Bond Melbury

When Bill Harlan and Bob Levy founded BOND in 1997, they made a single structural decision that inverted Napa convention: rather than blending across sites to achieve consistency, they would vinify five hillside crus identically — same native yeast, same barrel fermentation, same pump-over regime — so that only the land would speak. Melbury is the most immediately expressive argument for that philosophy. Positioned on south/southeast-facing slopes east of Rutherford at 400–500 ft elevation, the vineyard sits above Lake Hennessey on clay and humus soils that retain moisture and moderate the diurnal swing, producing a Cabernet Sauvignon of notably softer tannin architecture and red-fruit generosity compared to BOND's volcanic-bedrock crus. Fermentation proceeds with spontaneous native yeast in barrel at 78–82°F, with four pump-overs plus punch-downs at peak activity and an extended post-fermentation maceration calibrated to the vintage's personality. Aging follows in French oak — almost entirely new — from Taransaud, Darnajou, and Sylvain, the individual batches kept separate until final assemblage. What distinguishes Melbury within the portfolio is precisely its soil: clay over humus is the outlier among five crus dominated by volcanic bedrock and ancient riverbed cobble, and that distinction translates directly into a more pliant, red-fruited expression. The 2009 vintage, a year of moderate temperatures and good natural acidity retention in Napa hillside sites, offers a drinking window that rewards both current access and further cellaring through the late 2020s.