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98 points James Suckling
Intense aromas of black pepper, blueberry, blackberry, tar, and black licorice. Full bodied, with amazing length and a toned muscular character. This lasts for minutes. Like a world class ballerina. It is held back and beautiful. Please leave this alone until 2015!
96 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The 2006 Harlan Estate has turned out better than I originally predicted. Its dense ruby/purple color is followed by classic aromas of creme de cassis, melted licorice, smoked meats, burning embers, and graphite... great balance. A candidate for 'wine of the vintage', this dense, full-bodied effort has 25+ years of life ahead of it. Anticipated maturity: 2012-2035.
95 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar
Deep ruby-red. Captivating aromas of redcurrant, sage, leather and game, lifted by a floral note. A sweet, juicy midweight, quite primary and closed today but with lovely inner-mouth floral lift apparent already. This is about sweetness more than sheer opulence. Most impressive today on the very long, building finish, which features suave but firm tannins and excellent lift to its lingering flavors of red fruits, forest floor and tobacco. A great performance for the year and sure to be long-lived. 95(+?) points
95 points Wine Spectator
Dense and concentrated, with firm dried currant, berry, mineral, graphite and cedary oak flavors that are just beginning to unfold.
Wine Description
The Story
With the founding of Harlan Estate in 1984, we embarked upon our mission of creating a “first growth” of California. The estate’s early vineyard development began with just six acres. Today our planting is essentially complete, with nearly forty acres under vine to the classic varietals: cabernet sauvignon (70%), merlot (20%), cabernet franc (8%), and petit verdot (2%). Invariably, the finished wine is predominately cabernet sauvignon, which we blend with varying amounts of the other three varietals as we seek to express faithfully the unique and distinctive character of the site.
Modest quantities of wine were produced in 1987, 1988, and 1989 from grapes that represented the second, third, and fourth leaf of our estate vineyard. In each of those years a small number of barrels were produced in the hope of gaining a prescient glimpse into what the character of the land—never before cultivated—might have to offer. The wines were blended, bottled, and labeled with a special designation. Though charming in their own way, these first wines fell short of our standards and aspirations, so were never released. They continue to serve as humble reminders of where we began the journey.
Wine Information
Cold, wet (52+ inches) weather in winter and early spring delayed budbreak, but the ground dried out very quickly. Fast and vigorous shoot growth required diligent thinning. a warmer summer than 2005, but it was by no means a hot summer along the lines of 2001, 2002, or 2004. harvest began on september 18, with deliberate ripening, and finished on October 31. average yield: 1.8 tons per acre.
tasting notes
at the time of going to press, the 2006 has been in the bottle for nearly a year. its color is a full, deep ruby. the vibrant nose is rich in detail. the entry is currently intensely fruit-forward in a lively and refreshing way, with tremendous mouth-energy and layered flavors of blackberry, raspberry, tobacco, anise, and spice. there is a focus and linearity, reminiscent of the 1996 when it was in its youth, that bodes well for both early enjoyment and extended longevity. While it’s in the early stages of its evolution, we feel it has great long-term potential.
