1998 The Maiden

The best estates are willing to take draconian measures in difficult years in order to make wines up to their standards, and Harlan Estate was ruthless in 1998. In a typical year, this estate shoots for a yield of just two tons per acre. But when the 1998 veraison took place between September 7 and 10, or 30 to 40 days later than average, the team eliminated one of two clusters per shoot (a $1.5 million decision, notes Harlan), ultimately bringing in just 0.9 tons per acre in a harvest that lasted until November 11 (there was a major rainstorm the next day). Still, notes winemaker Bob Levy, the berry seeds were not completely ripe, and the wine thus spent "only" 25 days on its skins, as he did not want to extract green tannins (in contrast, maceration lasted 45 days in '97). "We didn't get great concentration by our standards, but we were able to make a ripe wine without green character," he added. There will be just 1,000 cases of wine, less than half of normal production. The '99 harvest also ended in early November, but the flowering was two weeks earlier than in the previous year, and the fruit enjoyed longer hang time and more thorough ripening.

The '98s now aging in barrel at Harlan Estate make it clear that a topnotch viticultural and winemaking team can triumph over virtually any conditions, especially when they are working in one of California's elite sites. Crop yields were ruthlessly reduced to one cluster per shoot at veraison in an attempt to get further concentration. Even so, said winemaker Bob Levy, the ultimate ripeness of fruit was a bit uneven. The estate delayed the start of the harvest until the third week of October and finished picking merlot on November 11, benefitting from a clement Indian summer. Still, Levy admitted, the shorter days and cooler nights during the key ripening period meant that even though tannins were ripe, the seeds weren't yet dark brown and thus could not support a long maceration. So the wines remained on their skins for only 25 days, compared to as many as 60 in '97. Ultimately, there will be just 1,200 cases of their flagship wine, down from 2,000 in '97. There are now 36 acres under vine on this 230-acre estate following additional planting in 1999.