External search
Google (images)
Wine Advocate
Wine Spectator
Burghound
Wine-Searcher
Vintages
2021
2020
2019
2018
2017
2016
2015
2014
2013
2012
2011
2010
2009
2008
2007
2006
2005
2004
2003
2002
Show more
From this producer
Show all wines
All tasting notes
|
| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 92.6 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 92 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by BradleyL on 3/30/2024 & rated 92 points: Decanted for two hours then enjoyed over the following two hours, I think the decanting significantly opened up the nose - there was quite a strong hint of VA initially on opening but cleared up with the additional air. This performed remarkably consistently through the meal and stayed quite even-keeled. Lots of earthiness/mushroom notes and is a very smooth drinker. It definitely feels quite resolved at this point so I think these are in a great drinking spot with a healthy decant, and is a really educational experience on the caliber/winemaking style of Harlan. (156 views) | | | Tasted by Marc on 1/2/2024 & rated 95 points: Rich, thick, ripe, and over the top, but also layered, complex, structured, and hugely involving. Chocolate, plums, currants, earth, leather, coffee, and plenty of the tell-tale Harlan band-aid VA to keep things focused and away from porty and portlyness. So involving. While this has nothing to do with Bordeaux, or even mainstream Napa Cab, it offers a tremendously impressive wine that is both massive, and yet able to draw a taster into its subtleties. Aging very well. (469 views) | | | Tasted by JPKavitz on 1/9/2023 & rated 93 points: Excellent! (1219 views) | | | Tasted by Peech on 9/9/2022 & rated 95 points: decanted 30 minutes after opening and served 1½ hours after decanting. Smoky, a bit more ripe on the nose than the Fisher, and lots of mint. Almost like a Right Bank Bordeaux, more fragrant, with a hint of green pepper. (1569 views) | | | Tasted by wgslager on 5/7/2022: Derby weekend. Messier. (1676 views) | | | Tasted by Marc on 5/3/2021 & rated 93 points: Classic Harlan style, in terms of ripeness, volatile acidity, gorgeous structure, if not at the plush levels of the estate wine. The wine is certainly feeling developed, but the ripeness of the fruit is still totally apparent. The lifted nose, chocolate and plum aromas is first class, and the jammy palate is given some lift by the thick tannins. With the wrong food, this could come across as less than transparent, but for its style this has stunning breed. It retains the essence of earthy Cabernet, while explore the limits of acceptable ripeness in a wine.so, a classic Harlan - not for everyone, but it is certain,y complex! Ageing well, in a high alcohol, ripe fruit manner, but for its style it should continue to develop in interesting ways. Aged balsamic notes are a lovely nuance. (2732 views) | | | Tasted by Gr8penut on 3/30/2021 & rated 93 points: From my posting on FB and Instagram:
In Vino Veritas (in wine there is truth; people speak the truth when they are drunk), bottle #85 of my cellar sacrifices. A 2001 Harlan Maiden which is a second label of the Harlan Estate Cab. The 2001 Harlan Estate was the best wine I’ve ever tasted in my 40+ years of drinking wine. The Maiden, was very good as well, but did not blow me away like the Estate. Still, at 20 years old, this one was inky black, had a great nose, and it was long on the finish. It’s probably rated in the 90s by RP (not 100 like the Estate) and deserves to. 😀🍷🍷🍷👍👍 #wine #winelover #winelovers #harlan #harlanestate (2465 views) | | | Tasted by Mike V on 9/25/2020 & rated 90 points: Fully mature. Drink up. Some VA (2566 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 5/31/2020 & rated 93 points: Showed a bit more age than others indicate. Added weight with 75 mins of air (decanted half the bottle) and showed a great deal of maturity that paired beautifully against the coffee-rubbed filet/tenderloin roast off our smoker. While this came off as a bit soft, there was a lot to discern. Unfortunately this was #3 of the evening and I'm writing this a week afterwards. If i had any more bottles of this I'd mark for consumption within 1-2 years, but I'm an outlier. (2474 views) | | | Tasted by MC2 Wines on 2/15/2020: Dinner w/New Friends (Their house): Drinking quite like a baby but the decant certainly helped it along. Bright fruits. Touch of almost a bit of the woodsy and a kindof redwood spice. Got better in the glass. Will continue to hold on ours. I think this has many years left. (2767 views) | | | Tasted by Marc on 6/23/2019 & rated 92 points: First Dinner Party at the Wedge (Queensberry, Central Otago, New Zealand): Party, dense, chocolate, cheery, VA, thick tannins. better with cheese than the Lamb. Clearly an outstanding wine, but its overt personality tends towards a lack of traditional balance. Next to the (still opulent and modern) Craggy Range Le Sol 2002, this came off as slightly less composed. (2535 views) | | | Tasted by hrazdiiv on 6/17/2019 & rated 94 points: First time I've tried this vintage and it didn't disappoint. Drank decanted, it reflected a medium to dark purple color with no bricking whatsoever. On the nose it was a great cacophony of pure fruit in addition to complex elements of espresso, graphite and even some savory game elements; everything came together very nicely. The finish was clean and delineated - purity of fruit was offset by the appropriate presence of oak and still noticeable chewy tannin. I am not one to rate labels (as opposed to wines) but this one delivers. Some of the older reviews from 2012 suggest it is way out of balance and scorn it as an overly oaked fruit bomb. That may have been the case then but now this bottle is hitting peak window and is clearly an elite wine. (2411 views) | | | Tasted by grafighter on 4/28/2017 & rated 94 points: Slow ox'ed for 2-3 hours. Decanted at Red O for another hour or so. Aroma intensified with more air. Classic Harlan Maiden nose, tobacco, tar, brooding fruit...so good! Palate is a little muted compare to the nose. Found the same with the 1999 vintage. (5184 views) | | | Tasted by davidandrose on 