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The September 2025 Auction: Part 3
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1 / 2Lot 279
Estimate: $2,450
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Collection name
Reviews
97+WA
"Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Harlan Estate needs a little coaxing to reveal captivating iron ore, red currant jelly, cloves and crushed rocks scents with a core of warm cassis, Black Forest cake and boysenberries plus a waft of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm, grainy texture with a lively backbone and loads of earthy layers, long and mineral laced. This should be one of the longer-lived wines coming out of the 2017 vintage. ‘There was a clear dividing line between what we could use and what we couldn’t,’ Director Don Weaver commented about Harlan Estate’s 2017 harvest. ‘The way the community came together was the defining moment for us. In terms of selection, we erred on the highest quality side. The good news is that we had a lot to choose from!’ Indeed, Harlan Estate’s no-compromise stance has held them in good stead in 2017. Qualitatively, assuming this barrel sample is an accurate reflection of the final wine (and I have no reason to believe it isn’t), these guys didn’t miss a beat. This said, the 2017 The Maiden is still a work in progress and so wasn’t shown to me at this time. ‘2018 had a certain sense of ease to it,’ Bill Harlan said as we tasted the barrel sample of the next iteration of this iconic label. ‘The pace was wonderful.’ ‘Mother nature was allowing us an extended runway,’ winemaker Cory Empting agreed. ‘We just started picking and couldn’t stop.’ As a reminder, Harlan Estate is bottled later than most other Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. While a lot of the Napa 2018s were bottled in and around July 2020, Harlan will not be bottled until late February or early March 2021. This 2018 is looking incredibly youthful and indeed reticent, as are many 2018s, but it bears all the grace and sophistication of a wine nearing completion, promising to be an elegant, perfumed and perhaps even ‘perfect’ expression of this very special piece of Napa turf."
Region
Red
Country
Score
"Deep garnet-purple in color, the 2017 Harlan Estate needs a little coaxing to reveal captivating iron ore, red currant jelly, cloves and crushed rocks scents with a core of warm cassis, Black Forest cake and boysenberries plus a waft of pencil lead. Medium to full-bodied, it has a firm, grainy texture with a lively backbone and loads of earthy layers, long and mineral laced. This should be one of the longer-lived wines coming out of the 2017 vintage. ‘There was a clear dividing line between what we could use and what we couldn’t,’ Director Don Weaver commented about Harlan Estate’s 2017 harvest. ‘The way the community came together was the defining moment for us. In terms of selection, we erred on the highest quality side. The good news is that we had a lot to choose from!’ Indeed, Harlan Estate’s no-compromise stance has held them in good stead in 2017. Qualitatively, assuming this barrel sample is an accurate reflection of the final wine (and I have no reason to believe it isn’t), these guys didn’t miss a beat. This said, the 2017 The Maiden is still a work in progress and so wasn’t shown to me at this time. ‘2018 had a certain sense of ease to it,’ Bill Harlan said as we tasted the barrel sample of the next iteration of this iconic label. ‘The pace was wonderful.’ ‘Mother nature was allowing us an extended runway,’ winemaker Cory Empting agreed. ‘We just started picking and couldn’t stop.’ As a reminder, Harlan Estate is bottled later than most other Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignons. While a lot of the Napa 2018s were bottled in and around July 2020, Harlan will not be bottled until late February or early March 2021. This 2018 is looking incredibly youthful and indeed reticent, as are many 2018s, but it bears all the grace and sophistication of a wine nearing completion, promising to be an elegant, perfumed and perhaps even ‘perfect’ expression of this very special piece of Napa turf."
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The fourth-largest wine producer in the world, led by California. American fine wine is defined by ripe, expressive fruit and a spirit of innovation, with Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon among the most sought-after wines globally.
California's most prestigious wine region, celebrated worldwide for opulent, structured Cabernet Sauvignon. Diverse soils and mountain-to-valley-floor sites yield wines of remarkable ripeness, power and longevity.
A prestigious Napa sub-AVA on the valley floor, home to iconic estates and celebrated for richly textured, powerful Cabernet Sauvignon.
2017 in Napa Valley saw a wet winter, a scorching Labor Day heat spike and October wildfires; Cabernet picked before the fires is ripe and generous, but quality is variable across this challenging vintage.