Harlan Estate, all elements of greatness combined in a bottle
Harlan Estate was founded in 1984, in California. Their mission was a simple but very bold one: creating a ‘first growth‘ of California. A first growth is often referred to as a Premier Cru, and is mostly considered the highest classification of Bordeaux wines.
The estate started with just six acres of vineyards, whereas today they posses nearly forty acres of vineyards. The acres are containing all the classic grape varietals, in the following ratio: Cabernet Sauvignon (70%), Merlot (20%), Cabernet Franc (8%), Petit Verdot (2%). So as you can probably guess, their wines mainly consist out of Cabernet Sauvignon.
The first vintages; 1987, 1988 and 1989, where never released because the winemaker felt the wines were not good enough.
In 1990 they released their first bottles of wine. It was a good vintage, and a pretty wine, really showing its terroir. Which was drinking very elegantly right from the first day of bottling. Something to be proud of.
So how many cases are produced annually of this exceptional cabernet sauvignon blend? Of the Harlan Estate Flagship wine, 2000 cases are created each year. Of The Maiden (the second wine), 800 cases are produced on a yearly basis.
“If we can enrich people’s lives, and just maybe inspire them to do something beyond what they might otherwise have done, that brings us great satisfaction. Our purpose is to help our patrons to have an even more enjoyable and healthy life.”
- H. William Harlan.
“These wines possess all the elements of greatness – individuality, power combined with elegance, extraordinary complexity, remarkable aging potential, and compelling richness without ponderousness.”
- Robert M. Parker, jr
Want to know more about Harlan Estate? Click here.
