The 2008 Vecina is a huge, strapping wine bursting with dark fruit, leather, licorice, smoke, minerals and tar. It possesses striking mid-palate depth and more than enough fruit to stand up to the firm, imposing tannins. Iron, graphite, smoke and minerals are layered into the dark, brooding finish. This is an impressive showing. Bill Harlan and his team make the BOND wines through long-term lease arrangements they hold with vineyard owners in a handful of top hillside sites in Napa Valley. The Melbury, Quella and Vecina vineyards are planted with 100% Cabernet Sauvignon. The St. Eden vineyard includes 5% Cabernet Franc that was recently grafted onto Merlot rootstocks, while the Pluribus vineyard includes 13% Merlot and 11% Cabernet Franc. Overall, the 2008s are less consistent than the 2009s, which are shaping up to be brilliant. I also tasted a number of 2010s from barrel with Bill Harlan and winemakers Bob Levy and Corey Empting that were striking for their purity, depth and class.

Good full ruby. Highly aromatic nose combines dark fruits, dried herbs, violet and forest floor spices. Explosively sweet and deep, with a spicy core of dark fruit flavors that fans out on the back half to saturate the palate. Finishes with strong but lush tannins and captivating violet lift. Remarkably horizontal for a cabernet-based wine from this vintage.