Bond Melbury 2018 (750ML)

98 JS / 98 VM  / 97-99 JD / 97 WI

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 singlevineyard 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

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