This original wooden case brings together the 2012 BOND wines from Napa Valley: five single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignons made by the Harlan family team, one bottle from each site. Opening them side by side is one of the clearest ways to see how much soil and exposure change Napa Cabernet.
About This Case
Each 2012 wine is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, aged in new French oak for roughly two years and bottled without filtration. 2012 was a generous, even season in Napa after two cool years. Pluribus was the most tightly wound of the set on release, St. Eden the most open.
Tasting Profile
- Nose: Across the set: blackberry, cassis and black cherry, with violets and white flowers from Quella and Pluribus, graphite and lead pencil from St. Eden, and charcoal and warm earth from Vecina.
- Palate: Full-bodied and concentrated in every case, with fine, high tannins. Melbury leans spicy and loamy, Pluribus firm and blue-fruited, Vecina dense and dark.
- Finish: Long and layered, with dark fruit, cocoa and a gravelly, mineral edge.
Serving & Food
For a side-by-side evening, decant all five an hour or two ahead and pour them at 16 to 18°C in large Bordeaux glasses. The 2012s are open now and will keep for many years. Dry-aged ribeye, lamb rack or braised short rib give each wine something to work with.
How to Enjoy
Horizontal tastings among friends, milestone gifts and cellars that want a full BOND vintage in one case.
Product Details
Producer: BOND
Country: USA
Region: Napa Valley, California
Vintage: 2012
Set: 5-pack assortment in OWC
Contents: Melbury, Pluribus, Quella, St. Eden and Vecina
Style: Single-vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon wines
Grape Variety: 100% Cabernet Sauvignon
Volume: 5 x 750ml
About the Winery
BOND was set up by Bill Harlan of Harlan Estate in the late 1990s, after years of looking for hillside and foothill sites that could give distinct, top-level Cabernet. Rather than owning every parcel, the team farms each vineyard under long-term agreement with the grower. Experimental wines were made through the mid-1990s and the first commercial release came from the 1999 vintage, with Melbury and Vecina.
The range is built on five small sites. Melbury sits on Pritchard Hill above Lake Hennessey, on sedimentary and clay soils. Pluribus is high on Spring Mountain in white volcanic tufa. Vecina lies next to Harlan Estate in Oakville, St. Eden in the foothills just north of the Oakville Crossroad, and Quella on an old riverbed of cobbles in the eastern hills near St. Helena. Barrels that miss the single-vineyard cut go into the Matriarch blend. Cory Empting, part of the team since 2000, now directs the winemaking.