Harlan Estate

Harlan Estate is a California wine estate producing Bordeaux-style blends. The estate is located in the western hills of Oakville, California within the Oakville AVA, in the Napa Valley AVA zone. Harlan Estate is a "cult winery," commanding high prices due to scarcity. Its flagship wine is the eponymous Harlan Estate. They also produce a second wine called The Maiden.

History
Harlan Estate was founded in 1984 by H. William Harlan, a real estate developer and Napa Valley resort owner. It is located east of Martha's Vineyard in Oakville on a 240 acre property with forested areas and steep hillsides. Harlan cleared 40 acre for viticulture, with the expressed ambition to "create a first growth wine".

The first Harlan Estate wine label, which was 10 years in the making, was inspired by a 19th-century engraving and overseen by retired U.S. Treasury engraver Herb Fichter. According to Harlan, the label was designed for a bottle that "would sit on a table in candlelight, not on a store shelf."

Described by Jancis Robinson as "one of the ten best wines of the twentieth century," Harlan Estate has received acclaim from Wine Spectator and Robert Parker, including four scores of 100 "parker points", which has contributed to the wine's high price. Released at $850 per bottle, its price rose on the speculative market, and may range from $1,200 and up. A 10-vintage vertical selection of magnum bottles sold at the 2000 Napa Valley Wine Auction for $700,000.

The Director of Wine Making, Bob Levy, has worked with Harlan since 1983, when Harlan took part in founding the Merryvale Winery. Since 1989, Michel Rolland has served as the estates consultant enologist. Construction of the current winery was completed in 2002.

Production
The estate extends 240 acre, of which approximately 15% of the land, 40 acre is cultivated with the grape varieties Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.