2002 BOND Melbury

Saturated dark red with ruby tones. The first one of these vintages to show a distinct dried-berry element on the nose, with its dark berry, plum, tobacco and licorice aromas displaying a slightly pruney aspect. Fat, tactile and rich but perhaps a bit overripe (the pH here is a solid 4.0); creamy and sweet but lacks real definition. This big, rather chunky wine could use a bit more restraint and class. Finishes with chewy, drying tannins and very good length. Ten years ago this wine struck me as sappier and less roasted than the 2001, but today it's the '01 that's singing.

The 2002 Melbury, which comes from a hillside vineyard site near Lake Hennessey, is showing even better than it did in its youth. Probably years away from full maturity, the wine has an extraordinary aromatic profile of smoky meats intermixed with blackberry, crème de cassis, charcoal, lead pencil shavings and espresso. Dense, opulent and full-bodied, with terrific fruit, this is a showcase style of vintage for a wine of such great ripeness and massive intensity. This extraordinary effort displays oodles of glycerin and fabulous purity, while the oak has been completely absorbed. The cooler hillside climate of blue fruits and spring flowers is also present as the wine aerates in the glass. This wine has at least another 15-30 years of potential ahead of it. These three Bond wines, the third vintage from entrepreneur and proprietor Bill Harlan, continue to validate his visionary belief in their potential. Tel. (707) 944-1441; Fax (707) 944-1444