1995 Harlan Estate

Community Tasting Notes (74) Avg Score: 95.3 points

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  1/19/2023 - Mdog Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Only had time to slow ox for 2 hrs and honestly this wine is huge and could have used 6hrs and or a decant
  Awesome on initial opening then got tight for a bit and opened back
  If you are lucky enough to have this in your cellar, it will be good for a few more years.

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  5/16/2022 - BaroloRob wrote: 94 Points

  Fully mature and well balanced. Went great with lamb. Would have guessed bordeaux if I had tasted it blind. Interesting to see the evolution of these cult Cali cabs.

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  3/11/2022 - Cailles wrote: 92 Points

  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: A touch of warmth and quite reductive at first on the nose. With time a bit better but never really hitting all the marks. From the palate through the medium long finish, the wine displays fine red fruit, some ripe dark berries, slightly distracting tomato leaf notes, other herbs and some crushed rocks. I don't particularly like the flavor profile but the precision is on a very good level. The structure is again the highlight with ultra-fine tannins, a high but well interwoven acidity, a slightly creamy texture and weightless feel. This is overall pleasant wine but it's not close to the more structured, more Bordeaux like Dominus 1995, which is my benchmark for this vintage in Napa Valley. 91/92 pts.
  
  Decanting: A bit of decanting (1h+?) is advised as this got cleaner and better by the minute.

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  8/20/2021 - fcxj wrote: 94 Points

  From magnum. Silky palate, quite complete. Guess could be California, has the sweetness.

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  5/25/2021 - dream Likes this wine: 94 Points

  Drinking very well out of magnum tonight and it really evolved after being open for 2+ hours. Quite concentrated with rich bluish/black fruit along with complex notes of cassis, ripe berries and eucalyptus. At a very nice middle ground now as it's fully integrated and just beginning to show some mature flavors of violet spice and sweet Napa earth. A great showing tonight.

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