Wines of The Harlan Family

Harlan Estate 2016...95 - 1oz / 275 - 3oz / 550 - 6oz / 800 - 9oz / 2100 - btlOakville, Napa Valley

Ample moisture through the winter months (27+ inches seasonal rainfall) lead to an early onset of the growing season (budbreak 3/24, bloom 5/17, veraison 8/5, harvest 9/10) followed by a warm, even growing season elongated days, leisurely harvest guided by confidence in the site and wisdom of the vines.

Dark black-red color. Expressive, articulate nose of fresh mixed berries, birch bark, sarsaparilla, along with savory hints of dried sage, thyme, subtle toasty barrel notes. Nice lift, very fresh, still primary. Vibrant, juicy fruit that is nicely composed; both sweet and savory. Beautiful guiding acidity moves the wine with energy; soft but full and energetic tannins. A very detailed and harmonious expression. BOND, “Vecina” 2017...55 - 1oz / 160 - 3oz / 320 - 6oz / 480 - 9oz / 1250 - btlOakville, Napa Valley

Almost as if anticipating the events that would transpire, this normally late-ripening site rallied from the onset with an unusually early budbreak. The growing season progressed without significant events. Harvest began on September 9th and concluded on September 27th.

From the beginning of aging, this Vecina has been a beacon, beckoning the other crus to follow. Aromatically the wine is vibrant, displaying its classic dried herbs and dark fruit, but with even greater life and dimension. The vertical nature of the wine does not impose, but impresses and inspires a reverence in the solidarity of this site. The savory 2017 is yet full of vitality and energy; its structural lines are more chiseled and defined than in other vintages. The Mascot 2018...15 - 1oz / 45 - 3oz / 85 - 6oz / 125 - 9oz / 320 - btlNapa Valley

Healthy rainfall in March and April preceded a benevolent summer, whose mildness was interrupted only briefly by a few warming periods. The fruit of the young vines maintained a measured balance that gave the team little indication that harvest was imminent. Fog and temperate days followed in September, when—relying more on instinct than empirical cues—we began to pick. This judgment—as well as the gentle nature of the season—is confirmed in the subtle, ethereal power of the vintage, which reveals itself first in the deep, brooding aromas of dark fruit, black tea, and herbal notes. The texture expands around a lifted structure, as powdery tannins gently resolve. This diffused, enigmatic softness is anchored on the mid-palate by a gratifying density, which prepares the senses for a flourish of hidden energy and vivid detail that illuminates the finish. Promontory 2020...1700 - btlOakville & Yountville, Napa Valley

Despite an eventful vintage, the wine initially imparts an outward calm that emanates, on the nose, from its cool minerality. A quiet reserve defines the approach, in which gentle traces of wet stone, and miststeeped forest softly draw the imagination closer to the surface—and then, beneath it. This is an inward journey, a descent into the wine, which asks time in the glass for discovery of its dimensions folded within. Here, deeper down, a luminous vibrancy gradually reveals the whole. An absence of extraneous ornament allows crisp acidity and fine tannins to frame a crystalline translation of the character of this untamed place. The wine’s composed, elegant clarity, born of the vines’ own wisdom, represents an inflection point—a brief moment of illumination—in our enduring pledge to unlock the hidden intrinsics of the territory.