Bond Vecina 2001

Professional Ratings

• 96 Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
  The most backward, earthy, muscular/masculine wine of the group is the 2001 Vecina. Still quite tightly knit, with loads of rugged tannins as well as distinctive notes of graphite and earth reminiscent of a St.-Estephe such as Chateau Montrose, the wine displays sweet, earthy blueberry and blackberry fruit, but then the tannins kick in. This full-bodied, massive wine needs a good 5-7 years of cellaring at the minimum, and whether it ever approaches the seamless/flawless perfection of a St. Eden or Melbury remains to be seen. Rating: 96+
• 96 Wine Enthusiast
  Very fine wine. Denser, richer, more powerful than the other Bond '01s. In the mouth, it has a molten quality, like liquid lead or mercury; strong flavors of plums, bitter chocolate, cassis, and good, rich oak. Pretty astringent now in tannins, it's firm and hard, but complex and layered. Drink now, but best beyond 2010. Cellar Selection.
• 94 Wine Spectator
  Dense, tight and tannic yet enormously complex, with blackberry, black licorice, graphite, charcoal, mocha, dried herb and cedary notes that are intense and persistent, working through ripe, chewy tannins.—2001 California Cabernet blind retrospective (June 2011). Drink now through 2025.