Bond, Vecina

Bond, VecinaSaturated medium ruby. Cool perfume of blackberry, licorice, spices and black pepper. Suave and fine grained but still quite tight, showing little in the way of easy sweetness but also avoiding the greenness that plagues some 2008s. Although youthfully imploded, savory and dry, this powerfully tannic, mineral driven wine spreads out on the back end to coat the palate. Stephen Tanzer

A slightly fresher and spicier nose blends nose of plum

The 2004 Barbaresco Rabajà is a total head-turner

The wine needs a few more years to get out of this more reticent phase

possessing a kiss of sea spray before notions of wax melon

This is a really interesting wine because it combines both power and finesse with superb delineation

This should reward 5 to 8 years of cellaring but could be enjoyed young too

dazzling intensity and remarkable richness

quinine and flint

The medium plum-colored 1999 Monbrison displays elegant

Generous wood influence stops just short of dominating the attractively spicy nose of poached plum

with a black chocolate

and succulence