1990 Harlan Estate Proprietary Red
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Tasting notes
Magnum. 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, remainder: Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot. I must admit it is quite an experience to taste the first vintage of a wine like Harlan Estate. The 1990 was released only in small quantities, so few people have tasted it. The wine is beautiful. Perhaps not other-worldly but nicely developed, with a sense of purity, honesty and elegance to it. I admit it feels a bit ridiculous to score this, even setting aside any false notions of nostalgia or deference. The 1990 shows a beautifully aged character with notes of wet hay and wet earth and dried purple flowers on the nose. The palate shifts to spiced plums, redcurrants and plum skin with a creamy mouthfeel. There is abundant persistence here and it’s a wine with still some years of bottle ageing left. It is an elegant and almost burgundian expression of Cabernet Sauvignon. (ECB)
Critic scores
Jancis Robinson MW
About the producer
Harlan Estate is one of the Napa Valley’s most prestigious wine estates. It is one of a handful of cult Cabernet producers, whose wines are some of the most expensive and collectable in the region.