Harlan Estate is one of the Napa Valley’s most prestigious wine estates. It is one of a handful of cult Cabernet producers, whose wines are some of the most expensive and collectable in the region.   

Harlan Estate - producer

Harlan Estate is one of Napa Valley’s most prestigious wine estates. Explore wines from the cult Cabernet producer

Harlan Estate Napa Valley wines

About Harlan Estate 

Harlan Estate 

“The only thing more fun than drinking wine is buying wine,” says Allan Frischman, our new Vice President of Global Client Reserves, arching an eyebrow and laughing. He should know – he’s been working in the wine business since the early 1990s, with the vast majority of that spent sourcing, studying, authenticating and selling fine wine collections for a leading auction house. As of this month, he’ll be working to develop our network of reservists and their portfolios – allowing our clients to both sell and buy even more than before, giving us – and you – access to the world’s finest (and deepest) cellars. Beyond this, he’ll be finessing local pricing for each market we work in and helping manage clients’ wine storage – a job for which he is uniquely qualified. Frischman grew up in New Jersey and never planned to get into wine – but he took a part-time job at college (“to pay for beer”, he confesses) in a wine shop. The shop’s storage system was divided by country and region, with a warren-like basement that he needed to navigate, finding the right bin for new stocks. Reading about the different appellations, and using his staff discount to buy the odd bottle, got him interested – but it was a bottle of 1975 Ch. Talbot, tasted at Mary Ewing-Mulligan MW’s International Wine Center that hooked him: “At that point, I knew that this is what I wanted to do.”  The economics graduate was working at Manhattan’s Morell & Co. when, in 1994, the laws changed. For the first time since Prohibition, wine auctions were permitted to take place in New York State. “I didn’t know anything at all about auctions,” says Frischman – but it didn’t stop him jumping headfirst into something new, organising the state’s first commercial wine auction since 1920. “I didn’t know if we were going to get 10 bidders or 1,000,” he tells me. He shouldn’t have worried, for that auction was met with such enthusiasm that he walked away from the event on cloud nine, confident that he had found his calling.  In the 30 years since, he’s seen the auction business transformed. The 1994 law change created a new hub for wine’s secondary market, with New York rapidly becoming a rival for its traditional heartland in London – and the Big Apple rapidly added its own signature. Until then, auctions were staid affairs, dominated by trade buyers with little action beyond the raising of paddles in muted crowds – in Frischman’s words, “something dreary that dragged on for 10 hours”.  But Zachys – one of the auction houses that popped up in New York – added American flair, a touch of Broadway jazz hands to turn auctions into events, gathering bidders at round tables with great food and wine. Traditionalists said it wouldn’t work – but they were wrong. No longer were auctions purely a way to buy wine, they became fun – they became a place for wine lovers to gather, eat, drink and be seen. Higher attendance meant more bids, higher hammer prices – and more consignments that in turn brought more business, and a shift from trade to individuals.  The late 2000s brought challenges. “The Dow Jones was tumbling and it looked like the world was about to collapse,” Frischman tells me, looking back at the worldwide recession. “It was terrifying and of course people stopped buying wine.” But as Frischman rapidly learnt, people were waiting for the bottom of the market – and then they started buying again. At the same time, Hong Kong abolished import duty on wine (initially halved in 2007 and removed entirely in 2008) – and, like New York in 1994, instantly became a new centre for the wine trade. “The Asian market evolved almost over days,” remarks Frischman. “It became extremely sophisticated very quickly.” American auction houses started opening offices in Hong Kong. “For a few years, Hong Kong was just chewing up all the wine and the big hammer prices were all [there].”  The most recent shift in the world of auctioneering has been the advent of real-time, online bidding – one forced by the Covid-19 pandemic. “There was a perception that it would discourage people to show up in the sale room and would also discourage people from leaving bids in advance,” Frischman says, explaining why the industry was perhaps a little slow to embrace the online sphere. Interestingly, however, he anticipates that before online bidding was introduced, maybe only 10% of lots went to bidders physically in the room. With consumers stranded at home, and the technology already up to scratch, online auctions rocketed – and opened the market to an even broader range of consumers, with bidding wars between wine lovers in Brazil, Singapore, London, New York, Hong Kong and beyond now the norm.  As auction houses realised that online auctions worked, the need for events and associated spend dropped – and the auction style established by Zachys in the 1990s has become significantly less common. You might argue that this also heralds the end of the auctioneer – but even online companies have retained the compère, the familiar patter still something that bidders want.   