Wine Advisor
Harlan, Proprietary Red 2009
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
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
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Harlan Estate shows another side of this great Napa Valley wine. Freshly cut roses, dark fruit and licorice are woven together beautifully in this elegant, totally polished wine. The tannins are pure silk, while the radiant finish conveys an impression of pure sensuality. Anticipated maturity: 2016-2029. Vintages 2008 and 2009 are totally different in character at Harlan Estate. In 2008 the two wines are also quite far apart stylistically, while in 2009 the wines are much more closely linked. The 2010s I tasted from barrel were all raciness and pure excitement. Readers may want to take a look at my video interview on www.erobertparker.com with Bill Harlan in which Harlan discusses Promontory, his newest project. Tel. (707) 944-1441
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Stylistically, the 2009 Harlan Estate has quite a bit in common with the 2012, namely soft contours, plush fruit and tons of sheer immediacy. Now with a few years in bottle, the 2009 is just beginning to show the first signs of aromatic development. Deep, creamy and pliant, the 2009 can be enjoyed now, although it is sure to gain complexity over the next two decades.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2009 Harlan Estate shows another side of this great Napa Valley wine. Freshly cut roses, dark fruit and licorice are woven together beautifully in this elegant, totally polished wine. The tannins are pure silk, while the radiant finish conveys an impression of pure sensuality.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
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.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
Saturated ruby to the rim. Outstanding floral lift to the aromas of cassis, licorice, menthol and pungent minerality. Very pure, primary and high-pitched, but already boasts an extraordinarily fine-grained texture, reflecting both the vintage and the site. Most impressive today on the palate-saturating finish, which features wonderfully silky tannins and great mounting persistence.
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.
