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Harlan Estate 1997

Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, United States

Harlan Estate
Napa Valley United States
  • 100
    Points
  • The 85 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 23 Pros of
    23 recommend
    this wine
605 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    12

  • Producer ranking ?

    7

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    now to 2040

  • Food Pairing

    Grilled NY Strip Steak With Spring Garlic Butter

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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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 w...

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Wine Information

Copious winter rains through January, slowing through the spring, set the stage for a late-March budbreak. Temperatures hovered between 80° and 90° from May into september, with only 33 days topping 90°. scant rain in early september, followed by some days with elevated temps. harvest concluded september 26. average yield was 2.75 tons per acre.

tasting notes

Color very dense, nearly opaque. Very ripe, concentrated aromatics of vanilla, ...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2016 2015 2014 2012 2010 2005
1 586€ +22.9% 1 290€ +31.9% 978€ +1.3% 965€ +2.8% 939€ +15.6% 812€ -14.8% 953€ +35.9% 701€

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

Deep, Ruby red and Bright

ending

Medium, Lingering, Pure and Acidic

flavors

Cardamom, Moldy, Spice, Blackcurrant, Coffee and Cigar-box

nose

Unclean, Fresh, Generous and Intense

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Warming, High tannin, Concentrated, Unbalanced, Perfectly balanced, Full-bodied, Rich, Elegant, Focused, Dry and Sweet tannins

Verdict

Faulty and Masterpiece

Written Notes

Had tons of milk chocolate in its nose but was clearly not as good as the 1994. There were intense walls of alcohol to get over to get into this humongous, massive wine. It was not that drinkable at the moment, perhaps that moment, but the wine certainly had more 'oomph' than the '94. Comparatively unready, the 1997 did make a good case that it might outlive the 1994, though
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  • 95p

Dark garnet red colour. Refined and elegant nose shows charmingly evolved aromas smoky and spicy sandelwood aromas, ashes combined with lovely violet tones. Full-bodied vinbrant palate with great precision and concentration. Tannins are pronounced but polished, jammed sour black fruit is intense but not overwhelming, Vibrant acidity and slatey minerality gives good backbone and longevity to the lingering after tasrte which shows licorice and spiciness with sour cherry flavours. The world class wine that is drinking perfectly today. Decant for 5 hours and serve it at 17-18°C with A5 Wagyu beef. JL 97p (4/2022)

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  • 97p

A great bottle, ripe, intense, structured, focused and concentrated, with youthful, vibrant, layered flavors, gaining velocity and length. There's a tremendous finish.

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  • 97p

Saturated ruby. Liqueur-like superripe nose combines roasted cherry, black raspberry, minerals and Valrhona chocolate; distinctly port-like notes. Voluptuous and huge in the mouth, with explosive fruit bordering on confectionary; flavor of chocolate-covered currants. Much more powerfully structured than the estate second wine but the backbone is hidden under a tidal wave of lush fruit. Endless finish features extraordinarily fine, suave tannins. Like the '97 Bryant Family Vineyard cabernet, this freakishly ripe wine reminds me of a great '47 Pomerol.

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  • 97p

This wine is gorgeous and perfect because it is filled with contradictions. The aroma is alluring and pulls you in; then on the palate there is a surprising delicacy in the texture. While it is rich and powerful, the texture is fine and without excessive weight. The mid palate is almost gentle then the flavours rise in the finish. An extraordinary wine that is drinking beautifully now but is still extremely young.

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  • 100p
Color very dense, nearly opaque. Very ripe, concentrated aromatics of vanilla, minerals, coffee, blackberries, licorice, cassis, prune, and shoyu, with high notes of bright red and black fruits behind. The flavors are very thick, ripe, layered, and supple on the palate, with tremendous power and density. The flavor profile is broad, jammy—almost confectionary—and very complex, yet displaying a balance of acidity. Tannins and alcohol harmonize to show an uncommon richness. A big vintage with a big personality—at times problematic, at other times brilliant—even better now, having emerged from a period of metamorphosis. Drink with hearty food now and for the next 30 years.
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Already at harvest, the1997 vintage was called the “vintage of the century”, and at Harlan Estate they made one of the most impressive wines ever made in this part of the valley. Some critics gave it a perfect 100 point score – other rejected the wine and called it “too much”. And too much it was. When I tasted it the first time just after release, the overly high alcohol and super ripe fruit (almost sweet) reminded me of a vintage port från Taylor’s. Not too bad to be a “regular wine”, but to be honest, not so complex. Still I liked it, in a way. Over the last four or five years, I have tasted it a couple of times, and to my surprise the wine have become more and more complex (although I liked the wine from the beginning, I didn’t believe it could evolve in this direction – it was too ripe for that I thought). The ripe and lush fruit is still there, but it has calmed down a bit and I actually found the wine to be elegant. To a certain extent it can be explained by the fact that some of the sweetness started to dry out a few years ago, but most of all because there’s an almost perfect balance of primary fruit flavors and seductive secondary aromas. There’s enough tannin to add some structure to promise some more years of bottle age, but rather would rather describe the taste as silky than structured. Some sommeliers I poured this wine to at a dinner party, told me it was their “wine of the year”. It’s easy to see what they liked about it. Based on the fact that I have had it side by side with other great vintages of Harlan Estate, I will not give it a perfect score, just almost that!
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  • 98p
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Information

Origin

Oakville, Napa Valley

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Best buy

Investment potential

Very Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16

Inside Information

The 1997 Harlan Estate is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines I have ever tasted. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this enormously-endowed, profoundly rich wine must be tasted to be believed. Opaque purple-colored, it boasts spectacular, soaring aromatics of vanilla, minerals, coffee, blackberries, licorice, and cassis. In the mouth, layer after layer unfold powerfully yet gently. Acidity, tannin, and alcohol are well-balanced by the wine's unreal richness and singular personality. The finish exceeds one minute. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.

 

 

Wine Advocate #132
Dec 2000		 Robert M. Parker, Jr. 100 Drink: 2001 - 2030 $1195-$2148 (150)
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