Empting said that his greatest concern was wind direction after the LNU fire ignited on 17 August. Empting, for his part, explained that while it’s not unusual for picks at Harlan to begin in late August, the entire property was finished with harvest by 12 September-the earliest in the estate’s history. ‘We gained 5-10 years of learning in one year’, said Will, intimating that their scrupulous probing and attention to detail amounted to a genuinely academic year in farming. Both expressed to me that the 2020 vintage-while challenging because of the fires-has resulted in a critical inflection point in the evolution of Harlan. Tasted at Harlan Estate with director of winegrowing Cory Empting and Will Harlan, managing director at Domain H. Almost feathery and extremely fine tannins frame all this, and the wine finishes long, cool, and so composed. Medium to full-bodied with a richness to the mid-palate and intense grip from the wine’s multidimensional acidity. Leading with beautifully delicate wild herbs, dried and crushed bay laurel and sage, red and black currant fruit, and a pop of liquorice intermixed with cigar leaf. The 2020 Harlan Estate is such a pretty wine-compact, tightly knit, with a coiled-up energy that delivers surprise and intrigue in every swirl and sip as the wine evolves in the glass.

Here we present a quick and easy way to see tasting notes and scores for the top 57 wines wines that scored 94 points and above.

March releases on the Place de Bordeaux 2023Ĭonsidering the challenging vintage that resulted in half the usual crop for the region, Jonathan Cristaldi was able to taste 140 Napa Valley Cabernet 2020 wines and has given his given his full verdict on the vintage now in bottle.

September fine wine releases on La Place de Bordeaux 2023.

William hill cabernet 2024 review