2009 Harlan Estate, Harlan Estate, Napa Valley 1x750ml

Vinous 97

Bright, saturated ruby. Alluring aromas of blueberry, cassis, licorice, minerals, mocha and nutty oak. At once thick and lively on entry, then densely packed and compellingly deep in in the middle palate, with its dark fruit, smoke and graphite flavors conveying a subtle savory quality that nicely buffers the wine’s sweetness and alcohol. At once harmonious and gripping for the year, this reverberating, palate-staining wine spreads out on the back end without losing its verticality–if that’s possible! Impeccable tannin management here. [Stephen Tanzer, 25/07/2019]

Anticipated maturity: 2020-2040

Robert Parker 97

The 2009 Harlan Estate is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Cloves, dark plums, cherries, smoke and graphite add richness and resonance to this powerful, incisive wine. Juicy and exuberant, the 2009 has always had a certain raciness that is impossible to resist. Layers of fruit continue to build to the enveloping, sensual finish. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this hugely delicious wine. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034. Even after all of these years, and with much more intense competition than ever before, Harlan Estate remains one of the great wines in Napa Valley. The 2009s have fulfilled all the promise they showed from barrel, but the 2010s might be even better. I also had a chance to taste the 1992 Harlan Estate, a wine I sold for a whopping $60, a princely sum at the time, at a Boston area restaurant where I worked in the mid 1990s. At age 20, the 1992 is at a glorious peak of expression. What a wine! Bill Harlan’s Promontory remains a work in progress, and I imagine it will be some time before the wines are up to Harlan’s uncompromising standards. After all, it took Harlan and his team seven vintages to feel comfortable showing Harlan Estate to Robert Parker. The maniacal attention to detail I have seen in the vineyards at Promontory bodes very well for the future. Tel. (707) 944-1441 [Antonio Galloni, 27/12/2012]

Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034