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Harlan Estate 2001

Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, United States

Harlan Estate
Napa Valley United States
  • 99
    Points
  • The 254 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 32 Pros of
    32 recommend
    this wine
605 99
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    78

  • Producer ranking ?

    12

  • Decanting time

    4h

  • When to drink

    now to 2045

  • Food Pairing

    St. Francis Mission Style Beef Stew

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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This wine, which first debuted in 1990, has probably garnered more perfect scores than any other Napa Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2001 is just entering a young adolescent stage of development, exhibiting extraordinary nuances such as sweet, loamy soil and earthy minerality intermixed with some background smoke, black currant liqueur, plum, Asian spice and new saddle leather. Full-bodied, it possesses great intensity, with stunning flavors that are...

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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

2001
Average winter rainfall tapered off through March and April.
A warm May and June accelerated the growing season. With the exception of an oddly cool July, temperatures throughout the summer maintained that momentum.
Picking began on September 5,then temperatures dipped into the upper 70°s for the next two and a half weeks and slowed ripening.

Harvest resumed and finished by October 4, thanks to a little “Indian Summer” heat boost.
...

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Average Bottle Price

2023 2020 2015
1 650€ +23.1% 1 340€ +13.6% 1 180€

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 Healthy

ending

Long, Lingering and Spicy

flavors

Blackberry, Plum, Floral, Toasty, Leather and Blackcurrant

nose

Youthful

recommend

Yes

taste

High in Acidity, Warming, Complex, Balanced, Well-structured, Full-bodied, Ripe, Rich, Focused, Dry and Silky tannins

Verdict

Excellent

Written Notes

Ruby. Blackberries, anise, spices, some herbs, liquorice, vanilla, rich nose. Fresh acidity, ripe tannins, alcohol, blackberries and spices, bit hollow mid palate, long. 91

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  • 91p

Rich red with a paler rim than the 2002. Quite different from the 2002 in style – much leaner and more austere but more zippy and lively. More obvious acidity and tannin with almost a leathery sheen and flavour to it. Quite chewy on the finish. Great texture. Kick of life on the finish.  Glossy and lively and if tasted in isolation  I suspect this would seem terribly rich and round – it’s only austere in comparison with the 2002. Demands lots of time.

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  • 96p

Deep ruby. Roasted black fruits, leather, licorice, bitter chocolate and mint on the complex, youthfully medicinal nose. Hugely sweet, fat and pliant, with solid structure currently covered by baby fat. The wine's brilliant vinosity became more apparent as it opened in the glass. Finishes with noble, sweet tannins and superb palate-staining persistence. A compellingly layered, deep wine that's likely to develop in bottle for 15 or 20 years. I kept raising my score as I went back for yet another taste, and yet it's possible that the 2002 will be even better.

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  • 96p

One of the highlights in this tasting, the 2001 Harlan Estate is simply majestic. Powerful, explosive and dense, the 2001 soars out of the glass with an exotic mélange of aromas, flavors and textures that grabs hold of all the senses. The 2001 is an especially virile, potent Harlan Estate that will drink well for 20 years or more. Today it is very impressive. Two thousand one was current winemaker Cory Empting ‘s first vintage at Harlan Estate.

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  • 98p

The classically ripe character delivers a sweet impression, supple tannins, a rich, luscious mouthfeel and a prolonged finish of mocha, dark berries and chocolate. Though this vintage seems ready to enjoy now, it is a monumental Harlan that will also repay with cellaring.

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  • 97p
Deep, ruby red. Well-focused, signature aromas of underbrush and forest floor abound in this wine. Also notes of tea, tobacco, mocha, leather, licorice, cedar, black currant, and violets. It is a wine of considerable depth, complexity, and staying power. A rich and full entry follows with equal measures of power and elegance. Ripe, supple tannins are present in the finish and contribute to its extended staying power, lift, and length. A wine of purity, definition, and harmony that combines a more elegant, structured style, similar to the 1994 with the ripe, viscous qualities of the 1997. The wine is classic Harlan Estate, with a very long life ahead of it, though much of its potential is still in hiding. Lay this one down for 5+ years and then drink for 30+ (50?) years.
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Since the first time I had this vintage, and every single time I’ve tasted this wine since, I’ve always loved it an given it somewhere between 98 and 100 points, and most of the time a perfect 100 point score! It’s just a fantastic wine, a benchmark wine for Napa Valley cabernets! The color is still dark, almost opaque and the nose is intense but very elegant and there’s a substantial concentration of ripe dark berries (dark cherries, blackberries, and cassis) to add body, depths and lengths to the taste. The overall balance is what makes this wine impressive, it’s really an amazing wine with great finesse, and although nine years old, I would describe it as youthful. In all aspects I can think of, this is a perfect wine. Not even the fact that winemaker Bob Levy kept the wine in brand new oak for 21 months (a record at Harlan Estate), gave too much oak impact on the wine. The ripe och lush fruit has absorbed the oak in a great way. At this stage you’ll only find some sweetness and spiciness, there’s no bitterness at all, therefore the typical mineral notes shows just beautiful! The 2001 vintage has been described as almost perfect for the winegrowers and winemakers all over California, and there’s plenty of wines at all price points to prove that.
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  • 100p
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Information

Origin

Oakville, Napa Valley

Vintage Quality

Excellent

Value For Money

Very good

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

Drinking temperature

16
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