09-14-200709-15-2007
Skinner Auctions
Skinner AuctionsBoston MA
2377Boston
September 14, 2007 06:00 PMCalender
91

*Harlan Estate 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001

Sell one like this
$7,170$6,000
Auction: Fine Wines - 2377Location: BostonDate / Time: September 14, 2007 6:00PM

Description:

*Harlan Estate 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2001
Napa
"What can I say about the 1994? I have tasted the wine for three consecutive years, and each time it satisfied all of my requirements for perfection. The opaque purple color is followed by spectacular aromatics that soar from the glass, offering up celestial levels of black currants, minerals, smoked herbs, cedar wood, coffee, and pain grille. In the mouth, this seamless legend reveals full body, and exquisite layers of phenomenally pure and rich fruit, followed by a 40+ second finish. While accessible, the 1994 begs for another 5-7 years of cellaring. It should easily last for 30+ years. Every possible jagged edge - acidity, alcohol, tannin, and wood - is brilliantly intertwined in what seems like a diaphanous format. What is so extraordinary about this large-scaled wine, with its dazzling display of aromatics and prodigious flavors and depth, is that it offers no hint of heaviness or coarseness. Harlan's 1994 comes close to immortality in the glass. Much of this wine will be sold to the winery's mailing list customers. If you miss out on the 1994, try and get on the waiting list for future vintages. While perfect wines are few and far between, history has taught me that wineries with such lofty aspirations as Harlan Estate will continue to push the envelop of quality." R. Parker, 100 pts. 12/97 "Rivaling the 1994 and 1997, the 2001 Harlan Estate is a perfect wine for my palate. Tasted on four separate occasions, this offering, which spent 28 months in oak before being bottled unfined and unfiltered, is an extraordinary effort that comes across as a hypothetical blend of Mouton-Rothschild, La Mission-Haut-Brion, and Montrose. A synthesis in style between the more elegant, delineated, structured 1994, and the port-like, over-the-top, viscous 1997, this extraordinary 2001 was the 'wine of my trip,' even though I had already had it from bottle several months earlier. An inky/purple color is accompanied by a stupendous bouquet of lead pencil shavings interwoven with coffee, new saddle leather, melted licorice, cedarwood, black currant liqueur, and violets. Explosive richness, a marvelous, full-bodied texture, and fabulous purity, concentration, complexity, and nobleness are the stuff of legends. Anticipated maturity: 2009-2028+." R. Parker, 100 pts. 12/05 10 bottles
Estimate $5,000-7,000

Keywords

La Mission