Wine Producers

wines

Leading off the 2018s from barrel, the 2018 Melbury is spectacular juice, offering an already complex nose of cassis and black raspberry fruits intermixed with notes of dried flowers, graphite, chalky mineral, and spice. All about elegance and purity, it’s full-bodied, flawlessly balanced, and a great wine in the making.Jeb Dunnuck | 97-99 JDA barrel sample, the 2018 Melbury sports a deep garnet-purple and sashays out of the glass with bold, gregarious scents of fresh black cherries, mulberries and plums with hints of black currants, cinnamon toast and Sichuan pepper. Medium to full-bodied, elegant and refreshing, it is chock-full of crunchy fruit with compelling mineral accents coming through on the long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96-98 RPThe 2018 Melbury is, as always, the first of the single-vineyard wines presented at Bond. The order is always the same: Melbury-Quella-St. Eden-Vecina and Pluribus. I suppose that makes sense from the standpoint of concentration and structure, but it is quite penalizing for the Melbury, a wine that is more about elegance than power or tannins. That said, the 2018 is not a shy wine, it certainly has plenty of depth. Freshness, energy and verve are the signatures in a Cabernet that is all about intangibles. Hints of dark red cherry, tobacco, rose petal, mint and sweet spice emerge over time. The whole is greater than the sum of the parts.Antonio Galloni | 98 AGBrightness and purity to this, offering blueberries, fresh plums and peaches. It’s medium-to full-bodied with ripe, fine tannins Terra cotta and red fruit at the end. Dusty texture. Drink after 2023, but so good now.James Suckling | 98 JSPacked with dark blackberry and black currant preserves, this has nicely coiled energy, with sassafras and apple wood accents mixed with flashes of sweet bay leaf and tobacco. Subtle sanguine and black tea hints curl around the finish. Best from 2023 through 2037.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

The 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard is a stunning example of eastern Oakville Cabernet. It’s loaded with scents of cassis and red plum and tinged with faint hints of thyme and sage, and it’s full-bodied, rich and relatively open-knit. Ripe, plush and layered, gently framed by cedar and vanilla, it’s lovely stuff that should drink well for up to two decades.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 98 RPI loved the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard. This beauty is a great representation of this terroir, with mineral-drenched aromas and flavors of blueberries, iron, chocolate, graphite, and candied violets. Deep, rich, and full-bodied, it’s another monster of a wine from Bevan that stays beautifully balanced and seamless.Jeb Dunnuck | 97 JDThe 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon Tench Vineyard is packed with inky dark fruit, gravel, smoke, licorice, lavender, chocolate incense and spice. This powerful, virile Cabernet needs a few years to unwind, but it is super-impressive, even in the early going. A whole range of bold, savory accents lend character to the searingly intense finish. This is a very typical wine from Tench in its sheer heft.Antonio Galloni | 96 AG

Aromas of blackcurrants, black cherries, hints of graphite, wet earth, and lavender. Sandalwood. Full-bodied with an impressive and refined structure that runs deep and vertical in the wine. Chewy. Hints of chocolate and hazelnut at the end. Needs five or six years to soften.James Suckling | 98 JSAn excellent wine, even if not a great Dominus, the 2020 Dominus delivers waves of dark fruit—think predominantly cassis. A blend of 95% Cabernet Sauvignon and 5% Cabernet Franc, it’s full-bodied and richly textured, perhaps a bit warm and open-knit because of the summer’s heat, but with a long, velvety finish attractively tinged with mocha and dark chocolate.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThis throws off dense kirsch and linzer torte aromas and flavors, along with a mix of smoldering tobacco, leather, warm paving stone and licorice root hints that provide a brooding edge on the back end. Surprisingly backward for the vintage and impressively done. Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. Best from 2026 through 2040. 1,600 cases made.Wine Spectator | 95 WS

Colgin’s 2021 IX Estate is a rich, opulent example, with layers of ripe black cherries and dark chocolate punctuated by hints of sage and bay leaf, plus some vaguely floral notes (violets?). Full-bodied, concentrated, velvety and long, it’s another terrific wine that showcases the potential of Pritchard Hill, the investment by the owners and the talent of the winemaking team.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 99 RPRed currant, lead pencil and terra cotta aromas with some bay leaf and sage. Full-bodied with tight, firm tannins that are polished and very fine. Turns to graphite. Extremely long, refined, polished and exquisite. Best after 2028.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2021 IX Estate is such an elegant wine. Sleek, aromatic and refined, the 2021 is one of the most polished young wines I have tasted from this site. Red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal and mint abound. Silky and delineated, the 2021 is exceptionally beautiful and balanced. Clean saline notes and veins of tannin extend the explosive, sublime finish.Vinous Media | 98 VMI d wager a Napa Valley legend in the making, the 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon IX Estate comes from the estate vineyard on Pritchard Hill, and if there was ever a classification of terroirs in the valley, this would check in near the top of the list. Deep purple-hued, with awesome aromatics of pure cassis, graphite, crushed stone, and subtle floral hints, this has that rare mix of power and elegance that defines so many great wines. Full-bodied, concentrated, and flawlessly balanced, it has no shortage of structure and is going to need 7-8 years, if not a decade, to hit full maturity, where it will hold for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 98+ JDThere’s some gorgeous flow to this red, with an overriding velvety feel to its crushed blackberry, açaí and loganberry fruit core, contrasted nicely by an underlying cast iron note. Alder, sage and sweet bay hints flicker seductively amid the fruit on the lengthy finish. Best from 2025 through 2045. 1,899 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2021 EE Red Wine is ripe and powerful, with smoky red and black fruits as well as lots of background oak, graphite, espresso, and dark chocolate-like aromas and flavors that develop beautifully with time in the glass. Deep, rich, full-bodied, and concentrated on the palate, it has plenty of background oak, the building tannins of the vintage, and a great finish. A gorgeous wine, it will benefit from 3-4 years in the cellar and evolve for 25-30 years in cold cellars. The blend is 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Cabernet Franc brought up in new barrels.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDA blend of 55% Cabernet Sauvignon and 45% Cabernet Franc, the 2021 Proprietary Red EE Tench Vineyard offers up a wonderful range of dark fruit—black cherries, cassis and blackberries—couched in hints of dark chocolate. Like almost all the Bevan wines, it’s full-bodied, richly concentrated and velvety in texture. This one finishes long, with a mocha and cocoa-stained finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95-97 RPThe 2021 Red Blend EE is one of the more overt wines in the range. Super-ripe red cherry, blackberry, chocolate, spice, gravel and licorice are all amplified in this heady, exotic Cabernet Sauvignon/Cabernet Franc blend. The 2021 is a powerhouse.Vinous Media | 93-96 VM