It isn’t just where and how wine was selling, but which wines were selling that has evolved. In the mid-1990s and early 2000s, Frischman notes how the US market centred on Napa’s cult Cabernets, along with wines from the likes Williams Selyem, Ravenswood and, of course, Bordeaux’s top names. “[There was] across the board demand for Bordeaux,” Frischman tells me, “but you couldn’t give Burgundy away.” Of course, that’s all changed now – and Burgundy, despite its extremely limited supply, has become the darling of the fine wine scene. As prices have soared for the Côte d’Or’s top wines, wine lovers have started looking elsewhere, to Italy (Barolo, Barbaresco and some Brunello), Madeira (especially older vintages) and the Northern Rhône (Côte-Rôtie, Cornas and Saint-Joseph) – but none have the liquidity of Bordeaux. “They [the Bordelais] don’t get enough credit for the sheer, mind-boggling amount of great wine they’re able to put out every year,” says Frischman.  Over the years, Frischman has become an expert authenticator – the sort of knowledge that can only be gained by handling immense volumes of fine wine, working closely with producers and getting up close and personal with the rarest bottles. In 2006, he went to check over some wines that had been sent to the auction house he then worked for by a young Asian collector. The consignment was significant, worth millions of dollars – but even from across the room, Frischman knew that the wines didn’t look right. Closer inspection only confirmed that the wines looked like fakes – and the auction house turned them away, sending them back to the collector, then a new name on the scene, Rudy Kurniawan. A couple of years later, he got a call from the FBI’s Jim Wynn, asking if he would be an expert witness in a wine fraud case against Kurniawan, who had – by that point – become prolific. “I inspected, I don’t know, 40 bankers boxes of stuff that they’d gotten from his home, stamps for corks, fake labels, fake import strips – all kinds of stuff,” he says. In a warehouse in Queens, he studied the evidence – “going through bottle after bottle after bottle and writing a report about why I thought that they were fake”. It was – and still is – the biggest wine forgery case to have ever taken place, and Frischman, along with fellow authentication expert Michael Egan, was essential to proving Kurniawan’s guilt.  Wine authentication has become an essential component of wine collecting, and a key reason to work with trusted merchants. There are people who suggest that as much as 10% of wine on the secondary market is fake, but – in Frischman’s view, having handled fine wine for over 30 years – “That’s a substantial overestimate.” Despite such claims, forgery has only become more sophisticated, and it’s important, he says, to work with someone who knows what they’re looking at. “You want someone who is experienced to look at the bottle and who is empowered to say, ‘I don’t like it – we’re not offering it.’” There’s a big difference, he explains, between being convinced something is fake, and being convinced something is real – and you always want the person checking wines you’re buying to be in the latter camp.  The wine business is a people business – and he’s been lucky to spend three decades getting to know the world’s foremost collectors, spending time rustling through cellars, lugging his fair share of cases in and out of vans, and cradling bottles of elusive vintages and cuvées. Beyond this privilege, he’s often found himself on the receiving end of collectors’ generosity – recognising a fellow enthusiast’s passion. When I ask him if there’s a bottle that stands out, beyond the 1975 Talbot that was his hook into the industry, his eyes mist over. It was, he tells me, on a trip to Tokyo, at a remarkable dinner that included some incredible wines, including the fabled 1947 Cheval Blanc. But it was a bottle of 1978 La Romanée-Conti from Domaine de la Romanée-Conti that stole the show: it was “breathtaking, magical”, he says. “I was practically brought to tears.” Until that moment, he’d never necessarily understood why collectors kept this prized cuvée, and didn’t sell it to fund their La Tâche or Romanée-Saint-Vivant – but this bottle made him realise just why people don’t. “This wine was perfect,” he says.  It’s easy, perhaps, to imagine the auctioneering world is over-run with wine investors, but that’s far from what Frischman has found. “The vast majority, regardless of what they say they’re doing, are buying to drink,” he says. On paper, that may not make sense – after all, who needs 30,000 bottles of wine? But that, as Frischman and any wine obsessive knows, is the collector’s mentality – and, deciding to sell, despite owning more wine than could possibly be consumed in a lifetime, is much harder than buying another case or 10.  When Frischman first started auctioning wine, he recalls talking to his father, who wondered if there was enough fine wine to sustain a career. The beauty, Frischman, now knows, is that there’s a new vintage every year – beyond that, and as he’s seen over the past 30 years, the wine world is constantly shifting, with an ever-expanding range of regions and producers. And he’s evolving with the industry, making a move of his own and bringing his expertise to FINE+RARE. We can’t wait to see what he’ll do. Whether you’re looking to buy, sell or anything else, contact Allan Frischman directly at allan.frischman@frw.co.uk

