BOND is a philosophy of creating premium wines from a single variety (Cabernet Sauvignon) from ‘grand cru’ site specific Napa Valley vineyards. This story begins when founder Bill Harlan owned Merryvale Winery in St. Helena and Bob Levy was his winemaker. At the time Merryvale worked with around 60 vineyards in the valley; ultimately Bob recognized several vineyards that stood out from the rest based on quality of site.
After Bill sold Merryvale, both he and Bob pursued a vision in which they would work together to create an estate built around select vineyards in the Napa Valley. In 1997 BOND was created.
Today five premium vineyards are under the BOND portfolio. These vineyards were hand selected and evaluated over a number of years before becoming part of their portfolio. Total production of each wine is between 450 and 600 cases a year.
99 points James Suckling
The purity of fruit is fantastic with blackberries, blackcurrants, blueberries and hints of walnut shell. Full-bodied, tight and very focused. Chewy tannins and a long, flavorful finish.
97 points Jeb Dunnuck
The Oakville release (yet it’s from a steep hillside vineyard), the 2014 St. Eden has lots of graphite and dusty earth character as well as classic dark fruits, white chocolate, and toasty oak notes. It’s a big, full-bodied, elegant, multi-dimensional beauty that has everything going for it. It’s up with the crème de la crème of the vintage.
96 points Robert Parker Wine Advocate
Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2014 St. Eden offers up expressive crème de cassis, black cherry compote and blueberry pie notes with hints of cedar chest, baking spices, menthol and pencil lead. Full-bodied, tightly packed, taut and muscular, it has a solid structure of firm, grainy tannins and lovely vivacity coming through on the long, earthy finish.