Community Tasting Notes 22

• starkravingmad Likes this wine: 98 points

  November 23, 2023 - very bold, fruit forward, flavors of cherry, plum

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• capacious Likes this wine: 96 points

  August 11, 2023 - discovered I had kept an entire case, decided its time to drink the expensive and good, so opened this for a friend, and then a week later at family. Sometimes I have not thought this deserved the hype, but it surely does with this vintage which should only do better in the future. A mouthful, balanced, extensive library of flavors, lengthy finish. One of the best from Napa I have had

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• BRY wrote: 92 points

  July 29, 2023 - Got better after a few hours in the decanter. A solid wine, but sadly, nothing special. I'd be happy with it at about 1/4 the price, but have had much better Napa cabs for a fraction of the price. After having it, pretty convinced that people have scored it primarily on the brand - tasted blind, I think the community scores would fall to the low 90's. Still a good wine, but far from great.

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• Cailles wrote: 95 points

  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: Expressive, intense nose, with ripe but already nicely fleshed out dark forest fruit, a touch of burnt sugar, herbs and a touch of baking spices. Very round, luxurious and inviting. Given the cooler season, this is fresher and lighter than the 2018 in the next glass. In typical Harlan fashion, this is all about weightless elegance, so finely detailed with red berries, dark berries, floral notes, herbs and minerality. Not as deep as the 2018 in the next glass but even finer with hardly noticeable tannins, perfect acidity, in the typical 2014 transparency and lightness. Medium+ length finish with fine, bright berries and herbs at the centre. Overall, this is a wonderful wine, all about the weightlessness of the structure. Given that Harlan achieves this in almost vintages, I prefer a bit more fruit-driven, more concentrated and complex vintages (12, 13, 16, 18). Still, this is great. 95+ pts.
  
  Decanting: No extensive decanting needed.

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• hprphf wrote: 94 points

  October 27, 2021 - Magnum No. 239. Black fruit, berry liqueur, grass, black sugar, vanilla. Sweet, ripe, strong linear Nordic acidity, notably cherry-like. Very interesting that the acidity is sort of on its own. Mouthwatering. 94+

  1 person found this helpful Comment

Pro Reviews 9

Wine Definition

• Vintage 2014
• Type Red
• Producer Harlan Estate
• Varietal Red Bordeaux Blend
• Designation n/a
• Vineyard n/a
• Country USA
• Region California
• SubRegion Napa Valley
• Appellation Oakville
• UPC Code 1000000000239

Community Holdings

• Pending Delivery 62 (1%)
• In Cellars 3,979 (84%)
• Consumed 696 (15%)

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