After two decades at one of the world’s leading auction houses, Allan Frischman has joined our team, as Vice President of Global Client Reserves. We caught up with him to dive into the world of auctioneering, his 30 years in the business and his new role

After two decades at one of the USA’s leading auction houses, auctioneer and wine authentication expert Allan Frischman has joined our team

Introducing Allan Frischman

Hammer time: Allan Frischman

Much has been written about Promontory. The property was discovered by Bill Harlan in the 1980s, hidden behind a ridgeline in Oakville, and its story – one that almost feels mythical – has been told many times (including by us).   Those stories, however, don’t prepare you for standing in this vineyard. “The territory”, as the team refers to the estate itself, is totally hidden from view – a good 10-minute drive from the winery (which looks out over the Harlan Estate vineyards), tucked to the south, over the hills from Dominus, found via a warren of dirt-tracks that cut through the forest, until – suddenly – you’re there.  Perched at the top of just one of the various parcels of vines, Cory Empting (Managing Director of Winegrowing) stops the truck as our jaws drop. We scramble to get out, blinking in the peaceful sunshine that beats down on an enchanting, untamed idyll. “There’s a quality to the silence out here,” Empting says – breaking the quiet that we’ve been soaking in. As the crow flies, Promontory isn’t far from Harlan Estate – yet the difference is, in Empting’s words, “kinda scary”. Fault lines make for a unique mix of soil types – sedimentary, volcanic and, most importantly and rare for Napa, metamorphic. Plots of vines are sparsely scattered across the wild, forested mountains, the undulating, varied slopes offering an almost endless range of aspect and microclimate. (As one alum told me, laughing, “It’s beautiful – but a total b**** to farm.”) The elevation is higher than at Harlan Estate – with the lowest point at Promontory the equivalent altitude of the highest point at its sibling property – making it generally cooler. Harlan Estate is manicured, while Promontory has a rawness about it – a sense that it isn’t, and never will be, totally domesticated. It's taken a long time to get here. Bill Harlan’s quest to create a Californian rival to Bordeaux’s First Growths (started in the 1970s) had kept him hunting for land, enough that would allow him to produce the same volume as the Left Bank’s most grandiose addresses. He bought his first 40 acres in 1984, the founding stone for Harlan Estate, and has continued tracking down special vineyards ever since, first for Harlan, then BOND and Promontory.  Although he’d first identified the location for Promontory in the 1980s (while hiking through this part of the valley), the property was developed by Girard Winery in the meantime, and he didn’t have the chance to buy it until 2008. Bill got a call that it was going on the market – and that’s when he rang up Will (his son, now Managing Director for the Harlan family of wineries) and Empting. “Then the economy started tanking,” Empting says – and suddenly the property that had been a stretch became increasingly affordable as its price dropped. The decision to buy was easy. But there was no reference point for the project, no historic bottlings to judge against, just a feeling about the place, and its potential.  “It was the wild west when we got out here,” Empting explains. The vineyard was in terrible shape – trees had been cut down and left where they fell. There were weeds growing taller than the vines. It had been left to become truly feral. There were even end-posts suggesting a row of Pinot Noir that was clearly Cabernet Sauvignon, while there were Cabernet Sauvignon clones that looked like nothing they’d seen before.  They committed to farming the site for three years before changing anything, so they knew what they were dealing with. But it soon became clear that the soils had been destroyed, robbed of organic matter, the vines emaciated, producing truncated shoots.  To date, they have replanted half of the 80 acres of vines. And the redevelopment work has been substantive, including un-doing terracing. They worked with superstar consultant agronomists Claude and Lydia Bourguignon (the first in the US to do so) to help regenerate the soils. But the philosophy here is ultimately Fukuoka-inspired: “How can we do one thing less? … That’s our church,” says Empting.  Fifteen acres have been replanted, rather unconventionally for Cabernet Sauvignon, untrellised – goblet-trained. This is partly because the metamorphic rock is so fractal that a unified hedge just didn’t make sense. Air flows in all directions, the sun hits each vine differently, they’re resilient for dry-farming and it allows the team to pick and move in any direction in the vineyard. Even more unusually, they’re planting rootstocks by themselves, grafting only once they’re three or four years old – when deemed ready. “I’m a Montessori parent,” Empting jokes, referencing what he describes as his “mixed pace” vineyards, letting each vine develop at its own rate. And this sense of responding to and working with, rather than against, the vines is key.  