May 4, 2024 - 99+
February 3, 2024 - nose - closed
mouth - taut, char and black fruit (with air), loads of stuffing and structure. huge potential here. Hold.
December 1, 2023 - THE EMPEROR HAS NO CLOTHES!
yet again another disappointing new world Harlan Estate.
not my style. over oaked, over extracted, over jammy, and over here.
another over rated under performing napa wine. very uninteresting and boring wine.
glad I stopped buying these.
February 5, 2023 - Oak still integrating
March 18, 2022 - Quite rich and full bodied with a hint of a roasted note. More of a blockbuster wine than the others with accents on the sweet fruit and a warm expression.
March 11, 2022 - 6 Vintages of Harlan (1995-2018): Some conclusions: 1) The highlight in all Harlan wines and what sets the wine apart from many other high-end Napa wines is the elegance and absolute weightless texture and feel, with the finest tannins and an incredible balance. This became obvious in all vintages. 2) What is a big advantage in young wines, might become a disadvantage with a lot of age. The question I always ask myself with this wine (similar to some right bank Merlots in Bordeaux): is there is enough structure and tension to age gracefully for 30, 40 years? I'm not convinced and the data point added in this tasting (1995, 2005) didn't show as much structure as I hope to have at that age in my Cabs. 3) Gun to my head, I say the ideal drinking window for Harlan is rather 5 to 15 years after the vintage and not 20-40 years. 4) The 2018 vintage is spectacular with an incredibly complex profile but will need a few years to flesh out.
TN: Medium+ expressive nose with lots of herbal notes, hints of tobacco, loads of minerality and some dark fruit scents. This is not that fruit-driven and still a touch strict on the nose. In Harlan fashion, this is light as air on the palate without losing an intensity. Ripe blackberry and black cherry notes, lots of herbs and minerality. Seems still a touch closed, not revealing as much complexity as other vintages today. Quite a structured vintage with lots of fine tannins and high but not yet perfectly integrated acidity. The wine is still a bit closed. In addition, I found a touch of heat here. Overall, this is a good wine with a fairly complex aroma profile and the Harlan lightness as highlights but this is neither a particularly strong vintage for Harlan nor one of the best 2010 Napas out there. 93/94 pts.
Decanting: This, like other 2010s, needs time to open up and become softer. 2-3h in the decanter would certainly help.
December 17, 2021 - I grew up on CA cab, and while my tastes have changed, this wine takes me back in time to drinking wine with my pops in college. Potential to get even better. Dark Berries, stone / graphite, earth, smoke and flower petals. So much going on.
April 25, 2021 - Decanted for about an hour prior to serving, though it probably would have been better to decant even 2-3 hours. It’s full-bodied but also has good freshness. Chocolate, cherry and a slight coffee note. Long finish. I have not been drinking many Napa Cabs lately, but this is delicious and excellent in the category.
July 18, 2020 - Sticking by my first review. Fine wine, but not ‘for a Harlan Estate’.
July 17, 2020 - The only “disappointment” in the vertical lineup, but it’s all relative with Harlan as this bottle would still hold its own against many other. Chocolate covered cherries. Some vegetal notes. Pretty reticent and closed.