The 2018 Harlan Estate is deep purple-black colored. The nose slowly unfurls to offer fragrant floral notes of roses and lilacs with hints of cinnamon and cumin seed over a core of plum preserves, star anise, cedar chest, and iron ore. Medium to full-bodied, the palate has firm, exquisitely ripe tannins and fantastic tension, supporting the many tightly wound black fruits, floral, and exotic spice layers, finishing with an epically long, lingering, and wonderfully nuanced perfume. This elegant, sophisticated, cerebral face of Harlan is something of a departure from its rich, hedonic reputation, which I also love. But, got to hand it to the next-gen team, this is simply stunning. Bravo!

Stunning on every level, the 2018 Proprietary Red Wine reveals a dense purple hue as well as an incredible bouquet of crème de cassis, graphite, crushed stone, iron, violets, and tobacco. Reminding me of a hypothetical blend of Ducru Beaucaillou and Pontet Canet from a great, classical vintage (or a more elegant version of the 2013 for simplicity), it's medium to full-bodied, perfectly balanced, powerful yet elegant, and has a finish that won't quit. This is pure gold in Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. It’s already drinkable yet will benefit from 4-6 years of bottle age and have 40 years of prime drinking.

The 2018 Harlan Estate was tasted as a barrel sample, to be bottled in March. Deep garnet-purple in color, it needs a fair bit of swirling to reveal a wonderfully fragrant perfume of blueberry pie, chocolate-covered cherries, mulberries and black currant pastilles with hints of cumin seed, rose oil and black olives. Medium to full-bodied, the taut, grainy-textured palate delivers remarkable energy with compelling tension and a long, graceful, earth-laced finish.