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Harlan Estate is one of Napa's most prominent wine producers, self-styled as a Napa "first growth". The vineyard is located in the Oakville AVA, in the hills above Martha's Vineyard (Heitz Cellar) and To Kalon (Robert Mondavi), just north of Napa town itself. Its Cabernet Sauvignon-based flagship wine is one of California's most sought-after wines, regularly commanding prices exceeding $1000 per bottle.
The estate was founded in 1984 by property developer William Harlan, who had cut his teeth at the Merryvale winery and Meadowood lodge before buying 240 acres (97 hectares) of land in the Oakville hills. Some 40 acres (16ha) of this was cleared for vineyards – mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, but with some Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Harlan Estate's first commercial vintage was the 1990, which was released in 1996 with a then-expensive price tag of $65 a bottle. Since then, the estate has cemented itself as a cult wine producer, with five vintages achieving 100-point scores from Robert Parker. In addition to the flagship red, Harlan Estate also makes a second wine, The Maiden.
| Varietal | Proprietary Blend |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2004 |
| Rating | RP98/WS98 |
| Bottle Size | 6 x 750ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 6 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | North Coast |
| Producer | Harlan Estate |
| Color | Red |
| Wine Type | Table |
| Rating | 98 RP - The 2004 Harlan Estate is probably the most precocious and accessible Harlan Estate that this perfectionist team has made. Already compelling, the wine has notes of roasted coffee, charcoal, blackberry, spring flowers, and some background sweet, toasty notes. Dense, fleshy, exuberant, even flamboyant by the standards of Bill Harlan, this wine exhibits no jaggedness or rough edges, has relatively high tannins, but they melt away on the palate. The wine is sensationally well-endowed, long, and rich – a tour de force in winemaking. They can do no wrong at Harlan, and it is obvious, even in the most challenging vintages such as 1998, that this estate is a true grand cru/first growth, making wines of irrefutable world-class quality. Of course, none of this comes cheap, as the price is now moving up into the league with Screaming Eagle, but there are no shortage of takers. So what's new? Harlan Estate continues to produce only a meager 1,500 or so cases from over 40 acres of beautifully manicured hillside vineyards overlooking the Oakville corridor (to be precise, the western slopes looking down on Martha's Vineyard and parts of the To-Kalon Vineyard). Proprietor Bill Harlan and his winemaking team of Bob Levy and global oenologist Michel Rolland push the envelope in all ways, but the results continue to be magnificent as well as increasingly expensive and rare. The second wine, which is usually around 1,000+ cases, is The Maiden, which is also a super wine in its own right. RP |
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| Wine Spectator | 98 WS - Starts out closed, but very intense and concentrated, with tight currant, spice, cedar, anise and blackberry flavors. Maintains a long, vibrant finish. |
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| Burghound |
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| Varietal | Proprietary Blend |
|---|---|
| Vintage | 2004 |
| Rating | RP98/WS98 |
| Bottle Size | 6 x 750ml |
| Bottle Quantity | 6 |
| Country | USA |
| Region | California |
| Location | North Coast |
| Producer | Harlan Estate |
| Color | Red |
| Production |
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