The Napa Valley Reserve 1997

When this wine was poured to me, I knew about this winery, but not about the wine itself. It is too rare to be found for that! However, when I tasted it, it felt quite familiar to me. At first it was closed, still young and very elegant with a wonderful dark cherry fruit with some stony notes of minerals and just a touch of walnuts (quite often, I find this aroma in the wines of central Napa Valley). With some air, it opened up, and when I tasted it, it was marked by minerals and tannins, although ripe and very elegant which made me suspect the grapes came from a high quality mountain site. Since the fruit was very intense and ripe, but the palate so well structured, I guessed on the cooler 1999 vintage. It was not. With more time in the glass, the wine opened up even more, and the more I sipped on the wine, the more my guesses went to Harlan Estate. When the bottled was showed (on this vintage, it was only labeled with the small vintage sticker), I didn’t realized it was the Napa Valley Reserve. It really tasted like Harlan Estate, but slightly more structured. I have a theory on this wine, not proven nor mentioned at Harlan Estate (of course). Since 1997 vintage was great, and a big one, most of the grapes in this unique wine were sourced from the hills of Harlan Estate. It really makes sense. For sure Bill Harland needed an outstanding wine to attract members to his new exclusive wine club, and for sure he had a larger crop than ever to use. Whatever is true, this is a wonderful wine.

- Michel Jamais