BOND

BOND grew out of Merryvale, the St. Helena winery that Bill Harlan owned, where Bob Levy was his winemaker. At Merryvale, Harlan and Levy bought fruit from dozens of Napa Valley vineyards, of which the Melbury and Vecina sites were the standouts; when they sold Merryvale and started BOND in 1996, they wanted to keep vinifying that fruit. The first wines BOND released were the 1999 Melbury and 1999 Vecina. BOND is an Oakville winery and part of the Harlan family's winegrowing domain, alongside Harlan Estate and Promontory. BOND is Bill Harlan's mother's maiden name, and the labels have a historical feel resembling old bank or bond notes.

• Bill Harlan and Bob Levy started BOND in 1996 after selling Merryvale
• First wines released: the 1999 Melbury and 1999 Vecina
• Part of the Harlan family's winegrowing domain alongside Harlan Estate and Promontory
• The name is Bill Harlan's mother's maiden name; labels resemble old bank or bond notes

Maximilian Kast, MS, is Director of BOND. Bill Harlan handed leadership of the family winegrowing domain to his son Will Harlan, who became managing director effective 2021 and oversees Harlan Estate, BOND and Promontory; Bill Harlan continues as founder and chairman. In the same April 2021 announcement, Cory Empting, winemaker for Harlan and BOND, was promoted to managing director of winegrowing. Empting, BOND's director of winemaking as of 2022, has been with BOND since 2000, joining soon after graduating from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo with a degree in viticulture.

• Maximilian Kast, MS, Director of BOND
• As of April 2021: Will Harlan managing director of the family domain; Bill Harlan founder and chairman
• As of April 2021: Cory Empting, winemaker for Harlan and BOND, promoted to managing director of winegrowing
• Cory Empting has been with BOND since 2000

BOND makes its wines from five small hillside vineyards, ranging in size from 7 to 11 acres, selected from the more than eighty vineyards it has worked with over the past quarter century. BOND does not own any of them; its own in-house vineyard management team manages them, an approach the San Francisco Chronicle calls negociant. Each wine carries a proprietary name rather than the vineyard's actual name. Melbury comes from a rocky 7-acre hillside vineyard on the slopes north of Lake Hennessey, in the hills east of Rutherford, on ancient sedimentary soil with compressed clay at 348 to 522 feet; the name is an homage to an historic area in London where the estate owners reside much of the year. Vecina, coined from the Spanish word for neighbor, is an 11-acre site on terraced volcanic slopes in Oakville's western foothills, directly southeast of the BOND winery; it faces due east, on bedrock overlain with fine grained alluvial wash at 221 to 330 feet. Its source is Vine Hill Ranch. St. Eden is an 11-acre rocky knoll, part of an estate just north of the Oakville Crossroad, north-facing, on iron-rich fractured volcanic rock from a landslide at 145 to 188 feet; Eden refers to the region's designation on nineteenth century maps. Pluribus, named for the Latin word for many, is a 7-acre site on the slopes of Spring Mountain at 1,137 to 1,327 feet, on decomposed volcanic material surrounded by a conifer forest. Quella, whose name derives from the German word for a pristine source or an artesian aquifer, is a 9-acre site in the eastern hills overlooking the heart of the Napa Valley, steeply sloped and facing southwest, on an ancient riverbed of cobble and rocks interwoven with pockets of tufa (volcanic ash), at 433 to 595 feet.

• Melbury: rocky 7-acre hillside vineyard north of Lake Hennessey, in the hills east of Rutherford; ancient sedimentary soil with compressed clay; 348 to 522 feet
• Vecina: 11-acre, east-facing site in Oakville's western foothills, directly southeast of the BOND winery; bedrock overlain with fine grained alluvial wash; 221 to 330 feet
• St. Eden: 11-acre rocky knoll just north of the Oakville Crossroad; iron-rich fractured volcanic rock from a landslide; 145 to 188 feet
• Pluribus: 7-acre site on Spring Mountain; decomposed volcanic material surrounded by a conifer forest; 1,137 to 1,327 feet
• Quella: 9-acre, southwest-facing site in the eastern hills; ancient uplifted riverbed covered with tufa (volcanic ash); 433 to 595 feet
• BOND does not own the five vineyards and names each wine with a proprietary name rather than the vineyard's

