x
  • Country ranking ?

    5
  • Producer ranking ?

    4
  • Decanting time

    3h
  • When to drink

    from 2020
  • Food Pairing

    Roasted Lamb

The Tb points given to this wine are the world’s most valid and most up-to-date evaluation of the quality of the wine. Tastingbook points are formed by the Tastingbook algorithm which takes into account the wine ratings of the world's best-known professional wine critics, wine ratings by thousands of tastingbook’s professionals and users, the generally recognised vintage quality and reputation of the vineyard and winery. Wine needs at least five professional ratings to get the Tb score. Tastingbook.com is the world's largest wine information service which is an unbiased, non-commercial and free for everyone.

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99 points Robert Parker's Wine Advocate

 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. 99+ points. 99+ (RP) (10/2015) 

98 points James Suckling

 This shows incredible lavender aromas with Provencal undertones of violets, dark fruits such as blueberry and blackberry, and some walnut. Full body plus ultra fine tannins that build on the finish. It really comes on with a rolling tannin structure. Tightly wound. A muscular and elegant wine with superb tone. A fresh and bright Harlan. This wine has levity, as the winemaker likes to say. Try in 2020.  (7/2015) 

95-97 points Stephen Tanzer's International Wine Cellar

 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. (ST)  (5/2014) 

97 points Vinous

 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. (AG)  (10/2015) 

93 points Wine Spectator

 Dusty, loamy tannins provide the outline, with a crushed rock--laced mix of dried berry, sage and cedary oak. Still very tight and oaky, but time should resolve that, as this ends elegantly, with spice and firm tannins. (JL)  (11/2015)

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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.

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Average Bottle Price

2016
811€

This data comes from the FINE Auction Index, a composite of average prices for wines sold at commercial auctions in 20 countries. The average prices from each year have been collected since 1990. This chart plots the index value of the average price of the wines.

Tasting note

color

Medium and Cherry Red

flavors

Blueberry, Cardamom, Toasty, Herbs, Dusty and Spice

nose

Open, Fresh and Generous

taste

High in Acidity and Low alcohol content

Written Notes

 An intensely deep red with an abundance of smoke and ripe fruit, as well as grilled-meat and cherry aromas and flavors. Full-bodied, layered and powerfully tannined. Soft, chewy texture. Plush. Drink or hold.

  • 98p

Deep, dark ruby with blue, purple accents in color. Notes of smoke, vanilla, boysenberry, blackberry, cassis and campfire embers create the aromatics. On the palate, the wine is powerful, concentrated, lush, fat and sweet, it coats your palate with a deep purple tint. With silky, velvet textures and ample weight and density in the mouth, the spicy, chocolate covered fruits linger for at least 60 seconds. Perhaps I like the 2013 Harlan just a bit more, but my guess is, I could change my mind on that in the future. I just hope I get the chance to compare those two wines back to back some day.

  • 99p

(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.

  • 97p

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.

  • 97p

Magnum. Deep glowing crimson. Tamarind nose and big, pretty tough tannic grip. 2012 is in theory a big, opulent, warmer year than 2013 and 2013 is supposed to have a bit more structure, but there is masses of tannin in this! And the sweetness is a tad to obvious for my palate.

  • 90p

Full, generous and filled with mocha, dark chocolate and blackberry notes. Tobacco and ripe plums with mixed dark berries. Velvety firm tannins, packed with flavors. Long finish. 2012 was a wonderful growing season that did not have much rainfall and this balance is reflected in the wine. Reducing irrigation now and evolving viticulture with time - vine age average is about 25 years old.

  • 97p
Good looking normal size bottle. Colour is cherry red and medium. On the nose it is open, fresh and generous. The taste is low alcohol content and and high in acidity. On the palate it is layered and has dusty, herbs, spice, blueberry, toasty and cardamom flavours.
- (Tasting note created by Tb's AI)
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Information

Origin

Oakville, Napa Valley

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

None
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