Wine Advisor
Harlan, Proprietary Red 2012
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Description
Tasting notes
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Racy and inviting, the 2012 Harlan Estate is the perfect wine to get this vertical started. Silky tannins and plush, richly textured fruit give the 2012 much of its immediacy. Succulent red cherry, plum, mocha, spice, rose petal and new leather are some of the many notes that grace this exquisite, sumptuous wine.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
The 2012 Harlan Estate is striking in its beauty. Dark red cherry, plum, spice, mint and new leather are all laced together in a Harlan Estate endowed with a compelling interplay of energy and nuance. This is an especially showy, radiant Harlan Estate that is likely to offer a wide window of pure drinking pleasure. The 2012 is not a big wine, but rather a Harlan Estate built on finesse.
Reviewed by: Antonio Galloni
Vivid and captivating from the very first taste, the 2012 Harlan Estate is insanely beautiful. Mocha, espresso, savory herbs and spices emerge from the breathtaking, intensely aromatic bouquet in a stunningly beautiful delineated wine that represents the height of total finesse. The silky, layered finish is a thing of beauty, even with all of its richness, the 2012 is never heavy. That is partly the vintage, but also the result of a gradual but at the same time clear evolution towards more finesse and less brute power.
Reviewed by: Stephen Tanzer
(this wine had been racked to tank on the morning of my visit): Full, bright ruby. Superripe, slightly high-toned aromas of cassis, blackberry and licorice, with a brightening note of minerality. Silky, dense and large-scaled but extremely primary and imploded, showing outstanding cut and lift to its dark berry and mineral flavors. A juicy minty note gives additional lift to this seriously plush, concentrated wine. Finishes with huge but noble tongue-saturating tannins and outstanding length. Great potential here.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The dense opaque purple-colored 2012 Harlan Estate reveals a beautiful bouquet of spring flowers (acacia?), sweet, subtle, toasty oak, unsmoked cigar tobacco, crème de cassis, mocha and a touch of wet steel/gravel-like minerality. With extraordinary fruit, density and complexity, this full-bodied, classic 2012 reminds me of the 2002, but is slightly softer and more evolved. Black fruit aromas and flavors fill the glass, and the wine has incredibly sweet, melted, well-integrated tannins. This 2012 can be drunk now, but promises to begin revealing more nuances in 4-6 years, and last for at least three decades.
Reviewed by: Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The 2012 Harlan Estate is reminiscent of their 2002. Probably a candidate for perfection with another 4-5 years of bottle age, the wine is inky plum/purple to the rim and offers a gorgeous nose of scorched earth, blackberry and cassis, forest floor, and a floral, lavender-like component followed by deep, opulent, majestic flavors that caress the palate with high but sweet tannin. This is relatively evolved, and supple and voluptuous for a young Harlan estate – hence the comparison with their compelling 2002. This wine can be drunk in several years and is likely another candidate for 30-50 years of cellaring.
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.
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