2017 Harlan Estate
Buying options
Tasting notes
Harlan Estate has two very distinct soil types: the hills to the east are of volcanic origin and the slopes to the west are sedimentary. The common thread across the property is the thin topsoil and the 360-degree exposure of the many separate blocks. After years in these poor but diverse soils, the vines have established themselves deep into the bedrock. Viticulture has always been as durable as possible, applying organic and biodynamic farming practices. Grapes are carefully sorted by hand and fermented in small lots in wood fermenters. With the lightest intervention possible, but careful attention throughout fermentations, the wine is then pressed-off into French barriques, with a balanced use of new and used oak, and aged for about 24 months prior to being bottled, unfined and unfiltered. Crazy price! And UK trade buyers have to agree to place the wine in hotels and restaurants apparently. Deep glowing crimson. Much more obviously ripe nose than the Shafer Hillside Select just tasted. Intensity is the name of the game – plus a concentration of ripe tannins that recalls a top left-bank bordeaux. It’s clear what the ambitions are here! A wine that seems less scared of tannin than most Napa Cabs. (JR)
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Jancis Robinson MW
More reviews and scores
Harlan Estate has two very distinct soil types: the hills to the east are of volcanic origin and the slopes to the west are sedimentary. The common thread across the property is the thin topsoil and the 360-degree exposure of the many separate blocks. After years in these poor but diverse soils, the vines have established themselves deep into the bedrock. Viticulture has always been as durable as possible, applying organic and biodynamic farming practices. Grapes are carefully sorted by hand and fermented in small lots in wood fermenters. With the lightest intervention possible, but careful attention throughout fermentations, the wine is then pressed-off into French barriques, with a balanced use of new and used oak, and aged for about 24 months prior to being bottled, unfined and unfiltered. Crazy price! And UK trade buyers have to agree to place the wine in hotels and restaurants apparently. Deep glowing crimson. Much more obviously ripe nose than the Shafer Hillside Select just tasted. Intensity is the name of the game � plus a concentration of ripe tannins that recalls a top left-bank bordeaux. It�s clear what the ambitions are here! A wine that seems less scared of tannin than most Napa Cabs.
The Grand Vin is the 2017 Harlan Estate, and this beauty just about jumps from the glass with its pure cassis and blackcurrant fruits as well as notes of tobacco, graphite, crushed stone, and spice. With a full-bodied, expansive mouthfeel, building, velvety tannins, and a layered, seamless style that offers way more pleasure than just about every other wine in the vintage, bottles can be enjoyed any time over the coming 20-25 years.
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.