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4 Highly-Rated Harlan Estate Vintages To Try
On the occasion of Harlan Estate’s 40th anniversary, we spotlight four impeccable vintages spanning three decades: 1995, 2005, 2010 and 2013.
“Harlan Estate might be the single most profound red wine made not just in California, but in the world.”
- Robert M. Parker, Jr.
T
hese were the words of the most widely known and influential wine critic in the world, Robert Parker. Based in the western hills of Oakville, California, Harlan Estate was founded by H. William Harlan in 1984. Driven for decades by a once-fuzzy college dream of planting a vineyard, Harlan – known to his family and friends as Bill – was taken under the wing of the Napa wine legend Robert Mondavi who sent Harlan on a trip to Bordeaux and Burgundy in the 1980s to understand what set apart the greatest wines of the world. Harlan returned with a new fire in his life: a mission to produce a “First Growth” in California, a wine that might rival that of the finest premiers crus of Bordeaux, and to elevate the human spirit through the medium of wine.
“If we can enrich people’s lives, and just maybe inspire them to do something beyond what they might otherwise have done, that brings us great satisfaction.”
- H. William Harlan
Harlan acquired 97 hectares (240 acres) of land in Oakville, initially planting 16 of them with cabernet sauvignon. Today the vineyard – a combination of terraced vineyards and closely spaced vines sited on a hillside on both volcanic and sedimentary bedrock – comprises of cabernet sauvignon (75%), merlot (14%), cabernet franc (9%) and petit verdot (2%). Limited production averaging 2,000 cases yearly has bestowed cult status upon Harlan Estate wines, with their distinctive intaglio-engraved label inspired by a 19th century archival engraving from a banknote company that once printed US currency. It was “designed for a bottle that would sit on a table in candlelight, not on a store shelf,” according to Harlan.
Three vintages after the initial planting, Harlan finally had wine worthy of commercial sale – the 1990 (released in 1996) – which was priced at US$65 per bottle. Today a bottle of that same vintage could fetch more than US$6,000. Over four remarkable decades since its founding, Harlan Estate vintages have become synonymous with individuality, power, extraordinary complexity and richness coupled with remarkable ageing potential. Now, under the helm of Bill’s son, Will Harlan, the estate celebrates a new chapter and an enduring legacy.
Four Vintages To Try
1995
Born out of an extremely wet winter, the 1995 Harlan Estate proprietary red enjoys a dark, deep-ruby colour, and a nuanced nose of coffee bean, toasty smoky notes, vanilla, black and blue fruits, earth, mineral notes, herbs, dried sage, and green olive. The “showy and hedonistic” personality of this wine at its first release has retreated to reveal an elegant, long and complex expression of its site-distinctive and earthy character. A full and fleshy mouth entry is followed by spectacular purity through the mid-palate and layers of ripe fruit flavours, black olive and spice.
“The 1995 Proprietary Red Wine is almost as perfect as the 1994. It has gotten even better in the bottle, and remains one of the most remarkable young Cabernet Sauvignons I have tasted [...] This wine possesses all the elements of greatness – individuality, power combined with elegance, extraordinary complexity, remarkable ageing potential, and compelling richness without ponderousness,” commented Robert Parker in his 1998 Wine Advocate review, rating it 99 points.
2005
The growing season of 2005 was marked by cool temperatures and above-average rainfall – 38 inches – that delayed bloom and set, leading to a dramatically compressed harvest, which lasted 10 days. The vivid, dense ruby hue of the 2005 Harlan Estate is accompanied by a slightly subdued nose that develops into vibrant aromas of blackberry, cassis, earth and dense canopy. Harlan Estate’s winemaker tasting notes describe it as:
“Mouthwatering acidity takes the lead over tannins, the mid-palate texture focused, well integrated and seemingly sweet. A lovely complication of sweet and savory tones grows with the persistent finish.”
It is in a very good place on its arc of aging, with wine critic Jeb Dannuck remarking in 2017, “It’s certainly a joy to drink today but will keep for another two to three decades.” Giving it a rating of 98 points, in 2015 Robert Parker wrote, “this opaque, garnet/purple wine is another tour de force and, once again, proves that Harlan Estate is not only one of the greatest wines of California, but of the world.”
2010
One of the coolest growing seasons in recent memory, which gave way to a welcome, warm and consistent Indian summer, 2010 resulted in a protracted harvest, the last lots finishing in early October. Harlan Estate’s winemaker tasting notes remark: “Full ruby to the rim. Attractive forest notes soar atop an impressive architecture of freshness, red and black fruits, some road tar, and a whiff of chaparral. In the mouth there is a savory juxtaposition to ripe black fruits, plums & cassis, a bed of firm tannins underpinning the whole structure. Presently an introvert, but one who is on the verge; coiled, slightly stoic, tannins are imposing but extremely noble. Cerebral.”
In 2014, James Suckling gave it a 100 rating, whilst Robert Parker’s 2013 Wine Advocate review gave it 98 points, noting, “I wouldn’t be surprised to see the 2010 Harlan Estate inch closer to perfection over the next decade. [...] Rich, full-bodied and softer than I would have expected in this vintage, it is a prodigious, multidimensional, compelling wine.”
2013
One of Harlan Estate’s all-time greats, the aromas of the 2013 vintage are diverse and complex, with no single primary scent standing above the rest. It teases hints of wet stone, graphite, leather, and fresh spice, with a gentle and silky beginning that synthesises into minerality, freshness and vibrancy. Its brighter notes create a tension in the nose, then the palate. A cool and foggy growing season with little rain led to a smaller-than-average yield in 2013. Nearly 42 passes were made, resulting in 30 distinct vinifications that were aged independently in the barrel for almost a year before blending and ageing in large Austrian oak casks over the next few years. The result has retained a fine balance of structure and lightness, whose full potential will be revealed over time. Rating it 100 in 2016, Robert Parker recommends drinking it over the next 50 years and beyond, whilst in 2016 Antonio Galloni of Vinous called it, “a stunningly beautiful, vivid wine” that “belongs to the future.”
