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This brilliant wine is one of the best new breed Tuscan reds I have tasted. The color is a sensational black/purple and the nose offers gorgeously intense aromas of black plums, cassis, licorice, and spicy new oak. In the mouth, there is extraordinary opulence and richness, enough acidity to provide grip, and plenty of tannin lurking behind the cascade of fruit. The explosive finish goes on and on. Approachable, even delicious now, this splendid wine promises to get even better over the next 4-6 years and possibly last through the first decade of the next century. Impressive!Robert Parker | 93 RPA solid wine, with wonderful structure for aging, but still closed and not giving much at this stage. Dark-ruby color, with smoke, berry and cherry aromas and flavors. Loads of velvety tannins, full body and a long finish. Great, soft texture. Wait until at least 1997.--Super Tuscan retrospective. — JSWine Spectator | 93 WSThe 1988 Ornellaia (magnum) shows a touch more complexity and delineation than the 1985 in its layers of dark fruit, herbs, licorice, minerals and spices, with a surprising level of freshness and firmness. It is a beautiful Ornellaia with several years of fine drinking ahead. The 1988 Ornellaia is 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, 16% Merlot and 4% Cabernet Franc that spent 11 months in French oak, 40% new.Vinous Media | 92 VM

There’s a firm, juicy pinot noir at the core of this rosé, a bold young wine that’s packed with citrus acidity and intensely concentrated fruit. If you open it now, the wine will need food to bridge its power, whether roast quail with chanterelles or a steak with sautéed wild mushrooms. Or cellar it, relying on the exceptional balance and depth of flavor to sustain the wine as it ages.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 95 W&SExotic notes of toasted coconut and rum spice accent this fresh and elegant rosé, while flavors of macerated cherry and plum, pastry and pomegranate ride the delicate texture. Graceful, with a mouthwatering finish. Drink now through 2020.Wine Spectator | 93 WSCopper-pink with a frothy mousse. Smoky strawberry and cherry aromas are complicated by buttered toast, blood orange and dried flowers. Deep and chewy, with vivid red berry and bitter cherry flavors underscored by dusty minerals. Gains power on the broad, focused and gently nutty finish. Already complex, and ready to drink.Vinous Media | 92 VM

Displays loads of mint, eucalyptus, currant and meat on the nose. Full-bodied, with masses of fruit, yet reserved and structured. Mouthpuckering now from all the tannins, but this will give incredible pleasure in years to come. Cabernet Sauvignon, Sangiovese and Cabernet Franc. Best after 2014. 6,250 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSThis fourth flight brings us into what I consider a real Golden Era for Solaia that started with the 2004. A young, potent wine, the 2006 Solaia out of magnum still needs quite a bit of time. Even so, its towering stature is evident. A rush of blackberry jam, grilled herbs, espresso, licorice and spice builds as the 2006 shows off its explosive energy and drive.Vinous Media | 96 VMA clarity and brilliance to this Solaia now with plums, light chocolate and meat. Full body and round and soft tannins. Juicy and delicious. Just right now where it shows the fruit and light tertiary qualities on the nose and palate. Excellent.James Suckling | 95 JSMostly Cabernet Sauvignon and Sangiovese (with a small touch of Cabernet Franc), Solaia’s winning card is texture. The wine is soft, velvety and penetrating in the mouth with succulent flavors of blackberry, creamy cassis berry, chocolate and tobacco. Thick extraction and quality fruit craft a memorable wine that will last many long and happy years in your cellar.Wine Enthusiast | 95 WEThe estate’s 2006 Solaia is a big, powerful offering loaded with ripe blackberry jam, herbs, minerals and French oak. Like all of the 2006s from Antinori, the Solaia remains extraordinarily dense and primary. Readers will have to be patient with this wine and give it plenty of bottle age before the full range of its aromas and nuances blossom fully. Solaia is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Sangiovese and 5% Cabernet Franc. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2026.Robert Parker | 94 RP

The 2006 Melbury has a dense plum/purple color and a big, sweet, scorched earth, crème de cassis and blueberry nose, with hints of charcoal, spice box, and graphite. Rich, well-made, and showing exceptionally well from bottle, it is a wine that will certainly evolve for 25 or more years.Robert Parker | 94 RPThe 2006 Melbury is dark, chewy and a bit rough around the edges. Even so, it has aged well and retains enough freshness to drink well for another decade or more. Mocha, plum, black cherry and spice infuse the super-expressive finish.Vinous Media | 94 VMThis is very perfumed with currants and flowers. I love the nose. Very balanced and deep full bodied wine with a long silky finish. I really like the texture and finesse to this. Very fascinating. Better in a year or two. 14+24+23+33. Find the wineJames Suckling | 94 JSStarts with a beautiful ruby color that’s so pretty and gleaming. Appeals right away for its rich, attractive sour cherry candy, vanilla and anise aromas and flavors that are well-integrated with smoky oak. The tannins are firm, but ultra-refined, and the finish is entirely dry. A well-made, elegant wine of place that needs time. 2012–2018.Wine Enthusiast | 93 WEI had a very hard time getting a firm read on any of the 2006 bottlings from Bond Estates and was under the distinct impression that I was not favorably impressed by the style of wines here, until I tasted the 2005s, which really had snapped nicely into focus, had gobbled up the lion’s share of their new wood and showed truly excellent quality in their more modern styles. So with the 2006 Melbury (and this is true for all of the other 2006s from Bond), please take into account that the wine was still more than a tad grumpy and adolescent when I tasted it and is very likely to come in at the high range of my range if it evolves as positively as its 2005 counterparts. The nose today on the ’06 Melbury is quite intriguing in its mix of black raspberries, plums, tobacco, chocolate, allspice and spicy new oak. On the palate the wine is deep, full-bodied and shows a fair bit of complexity on the attack, but with rather aggressive, uncovered oak tannins currently dominating the slightly green (from wood?) finish. There is excellent length and grip here behind the wood tannins, and one assumes that there is plenty of stuffing to eventually carry the wood, but for now, the wood tannins make this wine pretty disagreeable to drink and cellaring is emphatically required. (Drink between 2016 - 2035)John Gilman | 89-92 JGFrom the Sloson Vineyard on the east side of Lake Hennessy, these vines are cooled by the lake and grow in dense clay. They produced a big, juicy red in 2006, a soft, luscious wine that feels dense and full. This comes across as warmer and riper than Bond’s other single-vineyard releases, a more immediate pleasure for drinking over the next several years.Wine & Spirits Magazine | 91 W&S