2/19/2017 & rated 93 points: 20 mins after uncorking, this shows old, over-aged Bordeaux on the nose. Even at this age, it's medium to heavy weight on the palate, Extremely reminiscent of a fine bordeau (5058 views) | | | Tasted by patwjr on 9/21/2016 & rated 91 points: PnP. OK but getting old. Minimal fruit. Need more air or at end of life? (5311 views) | | | Tasted by KenK on 7/31/2016 & rated 91 points: Had with Burgundt Al and I concur with his notes. (5409 views) | | | Tasted by Burgundy Al on 7/31/2016 & rated 91 points: Small taste this afternoon, brief note from memory. Black fruit is very ripe, but retains balance if not restraint. Starting to mature nicely with sweet spice. Preferred this over 2001 Matriarch tasted next. (5580 views) | | | Tasted by Nanda on 5/22/2016 & rated 91 points: Harlan + Friends Intro Retro (Whitehead's, Northbrook, IL): Deep dark ruby. Big, full nose is quite un-evolved and brutish with plummy fruit and notions of earth/tobacco. Palate brings the power with richer fruit and grippy tannin. Flavor-wise this is relatively un-evolved. But texturally, I enjoy the power and interplay of fruit, tannin and acid. Well balanced. Fun to drink. My #4, Group #7. (3821 views) | | | Tasted by Bordeaux_Jon on 5/7/2016 & rated 92 points: First pour from a Coravin. This wine showed really young. The nose was dominated by blackberry and cassis, with oaky notes and vanilla. It had a Bordeaux-like austerity. The palate was fruit driven but structured, with a surprising amount of bitter tannins that somewhat smoothed out over a couple hours in the glass. This wine was clearly young and has a long way to go. It is not what I expected from a Harlan wine, which by all accounts is supposedly a "sweet fruit bomb".
More interestedly, I actually blind tasted this wine against the 2001 Harlan Grand Vin. That wine was more openly fruity on the palate, with more complexity and more appeal. It was also smoother and less tannic. The Harlan was easier to like now, and I actually incorrectly guessed it was the Maiden because of its openness and softness. While I preferred the Grand Vin, the difference was far too small considering the price gap. (3246 views) | | | Tasted by Diane (LI) on 3/24/2016: Not showing much personality. Balanced with nothing out of place, but somehow I wanted more. All spit and polish. Whereas most wines in this 2001 California Cab tasting showed lots of structure, with many wines needing more time, this one didn't have those attributes. It was pleasant, and it may not sound that way, but I liked it. (3207 views) | | | Tasted by AlexHop on 12/26/2015 & rated 92 points: Nice an elegant. Silky smooth with vanilla and oak. Medium long finish. (3026 views) | | | Tasted by Rick 4 Wine on 8/14/2015 & rated 96 points: What first hit me about this wine straight out of the bottle and into the decanter is that it has a strong flavor of fennel seed in the late body too early finish. As the wind developed, this is a dark brooding fruit wine with volcanic middle reality sitting in the body. There are some aromatics like the fennel that persist but become more diffuse and multilayered as the wind breeze. I think this one will drink for another decade. Sadly I don't have another bottle to drink over that time. (3982 views) | | | Tasted by dbkitc on 7/12/2015: Not the best bottle of this. Seemed heavy and a bit tart. Did not have the purity and complexity of the best bottles. No score. (3353 views) | | | Tasted by BradE on 3/29/2015: Fun wine, and showed its pedigree. But in the end was a disappointment. (3856 views) | | | Tasted by Newport mike on 3/10/2015 & rated 94 points: 2 hr decant, wine was spectacular. Had a 6th bottling of abacus after it, maiden held its own. Kept getting better (3570 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| Harlan Estate Producer website - Read more about Harlan Estate
Harlan Estate was founded in 1984 by H. William Harlan with the vision to consistently produce a wine of the highest quality and great longevity from the estate – in essence, to create a “First Growth” of California. Each year, the wine of Harlan Estate strives to faithfully express the abiding character of the land, and the distinctive attributes of the vintage.Red Bordeaux BlendRed Bordeaux is generally made from a blend of grapes. Permitted grapes are Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, Petit Verdot, Malbec and rarely Carménère.Today Carménère is rarely used, with Château Clerc Milon, a fifth growth Bordeaux, being one of the few to still retain Carménère vines. As of July 2019, Bordeaux wineries authorized the use of four new red grapes to combat temperature increases in Bordeaux. These newly approved grapes are Marselan, Touriga Nacional, Castets, and Arinarnoa.
Wineries all over the world aspire to making wines in a Bordeaux style. In 1988, a group of American vintners formed The Meritage Association to identify wines made in this way. Although most Meritage wines come from California, there are members of the Meritage Association in 18 states and five other countries, including Argentina, Australia, Canada, Israel, and Mexico.USAAmerican wine has been produced since the 1500s, with the first widespread production beginning in New Mexico in 1628. Today, wine production is undertaken in all fifty states, with California producing 84% of all U.S. wine. The continent of North America is home to several native species of grape, including Vitis labrusca, Vitis riparia, Vitis rotundifolia, and Vitis vulpina, but the wine-making industry is based almost entirely on the cultivation of the European Vitis vinifera, which was introduced by European settlers. With more than 1,100,000 acres (4,500 km2) under vine, the United States is the fourth-largest wine producing country in the world, after Italy, Spain, and France.California2021 vintage: "Unlike almost all other areas of the state, the Russian River Valley had higher than normal crops in 2021, which has made for a wine of greater generosity and fruit forwardness than some of its stablemates." - Morgan Twain-Peterson Napa Valley Napa Valley Wineries and Wine (Napa Valley Vintners)Napa ValleySt. Helena |
|
