Harlan Estate 2002 w/box 1500ml

Wine Advocate #201, Jun 30, 2012, by Robert M. Parker, Jr.
The extraordinary Harlan Estate, which I awarded 100 points seven years ago, offers no justifiable reason to doubt its perfect score. It is still a baby, with an inky purple color and notes of smoky camphor intermixed with creme de cassis, Asian soy and a hint of cedar beginning to emerge as well as some espresso and subtle damp forest floor notes. The wine has awesome intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, a skyscraper-like texture, and a finish that goes on for close to a minute. This is a perfect wine, still youthful and young, and not even in full adolescence as of 2012. It has 40 or more years ahead of it, but should hit its plateau of full maturity in another 5-10 years. It is certainly one of the most showy , flamboyant and remarkable Harlan Estates made to date.

H. William Harlan, the founder of Harlan Estate, had a vision. Simply put, he was determined to produce a California "First Growth". Harlan is an entrepreneur with a strong background in real estate and hotel development - someone who has come to understand the importance of "location". Harlan Estate is the result of a twenty year search for prime hillside vineyards, culminated by the patchwork acquisition of 230 acres above the fabled Rutherford-Oakville beachlands. The land is magnificent...oak-studded knolls and valleys, only ten percent of which are now under vine.
The 1997 Harlan Estate is one of the greatest Cabernet Sauvignon-based wines I have ever tasted. A blend of 80% Cabernet Sauvignon, with the rest Merlot and Cabernet Franc, this enormously-endowed, profoundly rich wine must be tasted to be believed. Opaque purple-colored, it boasts spectacular, soaring aromatics of vanilla, minerals, coffee, blackberries, licorice, and cassis. In the mouth, layer after layer unfold powerfully yet gently. Acidity, tannin, and alcohol are well-balanced by the wine's unreal richness and singular personality. The finish exceeds one minute. Anticipated maturity: 2001-2030.

Meats, Beef and Venison