Parker (98)
“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.”
