1991 Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, Case of 6 btls

RP98 "I had the privilege of tasting the exquisite 1991 from barrel. Finally, 938 cases of the 1991 have been bottled unfiltered and released. Produced from a rocky, terraced vineyard on the western hillsides of Napa, looking down on Martha's Vineyard and the Oakville Grade area, this wine is one of the most promising and profound Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines made in California. Bill Harlan, proprietor of the luxurious Meadowood Country Club and Resort, has dreamed of producing a classic California Cabernet for years, and he experimented with small micro-vinifications from the mid-eighties. The 1991 will finally bring to the world's attention what Bill Harlan, along with his two wine-makers, Bob Levy of Merryvale and Michel Rolland of France, has achieved.
The 1991, two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance Cabernet Franc and Merlot, is even more impressive now than it was earlier. The wine boasts an opaque purple/dark ruby color, followed by an extraordinarily profound bouquet of sweet cassis, vanilla, minerals, toast, chocolate, and tobacco. Remarkably rich, full-bodied, and layered, with thrilling extract levels, yet soft tannin, this wine continues to remind me of a California fantasy blend of La Mission-Haut-Brion and Cheval Blanc. Strikingly powerful and intense, as well as unequivocally graceful, it is a compelling wine that propels Harlan Estate into the upper echelon of Cabernet Sauvignon wine producers. The only opportunity readers will have to latch onto a bottle of these extraordinary wines (the exquisite packaging - note the Rubenesque female figure caressing a succulent bunch of grapes - is also admirable) is to get their names on the winery's mailing list." RP Dec 1995

Robert Parker writes, "Harlan Estate, owned by Bill Harlan, is a luxury, world-class, Cabernet Sauvignon-based wine produced from a steep, terraced vineyard on the western side of Napa Valley, high above Napa's famous Martha's Vineyard. Approximately 24 acres are in vine and the yields to date have been very low. Bill Harlan, better-known as one of the principals of Merryvale Vineyards and Napa's exquisite Meadowood Country Club and Resort, has only one objective: to produce one of the greatest red wines of California. Based on the 1991, 1992 and 1993 vintages, Harlan Estate will create quite a frenzy among wine enthusiasts. The 1991, to be released in September, 1995, is limited in quantity as fewer than 1,000 cases were produced." Published: Dec 22, 1994