Bond Melbury 2018 (750ML)

98 JS / 98 VM  / 97-99 JD / 97 WI / 96 FS / 95 WS / 17.5 JR

Brightness 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

The 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, Vinous Media

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

Deep purple-black colored, the 2018 Melbury offers up expressive scents of blackberry preserves, mulberries, and blackcurrant pastilles with hints of licorice, tar, and cedar plus a hint of black olives. Medium to full-bodied, firm, and finely grained, the palate delivers beautiful freshness, cutting through the tight-knit layers to finish long and spicy.—Lisa Perrotti-Brown, The Wine Independent

Dark ruby ​​garnet, ocher reflections, delicate edge lightening. Ripe dark wild berry confit, something like plums, roasted aromas, candied orange zest, herbal touch. Juicy, complex, plum jam, chocolaty finish, integrated sweet tannin structure, blackberries in the aftertaste, long-lasting, safe aging potential.-Peter Moser, Falstaff

Packed 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.-James Molesworth, Wine Spectator

The name Melbury is in homage to an historic area in London, where the estate owners reside much of the year. Melbury originates from a spectacular property on the slopes north of Lake Hennessey, in the hills east of Rutherford. At just under 7 acres it is the smallest of the Bond sites. The soil is comprised of clay and humus (organic material that forms in soil when plant matter decays). Hillside clay offers advantages of retaining moisture during dry vintages, while providing appropriate drainage during wet vintages. The particular exposure of this steep, rocky hillside vineyard is south/south-east, overlooking Lake Hennessey, allowing the vines to capture the morning sun yet moderating afternoon temperatures. It is one of the first hillside vineyards in Napa Valley developed with vertical rather than horizontal row orientation. The Melbury vineyard is at an elevation of between 400 and 500 feet.
Finesse and focus, combined with purity of fruit, florality. A very intellectual wine. There is refinement and life here. Leafy, great tannins, subtle oak. Fresh, precise and truly elegant.-Andy Howard MW, JancisRobinson