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| Drinking Windows and Values |
| Community Tasting History |
| Community Tasting Notes (average 93.2 pts. and median of 93 pts. in 104 notes) - hiding notes with no text | | | Tasted by lemorgan on 3/14/2023 & rated 95 points: I recently had the opportunity to taste the 2000 vintage of Harlan Estate, and it was a truly magnificent wine. The deep, ruby red color was mesmerizing, and the aromas that wafted from the glass were absolutely enchanting. I detected notes of black currant, blackberry, and vanilla, with hints of cedar and leather. I waited 22 years to taste this bitch.
Upon tasting, I was struck by the wine's remarkable complexity. The flavors were layered and intense, with a beautiful balance between fruit, oak, and tannins. I tasted dark fruit flavors like black cherry, blackberry, and cassis, alongside a subtle earthiness and a hint of chocolate. The tannins were firm but velvety, and the wine had a full-bodied, luscious mouthfeel.
The finish was incredibly long, with flavors that lingered on the palate for what felt like minutes. I tasted more dark fruit and a touch of espresso, with a subtle hint of tobacco. Overall, the Harlan Estate 2000 was a truly exceptional wine that left a lasting impression. It would be a wonderful addition to any collector's cellar and a fantastic choice for a special occasion. (1440 views) | | | Tasted by doug374 on 12/25/2022 & rated 95 points: Very smooth and elegant construction. Fruits are fully integrated-cassis, blackberries, vanilla drinking perfectly. Decanted for 30 mins and paired with a duck and cherries main. (1418 views) | | | Tasted by ECGreen on 7/28/2021 & rated 98 points: Almost a perfect wine, with two distinct layers of fruit, increasing in intensity, like manual transmission shifting gears in mid-palate, followed by a lovely finish; perfectly balanced. (3760 views) | | | Tasted by cultdrinker on 12/31/2020 & rated 97 points: Well guys and gals. I am not so sure I adhere to my prior comments on this cuvee. What a difference in opinion that my most recent tasting of this cuvee has caused me to express. Popped my most recent bottle for family New Years Eve fondue dinner with filet, chicken breasts, and shrimp (and a variety of dipping sauces horseradish or scallion based). Wow. This cuvee at 60ish degrees and bought directly from Don and properly maintained by me thereafter was fabulous. Tasty right upon popping the cork but even tastier after about 30 or so minutes in the decanter. Well balanced pronounced flavors of berry, spices, coffee, minerals, and black cherries. Long aftertaste. (3636 views) | | | Tasted by levinml on 12/13/2020 & rated 94 points: Not at all over the hill (assuming perfect cellaring from release) and flavors/profile consistent with great Harlans. Just not as much as the big boys. Would be an excellent wine if you didn't have to pay cult prices. Drink anytime, but wouldn't wait much longer. (3503 views) | | | Tasted by Barsacpinci on 11/29/2020 & rated 94 points: Deep ruby color with slight bricking on edge. Nose of cedar and leather. I wasn’t expecting much as I recall the first bottle I had of this ten years ago didn’t deliver. I opened at a dinner for non wine geek friends who’d be impressed with a cult wine but wouldn’t know a good wine from a beer. Well, I was pleasantly surprised and so were my guests. Very powerful black fruit with a hint of mint. So well balanced and showed multiple notes as we sipped it. Drinking beautifully right now. Maybe it just needed time! Went great with prime rib. (2779 views) | | | Tasted by Luckey on 12/28/2019 & rated 93 points: Wine was good but did not meet expectations. Fell more into a fruit bomb category, and we enjoyed the Tor 2009 more that evening. We consumed half the bottle after 2-4 hours of being opened (no decanter), and revisited the bottle 20 hours later (did not cap the bottle) still drinking well, but it wasn’t anything special. (3652 views) | | | Tasted by cultdrinker on 9/2/2019 & rated 92 points: My last notes on this wine still hold true except I will decant my next bottle only about 15 minutes and then start to enjoy. The nose is plentiful in delight upon opening but the pronounced scents start to fade at about the hour stage. Same holds true for the tastes. (2836 views) | | | Tasted by cultdrinker on 12/30/2018 & rated 90 points: Should have listened to my prior notes on this wine. Found three more bottles in my cellar (unlucky me) and popped one for Christmas. While this is still one nice cuvee, I think it has lost a nuance here and there. Let it breathe for 1 hour or so in a decanter in a cooler temperature to maintain the range of about 60 degrees and poured with some filets. I can rationalize paying a low three figures for this wine directly from Bill and Don but not so sure I would have felt the same if I had bought the wine at its current price. (3241 views) | | | Tasted by Dvogt on 11/11/2018 & rated 96 points: From magnum. Drinking better than a few years ago. Nicely balanced fruit, acid and tannin with red and black currant. On the softer side and elegant. (3359 views) | | | Tasted by europat55 on 10/4/2018 & rated 93 points: Nose: A- Palate: A- (3581 views) | | | Tasted by Ben Christiansen on 4/6/2018: From zalto, and just opened. Cool fruit greets the nose. Wine is not all that opaque or dark. Touches of oak are still on the nose. "Complete" is the word that comes to mind about the palate. Nose has touches of iron, ferrous, underwood. Complex. Still with grip on the back. I would say this is right in the middle of its life span - still primary fruit with some savory notes coming up and still has tannins. Stunningly good to me. And I do feel the alcohol kick a little bit from just the taste. (3594 views) | | | Tasted by englishman's claret on 11/18/2017 & rated 90 points: My goodness. A style looking to make a splash. Not as extracted as you might expect but still hot and big, the aromatics all blackberry and