The Story
The 2009 Harlan Estate is a legendary and high-scoring vintage from a year characterized by a long, warm growing season. This wine is celebrated for its immense power, structural integrity, and extraordinary depth. It offers an opaque purple color and an intense bouquet of crème de cassis, black cherries, and blackberries, seamlessly integrated with notes of graphite, forest floor, and espresso. On the palate, it is full-bodied and opulent, showcasing a massive core of ripe fruit supported by velvety, fine-grained tannins and a persistent mineral-driven finish. It is a monumental expression of the Oakville terroir with a lifespan capable of several decades.
97 Points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
The 2009 Proprietary Blend Harlan Estate is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Cloves, dark plums, cherries, smoke and graphite add richness and resonance to this powerful, incisive wine. Juicy and exuberant, the 2009 has always had a certain raciness that is impossible to resist. Layers of fruit continue to build to the enveloping, sensual finish. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this hugely delicious wine. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034.
96 Points - Wine Spectator
Offering a Pomerol-like silkiness, this is very rich and layered, with ripe dark berry, roasted plum and cassis flavors. Yet what's striking is the texture, which has the density of the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove.
Description
The 2009 Harlan Estate is a legendary and high-scoring vintage from a year characterized by a long, warm growing season. This wine is celebrated for its immense power, structural integrity, and extraordinary depth. It offers an opaque purple color and an intense bouquet of crème de cassis, black cherries, and blackberries, seamlessly integrated with notes of graphite, forest floor, and espresso. On the palate, it is full-bodied and opulent, showcasing a massive core of ripe fruit supported by velvety, fine-grained tannins and a persistent mineral-driven finish. It is a monumental expression of the Oakville terroir with a lifespan capable of several decades.
97 Points - Robert Parker's The Wine Advocate
The 2009 Proprietary Blend Harlan Estate is just as impressive from bottle as it was from barrel. Cloves, dark plums, cherries, smoke and graphite add richness and resonance to this powerful, incisive wine. Juicy and exuberant, the 2009 has always had a certain raciness that is impossible to resist. Layers of fruit continue to build to the enveloping, sensual finish. Readers will have a hard time keeping their hands off this hugely delicious wine. Anticipated maturity: 2019-2034.
96 Points - Wine Spectator
Offering a Pomerol-like silkiness, this is very rich and layered, with ripe dark berry, roasted plum and cassis flavors. Yet what's striking is the texture, which has the density of the proverbial iron fist in a velvet glove.
