Professional reviews
Robert Parker (100)
The head-spinning 2019 Harlan Estate is truly amazing stuff. Gentle cedar notes lead into layered dark chocolate and cassis, somehow impossibly rich yet savory. Full-bodied, concentrated and supple, this is dense, packed with flavor but seemingly weightless, with a lush, lingering finish that combines intensity with freshness to compel sip after sip. Like all truly great wines, it's full of somehow harmonious contradictions.
James Suckling (100)
A wine with an endless finish that is tension-driven, with fine tannins and an energetic acidity. Medium to full body with ultra-fine tannins. Blackcurrant character. Subtle and extremely long. Thought-provoking. Youthful. Great length. This is an abstract wine that sets a new benchmark for Napa Valley reds. Truly unique.
BOW (9.50)
Winespectator (96)
This is nicely rendered, with a core of dark currant and blackberry compote flavors, laced with a singed cast iron hint and backed by lively sweet bay leaf, violet and bramble accents. There’s a serious tug of earth through the finish, keeping this very grounded. Well-built, showing a slightly lighter hand on the oak treatment than usual. Best from 2025 through 2040.
Vinous (99)
The 2019 Harlan Estate is supremely elegant. Bright floral accents perk up a core of red/purplish fruit, lavender, rose petal, sage and mint all run through the 2019. Medium in body and gracious, the 2019 is all energy. It's not so much a wine of a vintage, but rather a wine that reflects the personality of a place and style. Time in the glass brings out the wines breath and resonance, yet notable freshness and verve remain. This is one of the more delicate, nuanced wines readers will taste from 2019, a year that generally yielded wines of opulence.
Jeb Dunnuck (100)
Matching the perfect 2018, the 2019 Harlan Estate is deeper and richer than the Maiden and has an incredibly pure, layered perfume of ripe currants, truffle, tobacco leaf, chocolate, and gravelly earth. This carries to a full-bodied red with building yet fine tannins, incredible purity of fruit, and flawless balance. Reminding me of a First Growth from Bordeaux given its acidity and tannin balance, as well as just overall sense of class, give bottles 7-8 years and enjoy over the following 30+ years.
Decanter (100)
Tasted with winemaker Cory Empting and director of winegrowing Bob Levy at Harlan Estate. Fresh and approachable, with the elegance and structural integrity to last four or five decades, possibly longer. On the nose, beautiful upfront savouriness reveals cassis notes, cigar box and black olive followed by ripe, fresh black and blue fruit. Mesmerizing depth of flavours, with beautiful creamy black and red berries and a deep vein of earthy minerality. Tannins are angular with impressive grip, while acids are firm and refreshing. The finish is offers nuanced black currants, dark chocolate, enticing tobacco and cedar.