coconut. Overall it comes across as a bit sloppy; you might expect more composure and precision for the price tag. (3746 views) | | | Tasted by PersonalWino on 11/17/2017: Perfect provenance on the bottle but the wine was dead. No fruit left at all. Slightly watery grape juice is all that remains. If you have a bottle, don't wait to drink and good luck. (2837 views) | | | Tasted by VDLT Wine on 10/8/2017: Gary & Cindy's 2017 blind dinner (Palm Court at the Carltun - Wine Cellar): I appreciated this more than I liked it...maybe in 15 more years!? (3238 views) | | | Tasted by levinml on 10/22/2016 & rated 94 points: First time with this vintage. Very pleasantly surprised. Everything comes across as a big boy wine. Good nose, color, finish. Only thing is the mid-palate flavors are just off a hair. Hits the palate great, but just something not quite right when it sits on the tongue. Finishes good. Probably not going to get any better, but seems like it will hold a while. No way this is over the hill in 2015. (4932 views) | | | Tasted by dchain on 2/27/2016 & rated 90 points: Had this with some very experienced drinkers and it is just classic Californian Cabernet that is too ripe, too polished and too made-up to bring anything more than a brief acknowledgement that it is well made but did not do anything for us. JusT so sweet and one dimensional. One sip and we poured it into the spittoon as there were so many better wines to drink, many being significantly cheaper than the Harlan. Damning indeed... (5696 views) | | | Tasted by Marc on 12/24/2015 & rated 92 points: Drunk directly after the 2000 Maiden, this offered more of the house style - far richer and more opulent, and with the volatility less obvious. Stunning black doris plum skin aroma and flavours. So well-constructed, and today the construction felt completely seamless. Clearly a "luxury" cuvee, in that it is so plush and concentrated, the wine also offered a sense of being a point. It will continue to age, but I see this as being mature and offering great pleasure now. A better showing than 5 years ago, suggesting the wine is peaking. Not extraordinary, but outstanding and complete. Comfortable in its own skin and a triumph for the 2000 vintage. (5486 views) | | | Tasted by steinersing on 12/13/2015 & rated 94 points: From mag, 5 hours after opening- drinking very well, herbe de Provence, forest nose, expressive, and interesting mouth. (5485 views) | | | Tasted by cultdrinker on 12/12/2015 & rated 97 points: Enjoyed at Ruth Chris with a filet and shrimp. The wine is showing very well. Let breathe in the bottle for 1 1/2 hours then decanted for about another 30 minutes. Continued to open up throughout the dinner. Nice smooth Bordeaux like blend with solid aftertastes that last for more than 1 minute. I am not sure that this wine will get any better with age, so I will drink up my last 5 bottles before the end of 2016. (5242 views) | | | Tasted by The Vines That Bind on 11/10/2015 & rated 89 points: Approachable. Little nose. Palate is beginning to move from glycerin and black currant more into underripe black and red cherry. Didn't write much, nothing wrong here, just nothing that interesting. (3717 views) | | | Tasted by buckeye76 on 7/22/2015 & rated 94 points: ELEGANT WINE WITH LEATHER, BLACK CHERRIES, BLACKBERRIES, AND SOME EARTHINESS IN THE NOSE. RIPE BERRY FRUIT AND BLACK CHERRIES IN THE FLAVOR. BORDEAUX LIKE WITH NICE COMPLEXITY AND A LONG FINISH (1487 views) | | | Tasted by PT insurgent on 4/20/2015: Massive nose or blackcurrant, olives, plum, prune, very ripe, vanilla, oak, meat, hint of leather, tobacco, mint/menthol.
Palate is very ripe and juicy, jammy black fruits, blackcurrant, olive, plum, mint, vanilla, coconut, oak, char, sweet spices, dark chocolate.
High tannins, very ripe, massive extraction.
Good, huge, not very delicate, massive in your face. Worth the hype? Don't know... 15 years old and still very young, very minty. (3474 views) | | | Tasted by Plunge the Worm on 3/16/2015 flawed bottle: Corked. Too bad, brought in to drink with dinner at Manresa (los Gatos, Ca)..wish i could have sent it back but.. (3863 views) | | | Tasted by Agreenblatt on 1/23/2015 & rated 93 points: Chefs table. A5a. Great steak moment. (3369 views) | | | Only displaying the 25 most recent notes - click to see all notes for this wine... |
| By Elaine Chukan Brown
JancisRobinson.com (3/11/2020)
(Harlan Estate Napa Valley Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Antonio Galloni
Vinous, Cellar Favorite: 2000 Harlan Estate (Aug 2015) (8/1/2015)
(Harlan Harlan Estate Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | The World of Fine Wine, December 2014, Issue #46
(Harlan Estate) Login and sign up and see review text. | By John Kapon
Vintage Tastings, The New York Tasting of 2005 (10/2/2005)
(Harlan Estate) Login and sign up and see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2003, IWC Issue #108
(Harlan Estate Red Wine Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By Stephen Tanzer
Vinous, May/June 2002, IWC Issue #102
(Harlan Estate Red Wine Napa Valley) Subscribe to see review text. | By William Kelley
Decanter, Harlan Estate Vertical
(Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, California, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text. | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (9/6/2012)
(Harlan Estate) Very dark red violet color; cassis, light menthol, mint nose; tasty, poised, cassis, light menthol, mint palate with sweet tannins; medium-plus finish 94 points | By Richard Jennings
RJonWine.com (7/24/2004)
(Harlan Estate) Lovely berry, cassis nose; berry, cassis, cherry palate with sweet tannins; medium finish 94 points |
NOTE: Scores and reviews are the property of JancisRobinson.com and Vinous and The World of Fine Wine and Vintage Tastings and Decanter and RJonWine.com. (manage subscription channels) |
| 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 |
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