2012 BOND Melbury

Healthy dark red-ruby. A bit less detailed and more liqueur-like on the nose than the 2013, conveying a medicinal reserve to its spicy red and darker fruit aromas, with some sweet oak contributing perfume. A bit rougher-grained than either the '14 or '13; there's something cool here but also a distinct plummy sweetness. Tannins are a touch dry but broad. Not the most elegant vintage for this bottling but built for a long evolution in bottle.

From a seven-acre hillside vineyard overlooking Lake Hennessey, the 2012 Melbury, like its siblings, is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon aged in 100% new oak for a minimum of 24 to 28 months, then bottled unfiltered. The wine displays beautiful blackberry fruit, some charcoal, loamy soil undertones, forest notes, lots of spice, a full-bodied, multi-dimensional mouthfeel, and a super finish of 45+ seconds. Even in a vintage like 2012, this wine ideally needs 3-5 years of bottle age and should keep for 30+ years.

The 2012 Melbury opens with exquisite floral aromatics and bright, red-fleshed fruit. Lithe and silky on the palate, with lovely overall precision, the Melbury is one of the more finessed wines in the BOND range. I imagine the 2012 will reward readers with a long and wide drinking window of pure pleasure. Some of the wines in the range are more attention grabbing. The Melbury draws the taster in with its seductive aromatics and sublime balance. What a gorgeous wine the 2012 has become.