As outstanding as the 2008 is, it is eclipsed by the brilliant 2007 The Maiden, perhaps the finest second wine yet made here. Sweet tobacco leaf, fruitcake, creme de cassis, black currant and licorice aromas emerge from this round, opulent, voluptuously textured wine. It is very much in keeping with the 2007 vintage. Enjoy it over the next 10-15 years.Robert Parker | 93 RPTight and complex, with a firm, focused mix of mineral, dried currant, herb, sage and cedar. Full-bodied, intense and persistent, ending with a complex, layered aftertaste. To be released spring 2011. Best from 2012 through 2022. 1,040 cases made.Wine Spectator | 93 WSGood deep ruby-red. Currant, cedar and graphite on the nose and palate. Pliant and showy already, with compelling sweetness of fruit and a fresh minerally quality giving juiciness and lift to the middle palate. Long and ripely tannic. This is freakishly good for a second wine.Vinous Media | 92 VMAromas of green coffee beans, vanilla and ripe berries follow through to full body, with loads of new wood and ripe fruit. Full bodied and full throttle. Bottle age to mellow the wood is a necessity here. Second wine of Harlan.James Suckling | 91 JS

Full ruby-red color. Very ripe aromas of raspberry, licorice and menthol; this too struck me as claret-like. Sweet and refined in the mouth, already showing superb harmony to its raspberry, redcurrant and graphite flavors. Finishes with suave tannins and outstanding length. Like the Melbury, this seems balanced to give early pleasure but should have no trouble lasting for 15 to 20 years in bottle. (Incidentally, pHs here were average in 2008 but acids a bit higher, said director of winegrowing Bob Levy, who offered the opinion that 2008 was a bit like 2005 in style).Vinous Media | 94 VMFirm and structured, with loamy earth, mocha and espresso, this is ripe and lively, with currant, blueberry and wild berry notes that are pleasingly subtle and detailed. Even more expansive and syrupy on the finish. Best from 2012 through 2022. 502 cases made.Wine Spectator | 94 WSThis is the third vintage from this site. Licorice and flowers and lavender aromas. Full body, with super velvety tannins and a medium finish. Lovely wood on the finish. Sandalwood undertone. Give it a year or two to come together more.James Suckling | 93 JSThe 2008 Quella is a dark, brooding wine loaded with super-ripe dark black fruit, smoke, tar and licorice. It is a seriously intense wine that will require bottle age. This is an especially authoritative wine from Bond. Anticipated maturity: 2014-2028.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 93 RP

The 2012 The Maiden is super-refined, polished and expressive. Crushed flowers, sweet red berries, mint, pine and cinnamon are some of the signatures. Open-knit and medium in body, the Maiden is racy and super-polished to the core. It is feminine, lifted in style and well-suited to near-term drinking.Vinous Media | 93 VMThe 2012 The Maiden displays soft blackcurrant liqueur notes, as well as cedar wood, forest floor, underbrush, and hints of white chocolate and espresso. It is broad, savory, sexy and opulent. Drink it over the next 12-15+ years.Robert Parker | 92 RPExhibits a dusty, dried herb savoriness amid dark berry, cedar and new leather scents, ending with fine-grained, gripping tannins and a touch of mocha. To be released spring 2016. Drink now through 2028. 1,208 cases made.Wine Spectator | 92 WS

Limpid orange. A sharply focused, mineral-accented bouquet evokes fresh red berries and pit fruits, citrus pith and pungent flowers. Silky and penetrating on the palate, offering tangy redcurrant, pomegranate and blood orange flavors and a hint of honeysuckle. The floral note builds steadily through an impressively long, nervy finish that echoes the citrus and mineral notes. | 93 VMCall it a down year if you must, but the 2021 Cotes de Provence Rose Chateau de Selle remains one of the region’s top wines. Scents of tangerine, peach, crushed stone and lime zest mark the nose, while the medium-bodied palate is plump and juicy, finishing long and layered. The assemblage this year is 55% Grenache, 30% Cinsault, 10% Mourvèdre and 5% Syrah.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 91 RP