2003 BOND Vecina
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Tasting notes
Medium ruby. Cooler aromas of blueberry, blackberry and licorice. In a gentler style than the 2004, with the concentrated, slightly warm middle palate conveying greater sweetness along with a slight warmth and a saline quality. Doesn't possess the fruit depth of the '04 but this is in a gentler, sweeter style and showing more texture today. Finishes long, with rather suave tannins. In the early years, I wondered about this wine's range of ripeness (it was another year featuring a heat spike in September), but today I don't find any evidence of rushed ripening.
Critic scores
Robert Parker
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
More reviews and scores
The 2003 Vecina is another impressive Bond wine from a vintage that does not get a ton of attention. Like the other Bond 2003s, the Vecina is not especially complex, but the wine's balance is simply phenomenal. (AG)
The vineyard closest to the great Harlan Estate is Vecina, situated in the western foothills on the Oakville Crossroad overlooking the valley. From this 11-acre site, the 2003 Vecina comes closest in style to Harlan Estate, appearing like a hypothetical blend of a St. Estephe and Pauillac. A formidable wine, it reveals plenty of new saddle leather, creme de cassis, scorched earth and volcanic-like characteristics in addition to notes of blackberries, Chinese black tea and graphite. Powerful, intense and backward, it needs 2-5 years of bottle age and should last for two decades thereafter. It is a tour de force in winemaking! The single vineyard wines represent Bill Harlan’s concept of offering single vineyard, micro-climate/terroir-based wines from distinctive sectors of Napa Valley. Tel. (707) 944-1441
Good medium ruby color. Roasted black fruits and a suggestion of almost port-like ripeness on the nose. Lush, superripe and powerful, with superb density of flavor. With notes ranging from black olive to dark chocolate, this shows a wider range of ripeness than either the highly promising young 2004 or the remarkably lush and sweet 2002 (which I scored 95 on this latest occasion).