2005 | Harlan Estate | Napa Valley (Magnum)

Red Wine: 2005 | Harlan Estate | Napa Valley (Magnum)

Dense and earthy, with savory herb, dried currant, spice, mint and cedary oak flavors, all tightly wound, compact and concentrated, yet with a seam of elegance and finesse. Very intense and powerful.

Order from the Largest & Most Trusted Premium Spirits Marketplace!

Featured in

• ROLLING STONE
• MEN’S JOURNAL
• US WEEKLY

NOTICE: Many other small liquor store sites may end up cancelling your order due to the high demand, unavailability or inaccurate inventory counts. We have partnerships consisting of a large network of licensed retailers from within the United States, Europe and across the world ensuring orders are fulfilled.

Producer: Harlan Estate

Ratings: WA | 97 JS | 96

Vintage: 2005

Size: 1.5L

ABV: 14.5%

Varietal: Bordeaux Blend Red

Country/Region: United States, Napa Valley

Dense and earthy, with savory herb, dried currant, spice, mint and cedary oak flavors, all tightly wound, compact and concentrated, yet with a seam of elegance and finesse. Very intense and powerful.

Reviews:

• Wine Advocate: Not unexpectedly, the 2005 Harlan Estate performed slightly better than it did last year. As these wines often do, it continues to put on weight as it is bottled very late by Napa standards, and there is no fining or filtration. The 2005 exhibits a gorgeous thick-looking, ruby/purple color in addition to a beautiful nose of burning embers interwoven with creme de cassis, roasted meats, sweet black truffles, and spring flowers. A hint of lead pencil shavings also emerges from this cuvee, which seems to want to be both a Pauillac and a ripe vintage of La Mission Haut Brion. Full-bodied, dense, pure, and revealing sweeter tannin than I remember, it can be drunk now, but it will no doubt display even greater complexity in 10, 20, and 30 years.

• James Suckling: This is very, very floral with sage, black currants, black berries, and hot stones. Full bodied, with blackberry, black olives, and cashmere like tannins. It finishes broad and is completely captivating. This is starting to come around, but be patient for another two years. Pull the cork in 2012.

Producer Information

Harlan Estate is a high-profile, critically-lauded wine producer based in the Oakville AVA of Napa Valley, California. The vineyard is superbly located in the hills above Martha’s Vineyard (Heitz Cellar) and To Kalon (Robert Mondavi), just north of Napa town itself. Its Cabernet Sauvignon-based flagship wine is one of California’s most sought-after wines, regularly commanding prices exceeding $1000 per bottle. The estate was founded in 1984 by property developer William (known as “Bill”) Harlan. He had previously developed the Meadowood resort before buying 240 acres (97 hectares) of steep, densely wooded land above the western Oakville benchlands. Some 40 acres (16 hectares) of this was cleared for vineyards. These are mostly planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, but with smaller amounts of other red Bodeaux varieties. Harlan Estate’s first commercial vintage was the 1990, which was released in 1996 with a then-expensive price tag of $65 a bottle. Since then, the estate has cemented itself as one of the most highly-regarded wine producers in the world, with eight vintages achieving 100-point scores from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate. As a result, prices have risen exponentially, and today the average global price (ex-tax) per 750ml bottle approaches $1,500 USD. In addition to the flagship red, Harlan Estate also makes a second wine, The Maiden.