Wine Advisor
Harlan, Proprietary Red 2007
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2007 Harlan Estate is fabulous. Explosive and dense, with tremendous persistence, the 2007 has all of the opulence and raciness that makes the wines from this vintage so distinctive. Scents of tobacco, leather and mocha develop in the glass, but above all else, the 2007 is a wine of sumptuous richness. It will continue to deliver considerable pleasure over the next two decades or so. What a wine! Empting describes 2007 as a warm, but not excessively hot, year with a long growing season. The wines presented naturally high dry extracts. Because of that, Levy and Empting opted for macerations that were a bit longer than usual.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Good deep ruby-red. Knockout nose combines dark berries, graphite, cedar and flowers. The palate offers uncanny clarity and depth of flavor, combining elegance and density in the way of a great grand cru site. Wonderful energy here, as well as inner-palate floral lift. A great vintage for Harlan Estate, with nothing overdone about it. Incidentally, I had the opportunity to taste every vintage of Harlan Estate in an extraordinary vertical tasting on this visit, and this 2007 was as strong as any wine to date from outstanding property estate. (I will publish the results of this tasting in the coming weeks.)
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
In the style of the perfect 2002, the 2007 Harlan Estate is a true blockbuster with supple tannins, an opaque purple color, and sweet notes of creme de cassis, mocha, smoke, blackberries, crushed rocks, and floral aromas. Extraordinarily opulent and dense, with fabulous fruit, a full-bodied texture, and plenty of tannin, this effort is very similar to the 2002, but with more minerality and tannin. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2035+. (Not yet released) This extraordinary estate, run by Bill Harlan, has never had either a shortage of ambition or patience. Harlan originally had his wines made elsewhere, but never found the resulting product up to his standards until his home vineyard, high on the western hills of the Oakville Corridor, hit an acceptable level of quality, which turned out to be in 1990. In October, I did a vertical tasting of every Harlan Estate vintage made (which I will report on at a future date), and one thing that was clear is just how extraordinary these wines are, and how well they are aging. Even in California’s lighter, more challenging years, Harlan turned out wines that anyone would be happy to own and consume. The newest offerings include two vintages of The Maiden essentially their second wine, and the flagship Harlan Estate fewer than 2,000 cases produced. Tel. (707) 944-1441; Fax (707) 944-1444
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The prodigious 2007 Harlan Estate reminds me of a hypothetical blend of the 2002 with a touch of the controversial 1997. Dense plum/purple-colored with sweet aromas of barbecue smoke, blueberries, blackberries, cassis, licorice, hot rocks and subtle oak, it is a splendidly opulent, pure wine with a skyscraper-like texture as well as stunningly deep fruit that expands gracefully across the palate. The finish lasts nearly a full minute. Because of its overwhelming richness and sweet tannins, this brilliant wine seems to be approachable now, but I suspect further nuances and complexity will emerge after 4-5 years in the bottle. This wine will still be going strong at age 25-30. Like the offerings from its sister estate, Bond, these Harlan Estate offerings are uncompromisingly brilliant examples of Napa viticulture and winemaking at its finest. Kudos to proprietor Bill Harlan. Run by Bill Harlan, Harlan Estate’s debut vintage was 1990. The second wine culled out from this extraordinary estate’s barrels is called The Maiden, with a production generally under 2,000 cases,. Yet it often represents 50% of the estate’s production given the Draconian selection process employed at Harlan. Tel. (707) 944-1441; Fax (707) 944-1444
About the Producer
The land at Château Harlan is unique in that the vineyards are situated on hillsides that are well drained and rise and fall with the slopes. The first 9.7 hectares of vineyard, planted between 1986 and 1987, was planted in a staggered manner, as the two small plots that make up the vineyard are located on either side of the hillside. The vines were planted with 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. The vineyards are planted at varying densities, with half of the vineyards planted with 1,750 vines per hectare and the other half with 5,500 vines per hectare. The high quality of Château Hallam's wines is a result of the meticulousness of the entire winemaking process. The winemaking philosophy at Château Hallam is to preserve the natural flavour of the grapes and to take a gentle approach to the growing and fermentation process. The barrels in the winery are all new French oak barrels. The main wine, Harlan Estate Proprietary Red, is aged in barrel for 25 months, while the unselected wine is bottled after 10 months as a secondary wine, The Maiden, without filtration or clarification. The wines of Château Hallam are dark in colour, fruity and floral, with strong, restrained tannins and a firm, robust texture, and have the potential to age for at least 20 years. Best vintages include: 1991, 1996, 1997, 2001, 2002, 2004 and 2007.
