1991 Harlan Estate Napa Valley Bordeaux Blend

“I had the privilege of tasting the exquisite 1991 from barrel. Finally, 938 cases of the 1991 have been bottled unfiltered and released. Produced from a rocky, terraced vineyard on the western hillsides of Napa, looking down on Martha's Vineyard and the Oakville Grade area, this wine is one of the most promising and profound Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines made in California. Bill Harlan, proprietor of the luxurious Meadowood Country Club and Resort, has dreamed of producing a classic California Cabernet for years, and he experimented with small micro-vinifications from the mid-eighties. The 1991 will finally bring to the world's attention what Bill Harlan, along with his two wine-makers, Bob Levy of Merryvale and Michel Rolland of France, has achieved. The 1991, two-thirds Cabernet Sauvignon with the balance Cabernet Franc and Merlot, is even more impressive now than it was earlier. The wine boasts an opaque purple/dark ruby color, followed by an extraordinarily profound bouquet of sweet cassis, vanilla, minerals, toast, chocolate, and tobacco. Remarkably rich, full-bodied, and layered, with thrilling extract levels, yet soft tannin, this wine continues to remind me of a California fantasy blend of La Mission-Haut-Brion and Cheval Blanc. Strikingly powerful and intense, as well as unequivocally graceful, it is a compelling wine that propels Harlan Estate into the upper echelon of Cabernet Sauvignon wine producers. (RP)” (12/1995)