2004 BOND Melbury
International Wine Cellar | Rating: 92
($240) Good ruby-red. Black raspberry, mocha and smoky oak on the confectionery nose. Quite sweet in the mouth but youthfully tight today, with red fruit and licorice flavors dominating. This has a rather Graves-like mouthfeel. Here the tannins come across as more obvious and less fine than those of the 2005 example.Author: Stephen TanzerIssue: May/June 2007Wine Spectator | Rating: 97
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. 573 cases made.Author: James LaubeWine Advocate | Rating: 96
The 2004 Cabernet Sauvignon Melbury comes from Pritchard Hill and is aged 22 months in 100% new French oak. (About 600-700 cases of each of these wines are produced.) The 2004 Melbury is showing even better than it was early on. It is very open-knit for a Bond wine at age ten and that's a good thing, since we all want to drink these wines in our lifetime. This comes across as a Napa version of the famed Pauillac Pontet-Canet, with terrific licorice, cedarwood, blackberry, creme de cassis, toast, spice box and lead pencil notes in the aromatics and flavors of this drinkable, full-bodied, opulent wine that is strutting its stuff splendidly. It should drink well for another 15 or more years given its sensational richness and overall equilibrium.Author: Robert ParkerVinous | Rating: 92
The 2004 Melbury is the most virile, brooding wine in this flight up until this point. Broad but also a bit rough around the edges, the 2004 is texturally lacking some of the finesse found in most other vintages. It will drink well for another 10-15 years, but I don't ever see it being especially refined.Author: Antonio Galloni
Self | Rating: 96
Author: winefolioSelf | Rating: 94
Author: JohnnymdSelf | Rating: 96
EarlyAuthor: marvSelf | Rating: 95
Smooth, integrated w/ fatty, rich red-tinged fruits. Restrained at opening, best 1-2 hours after decanting.Drink Dates: 2015-2023Author: afikes
See other similar producers:Harlan Estate,Sloan Estate,Colgin Cellars
California is the heartland of wine production in the US, and the state that brought prestige to American wine thanks to the pioneers who built early wineries like Staglin, Beringer, Ridge, Mayacamas and Chateau Montelena in the 1800s. Its large geographic area ensures a great diversity in growing sites, varieties grown, and quality levels. Generalizations about the state's wines have numerous exceptions; however, a few key facts generally hold true—ample sunshine, dry weather during the growing season, and moderate winters prevail. Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon continue to dominate the state's production—albeit in continually smaller percentages, as growers continue to diversify. More than 100 different varieties can be found throughout the state.
Collector Data For This Wine
- 651 bottles owned
- 287 collectors
- Average collector rating: 95
(Out of 287 collectors)