2012 BOND St. Eden

Full red-ruby. Liqueur-like blackberry and dark raspberry on the slightly reduced nose. Quite backward and youthfully imploded but, like the '13, this wine boasts a wonderfully refined texture. Uncompromising in its dry, savory character and less liqueur-like in the mouth than on the nose. This very closed wine will also need extended aging.

Musky, nuanced aromatics. A sophisticated palate of fine-grained tannins and balancing acidity. The aromatics are expressive, carrying notes of wild cherry, rosemary, and camphor, which carry into the palate alongside bitter dark chocolate, fresh-pop blackcurrant and accents of tobacco through the finish. The palate is chewy, mouth-watering, with a sense of deftly carried, and well-honed brawn. There is a real focus on nuanced, precise craftsmanship and palate density here – this is as much a wine about style as it is about place – though it does show the lighter structure with less concentration of its vintage. Let this age before opening. (ECB)

From an 11-acre vineyard just north of the Oakville corridor, the 2012 St. Eden shows gorgeous, cedary Christmas fruitcake notes, black cherry and blackcurrant fruit, spice box, earth, and almost first growth Pauillac-like cassis and lead pencil shavings. Deep, full-bodied, and fabulously concentrated, this stunner flirts with perfection. Slightly more evolved than the Quella or Melbury, this wine may be the most drinkable out of the gate of all the Bond offerings in 2012. It should continue to evolve for at least 30+ years.