BOND makes premium wines from a single variety, Cabernet Sauvignon, bottling each of the five crus under its own name. Melbury and Vecina debuted with the 1999 vintage, St. Eden first appeared in the 2001 vintage, Pluribus debuted in the 2003 vintage and Quella made its debut with the 2006 vintage. Matriarch is BOND's second wine, created from components that are not used in the final BOND blends. Total production of each wine is between 450 and 600 cases a year, with about 1,200 cases of Matriarch. BOND sells through a private allocation, and an allocation re-sold within two years of release may affect future allocations. In 2022 the winery had an 18- to 36-month-long waiting list.

• Debut vintages: Melbury and Vecina 1999, St. Eden 2001, Pluribus 2003, Quella 2006
• Matriarch: second wine made from components not used in the final BOND blends
• 450 to 600 cases a year of each cru and about 1,200 cases of Matriarch
• Sold by private allocation; the waiting list ran 18 to 36 months in 2022

BOND describes the consistent hallmarks of Melbury as plush red fruits (currants, bing cherries), redolent with spice and the scent of violets, with elegance and a supple texture defining its structure; Vecina as always powerful, intense and savory, with blackberry fruit and wild forest floor and mineral associated overtones; and St. Eden as reliably showing great focus, an opulent "sweet" center and notes of crème de cassis, dark chocolate and roasted herbs. In the estate's words, Pluribus is a bold, rich and concentrated wine with elements of dark plum, roasted coffee and scents of cedar, and Quella displays an almost ethereal quality of blue fruits, graphite and a vibrant, subtle finish. Bill Harlan has described the common thread across the wines: "The common thread is that we want to produce wines of high quality, but also of distinct character and distinct geographic location." Esther Mobley of the San Francisco Chronicle wrote that the five wines all adhere to "a supple, silky texture and flavors of dark-colored fruits."

• Melbury: plush red fruits, spice and violets, with elegance and a supple texture (BOND)
• Vecina: powerful, intense and savory, with blackberry, forest floor and mineral notes (BOND)
• St. Eden: focus, an opulent "sweet" center, crème de cassis, dark chocolate and roasted herbs (BOND)
• Pluribus: bold, rich and concentrated, with dark plum, roasted coffee and cedar (BOND); Quella: blue fruits, graphite and a vibrant, subtle finish (BOND)

BOND typically buys fruit from a vineyard for about 10 years before deciding whether it is worthy of its label. St. Eden was the exception: BOND decided to make it its third cru after buying the grapes for only two years. Some grower contracts span over 30 years, as opposed to the 2 to 4 years more typical in the industry. In one vineyard the team picked 17 different times during one harvest, equating to 17 different vinifications. For several years the Pluribus vineyard produced wines that tasted too tannic and vegetal, until in 2008 the team stopped irrigating it. It has always been Harlan's goal to eventually have six crus. Critic Antonio Galloni has called the wines "simply phenomenal."

• About 10 years of trial fruit purchases before a vineyard is judged worthy of the label; St. Eden became the third cru after two years
• Grower contracts span over 30 years in some cases
• One vineyard was picked 17 different times in one harvest, for 17 separate vinifications
• Irrigation at Pluribus stopped in 2008
• Critic Antonio Galloni has called the wines "simply phenomenal"

Primary sources (producer's own site): https://www.bond.wine/philosophy/, https://www.bond.wine/grand-crus/melbury/, https://www.bond.wine/grand-crus/vecina/, https://www.bond.wine/grand-crus/st-eden/, https://www.bond.wine/grand-crus/pluribus/, https://www.bond.wine/grand-crus/quella/, https://www.bond.wine/allocation/. Secondary sources: The Napa Wine Project (BOND profile), San Francisco Chronicle (Esther Mobley, April 2022), Wine Spectator (Aaron Romano, April 9, 2021). Where the producer's site and a secondary source disagree, the producer's site governs. Last verified 2026-10-12