Harlan Estate 2018

Classy earth, oak and bay-leaf character on the nose, together with dark fruit, such as currants and blackberries. Forest flowers, too. Full-to medium-bodied, linear and tight with coolness and freshness. Mint and spearmint to the dark fruit. Lasts a long time. Such balance and intensity. Tight now, but great energy and length this year. Incredibly sophisticated and seductive. A joy to taste now, but try in 2025.

The 2018 Harlan Estate was tasted as a barrel sample, to be bottled in March. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a fair bit of swirling to reveal a wonderfully fragrant perfume of blueberry pie, chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and black currant pastilles with hints of cumin seed, rose oil and black olives. Medium to full-bodied, the taut, grainy-textured palate delivers remarkable energy with compelling tension and a long, graceful, earth-laced finish.

Not yet bottled, the 2018 Harlan Estate is another beautiful wine that shows the fresher, more elegant, yet still concentrated and powerful style of the estate today. Beautifully pure cassis, graphite, tobacco, and a massive amount of rocky mineral-like nuances emerge from this full-bodied barrel sample, which is flawlessly balanced, has masses of tannins, and a great finish. It reminds me slightly of the 2013…or is it closer to the 2016?