1995 The Maiden

The mix of vines at Harlan Estate is now about 70% cabernet sauvignon, 20% merlot and 10% cabernet franc and petit verdot-or roughly the same as Chateau Lafite-Rothschild. Indeed, owner Bill Harlan goal from the outset was to produce a first-growth wine in California. What may appear to many to be an overnight sensation was a long time in the making: Harlan spent a full decade finding and acquiring the right site (a steep vineyard on the western side of Napa Valley, above Oakville), and literally vinified nine vintages before releasing his first wine (the '90 and '91 were released simultaneously in early 1996). Winemaker Bob Levy, with Michel Rolland consulting, has taken the Harlan Estate wine to a new level since the '94 vintage. The young '97 ranks among the greatest young California red wines I've tasted to date from barrel. At just under three tons per acre, crop levels were high for this estate but modest by the standards of the vintage. The fruit was very ripe, and the wine will ultimately be bottled with about 14.5% alcohol and lower acidity than the '94.