Harlan 2004 Harlan Estate

Professional reviews

Robert Parker (98)

The 2004 Harlan Estate is probably the most precocious and accessible Harlan Estate that this perfectionist team has made. Already compelling, the wine has notes of roasted coffee, charcoal, blackberry, spring flowers, and some background sweet, toasty notes. Dense, fleshy, exuberant, even flamboyant by the standards of Bill Harlan, this wine exhibits no jaggedness or rough edges, has relatively high tannins, but they melt away on the palate. The wine is sensationally well-endowed, long, and rich – a tour de force in winemaking. They can do no wrong at Harlan, and it is obvious, even in the most challenging vintages such as 1998, that this estate is a true grand cru/first growth, making wines of irrefutable world-class quality. Of course, none of this comes cheap, as the price is now moving up into the league with Screaming Eagle, but there are no shortage of takers.

Winespectator (97)

Firmly structured and tightly wound, with deep, perfumed currant, anise, sage and cedary oak notes, picking up a mineral and pebble edge and ending with a return to the spicy currant fruit. Long and persistent, with tight tannins.

BOW (9.25)