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Harlan Estate 2002

Harlan Estate, Napa Valley, United States

Harlan Estate
Napa Valley United States
  • 100
    Points
  • The 130 best
    of 3 290 954
    wines globally
  • 14 Pros of
    15 recommend
    this wine
612 100
  • Taste
  • Moment

  • Country ranking ?

    23

  • Producer ranking ?

    9

  • Decanting time

    3h

  • When to drink

    now to 2040

  • Food Pairing

    Slow-roast shoulder of 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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I believe the 2001 Harlan Estate and 2002 Harlan Estate’s 100 point scores represent the first time I have given perfect ratings to two successive wines produced in the New World. However, the styles of the two wines couldn’t be more different as each reflects its particular vintage. The 2001 is a classic, long-lived, backward wine with most of its potential concealed at present. On the other hand, it is impossible to resist the flamboyant, ex...

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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

Coming off a drier-than-normal winter, a somewhat early budbreak began april 1. tempera- tures throughout spring and into the summer were erratic, with rain off and on through the end of May. Well-above-average temperatures alternated with lower-than-average daytime temperatures throughout most of the summer. hot days in early september brought on a rapid onset of harvest. temperatures moderated somewhat, then rose into the upper 90°s for seve...

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Average Bottle Price

2016 2015 2014 2013 2012 2011 2010
921€ +3.1% 893€ +4.8% 852€ +12.7% 756€ +14.7% 659€ -6.3% 703€ -1.1% 711€

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

ending

Long, Extensive and Flavorful

nose

Youthful, Opulent, Generous and Tempting

taste

Balanced, Well-Integrated, Developing, Full-bodied and Perfumed

Verdict

Exotic and Well-rounded

Written Notes

Inky in color, from the looks of things, this could easily be a 2012 Harlan! Barbecue smoke, incense, blackberry liqueur, mocha, blue fruit and licorice gets things of to a good start. The wine is full bodied, incredibly concentrated, opulent, lushly textured and mouth coating. The fruit keeps on going with a finish that must last close to 60 seconds. Still youthful, with this much going in, I suspect, it is good for another 30 years. For those wondering if, and how, new California Cult wines will age, check this wine out at 16, and it is still a baby. Expensive, but if this California Cabs are your wheelhouse, this is a reference point wine.
Read more at:https://www.thewinecellarinsider.com/search-wine-tasting-notes/?szSearch=harlan

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  • 100p

Luxurious red velvet look with a deep brick rim. Extremely voluptuous and flattering – essence of Napa Valley and the richest form of Cabernet Sauvignon – obviously pretty alcoholic but reined in on the finish. Really caresses the palate. Round and rich. Fleshy and opulent. Positively slides over the palate with just a hint of tea leaves on the finish which keeps it refreshing. Harlan has arguably perfected the art of producing Napa Valley Cabernet that is nothing at all like red bordeaux but succeeds on its own terms.

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  • 96p

Deep medium ruby. Knockout nose combines black raspberry, blackberry, candied violet, licorice pastille, black pepper and a suggestion of dusty earth. Like a liquid confection in the mouth: thick and sweet yet almost magically shapely and fresh. The longest, most inexorably palate-staining wine of my tour of the North Coast in early March: this lost no strength in my mouth after I had spit it. Damn near close to perfect wine; only my own refusal to give a perfect score to a wine that's still a decade or more short of its peak kept my score down. Bill Harlan, incidentally, compares the 2002 vintage to the 1995, which is showing spectacularly today. (I was able to retaste the extraordinary 2001, which is perhaps even more classic than the 2002 if not quite as extravagantly thick, with slightly more roasted yet sappy aromas and flavors of crystallized berries, minerals, tar and licorice, and great inner-mouth energy and persistence. This very backward wine has the acid/tannin spine to evolve in bottle for 15 to 20 years. On my latest tasting I rated it 96(+?).

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  • 98p
Deep, dark color—almost black. Classic cabernet sauvignon varietal nose, with notes of cedar, sage, mocha, black currant, smoke, and graphite. Shows explosive flavors of ripe fruit and earth notes with great density and complexity. Very dense, powerful, and rich. Backing up the ripe fruit flavors are uncommon layers of depth that keep going and going. This is an opulent vintage showing a super-ripe richness, fruit, and purity, as well as a finely honed texture. Noble tannins, flamboyant flavors, and an open-knit structure allow for both near-term enjoyment and the prospect of long-term aging. Hold 2-5 years and then drink for 30+ years.
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If any vintage of the complete range of wines made at Harlan Estate can claim to be as perfect as the 1994, 2001 and 2005 vintage, 2002 would be my choice. I’ve been lucky enough to taste it several times, open at the estate and on dinners, and blind in tastings. I always gave it a perfect or almost perfect score. It’s still a very young wine, dark, and huge, concentrated and dense, yet remarkably well calibrated and elegant, with loads of ripe and very pure dark fruit. The oak is still present with nuances of vanilla and dark chocolate, but it’s so well integrated you’ll still find the typical earthy qualities of prime land in the Oakville region, and the black olives so often found in great cabernets from this part of Napa Valley. One of the most fascinating things about this wine is the texture. Although there’s a substantial power and concentration, and tannins are huge (but ripe), I’ve always described the wine as viscous and silky, which in other words means perfectly well balanced. If there’s one thing about the wine one could discuss, the 15.5 percent of alcohol would be it. It’s there for sure, and you taste it, but I expect it to diminish over the coming years – normally it does. And I have no problems with waiting – this is a profound wine that will improve its taste and complexity with further bottle age. Already after one hour in the decanter, more and more of the Bordeaux like silkiness and complexity starts to show, and to be very honest, apart from the riper style and higher alcohol, it’s not very different from the very best wines of 2000, 2003 and 2005 vintages in Bordeaux. If you didn’t fall in love with the nose and taste of 2002 Harlan Estate, you will in its aftertaste. It lingers for minutes, and minutes, and it’s just gorgeous. My prediction is that this will be one of the greatest wines from this Californian grand cru ever!
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  • 99p
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Information

Origin

Oakville, Napa Valley

Vintage Quality

Outstanding

Value For Money

Best buy

Investment potential

Good

Fake factory

None

Glass time

2h

Inside Information

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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