancient uplifted riverbed covered with volcanic ash. The winery tasting notes speak to blue fruits and graphite. I sensed a strong salinity. Paul expressed the opinion that this wine would go well with mushroom, spice, and (greeted with looks of incredulity) seafood. James Laube scored this a 93 while Parker rated it a 92. This was my least favorite of the offered wines. $275,

This 100% cab is sourced from an 11-acre plot -- average elevation 161 feet -- with a soil profile of iron-rich fractured volcanic rock on north-facing slopes. The site allows for the warmth of the valley floor during most of the day and cooling in the afternoon. The '01 and '06 vintages were presented for tasting. Notes of creme de cassis, mocha and olives. Long finish. Rated 90 by James Laube and 96 by Parker. $275.



This 100% Cab , referred to as the Lafite of Bond, is sourced from an 11-acre site situated in Oakville's western foothills on pure bedrock topped by 2 feet of alluvial soil. The soil manifests itself in the wine as wild forest floor and mineral tones. '01 and '06 vintages presented for tasting. Black fruit. Tobacco leaf. Good tannin structure. Elevation 221-330 feet. This wine is rated 8 by Laube and 95 byParker. $275.



In the '06 vintage this wine was comprised of 8% Merlot, 3% Cab Franc, and the remainder Cabernet Sauvignon. It is sourced from a 7-acre site located at 1100 feet up on Spring Mountain.The soil profile is decomposed volcanic material. The vineyard is surrounded by conifer trees which contribute what Paul calls "airborne Terroir" to the wine in the form of a "piney" phenolic. The '03 and '06 vintages presented for tasting. "Huge" dark plum, roasted coffee and cedar scents. Rated 90 by Laube and and 94 by Parker. $225.

The overriding feeling coming out of the tasting was that these wines were "tannic monsters." This is supported by a note written by James Laube in August of 2009 in which he said, "While there have been many fleshy, supple, opulent 2006s, this group shows the vintage in its tighter, more compact, tannic and backward persona. These wines need cellar time, more so than many other 2006s. Open them now and expect to be greeted by chewy, earth tannins."

At the end of the tasting, the group was asked to select, by a show of hands, which wines they liked best. The results were as follows:

• Melbury -- 2006 - 17; 2003 - 16
• Quella -- 2006 - 11
• St. Eden -- 2006 - 14; 2001 - 14
• Vecina -- 2006 - 11; 2000 - 16
• Pluribus -- 2006 - 15; 2003 - 11

Based on the foregoing it seems that the Melbury was the across-the-board favorite. It was somewhat surprising that the 2000 Vecina scored as well as it did given the problems associated with that vintage across Napa.

Bond Estates: Philosophy, Viticulture, and Viniculture

"Bond is our covenant with select vineyard estates and shred commitment to produce only the best expression of the land." So says the Bond mission/vision statement and the product of this covenant has been five terroir-specific Cabernet Sauvignon wines:

• Melbury -- from northeast of Rutherford
• St. Eden -- from north of Oakville
• Vecina -- from west of Oakville
• Pluribus -- from west of Calistoga
• Quella -- the newest of the bunch; from north of Rutherford

In this post we will examine the winemaking philosophy and the practices employed in the production of these wines. The material presented herein draws heavily on the talk given by Paul Roberts, Bond Estate Manager, to attendees at the Bond Estates tasting on March 4th.

Bill Harlan, the driving force behind Bond Estates, thinks of Napa in terms of the French appellation system: Villages; Premier Crus; and Grand Crus. Harlan thinks that they have found and exploited five of the possible 25 Napa Grand Cru sites in the production of their wines.

The winemaking team will not bring a wine to market before engaging in extensive experimentation and testing. A wine will undergo a minimum of three years experimentation before a vintage is released.

The Bond vineyard manager is Mary Hall and she supervises a staff of 55 year-round employees. Each site averages 8 acres in size and vineyard production is approximately 2 to 2.5 acres per ton. Only the best grapes make it into the wine. The grapes are picked on one of up to 15 picker passes through the vineyard and only perfect fruit is picked on each pass. The grapes are double sorted, once in the vineyard and then again at the sorting table.

The goal of the venture is to ensure that differences between the wines are a reflection of the differences in terroir so, to the extent possible, winemaking procedures are the same for all of the Bond wines. Fifty percent of the vinified juice goes into the Bond wines and the remainder is blended into Matriarch, a label designed for early drinking.

Bond Estates Portfolio Tasting

On Thursday March 4th, Stacole Fine Wines, one of the most respected distributors in the metro-Orlando area, presented a tasting of the Bond Estates portfolio (Melbury, Quella, St. Eden, Vecina, and Pluribus) at the Country Club of Orlando. It was an exquisite affair. One of the finest pure wine tastings that I have experienced in the Orlando area and truly befitting the wines on offer, the venue, and the presenting organization. If you are a wine-tasting process person (as I am) this was all-galaxy.

The event was held in one of the larger halls of the Country Club of Orlando. The room was outfitted with circular tables arrayed around a centrally positioned lecturer's table and each of these tables had settings for four attendees in order to ensure that each attendee would have an unobstructed view of the lecturer. Each attendee position had a total of 9 Reidel glasses, each holding a pre-poured sample of the current-year offering of each of the Bond wines plus prior-year vintages of all except for the Quella whose 2006 vintage is its market introduction.

The tasting was led by Paul Roberts (below left), Estate Director and a Master Sommelier. He spent approximately 15 minutes providing extensive background on the winery, winery owner, winery philosophy and practices, and the wines. After this introduction he led us on a wine-by-wine tasting of the Bond portfolio.

The attendee list included: owners and representatives of Wine on the Way, The Wine Barn, Tim's Wine Market, Sanford Wine Company, Luma, The Elusive Grape, The Vineyard, The Wine Room and Orsay; contributors from Metro-Orlando Wine Scene and Events; representatives from The Country Club of Orlando; and some of the more important wine collectors in the area. There were about 50 attendees.

The material covered over the course of the two-hour tasting cannot be effectively covered in a single post. Over the next several posts we will examine why this was such a heralded event; provide details about the winery, the wine owner, and the wines; and provide our impression of the wines based on the tasting and other independent perspectives.