In a move that’s incredibly rare for hillside or mountain sites in Napa, their goal is to dry-farm. While the inspiration might have been wine quality (looking for more concentrated, balanced fruit), it is now ultimately about long-term survival in a changing climate. “We’re not going to have the water,” Empting says frankly. Convention suggests that each vine in the ground acts like a straw, sucking water from the soils. But, as Promontory have proven through experiments, it is not that simple – relating to the number of leaves on the vine, as well as its age, among other things. In fact, they have found that higher density plantings are easier to dry-farm.  To help avoid irrigation, they focus on respecting the vine energy – that means they don’t hedge or leaf-pull, and will only green harvest if they absolutely must (when nature throws them a curveball) – pruning to what they want the vine to grow, avoiding wasting any inch of the plant’s efforts. The resulting clusters are tiny, with yields reaching a maximum 38hl/ha, but often a mere 20hl/ha.   Cover crops and permanent grass cover, as well as grazing, have been key to repairing the soils. They’re still having to use a little bit of compost in some areas, Empting confesses almost guiltily – something he considers “a sign of imbalance”. Animals are a key part of “holistic farming”, Empting says, and he’d love to have chickens in the vineyards – “If the coyotes didn’t see them as a free meal,” he jokes. They’ll bring sheep in to graze early in the season, so that the cover crop has time to grow back. The regrowth can then be trampled naturally by the vineyard team as they work – operating as a rustic form of crimping or rolling. This aids water retention, the natural layer of “thatch” keeping the soils cool and preventing evaporation. If it’s not already clear, this isn’t a standard vineyard or estate – or, more accurately, family of estates. This is all part of Bill Harlan’s original vision, a 200-year plan to create a wine dynasty to match those of the Old World. The level of detail, effort and expense that goes into BOND, Harlan and Promontory is remarkable. They have a team dedicated to Research & Development – ensuring that they are at the forefront of viticulture and vinification, pushing any and every boundary in the name of quality.  One key element of this is their Vine Masters program – elevating what might historically have been seen as blue collar work to the skilled profession it really is.  The large majority of vineyard workers in California are of Mexican origin (some statistics suggest as high as 95%). There’s reason for this, with a long history of seasonal-working that stretches back to 1917, yet there’s often a division between vineyard and winery – a division that the family is working hard to broach.  The Vine Master program was first introduced at Harlan. The principle is not alien – a “Vine Master” is dedicated to a specific block, giving a sense of ownership, yet also meaning they know that block inside out. But – and this is what sets Harlan apart – to earn that responsibility (and it is a significant responsibility when the wine sells for upwards of £800 a bottle), the Vine Master has to go through a modular education program (developed in-house), passing both theory and practical exams. The Vine Masters can then take ownership for a block, and have the freedom to do what is required for their plot of vines. In what feels distinctly Californian and ever-so-slightly hippy-inspired, they’re also encouraged to, for example, hike through the surrounding hills, helping them think laterally.  Empting explains how one of the Vine Masters was sitting in his block on a break, looking up at a tree, and realised that trees naturally find their balance by dividing the diameter of their trunk fairly at each divide – only if there is sufficient girth will it split. He took this concept and pruned his block accordingly, only leaving multiple shoots where the vine could handle it. In the dry 2020 vintage, his vines were the only ones that reached the top wire (of the trellis), with the others all struggling. His methodology was rapidly implemented throughout the vineyard. The vineyard supervisor is more like a coach than a manager, and the vineyard work is more integrated with the final product. For example, the pruning process starts with tasting the wine from the previous vintage, so they can align on the energy of the vines and any challenges, before taking their shears to the vine. “You can’t prune a vine without thinking what it tastes like,” Empting says – yet that is what many vineyard workers will have to do.  This responsibility isn’t something that everyone wants – but skilled labour is, along with water, key to the future in California.  Empting expects the valley floor to be entirely mechanised in the imminent future – and if that’s the case, the question is: “How are you going to retain the talent that you have – and gain more?” he says. While originally they didn’t want to give each Vine Master too much land, they’ve found they work almost 40% faster than a crew – able to work more efficiently, doing what is needed when it’s needed, saving on the transition time within plots.  There’s been a constant evolution in the winery as well, inevitable as they learn more about this remarkable place, and realise the potential of its terroir. The challenge is to tame the significant phenolics – and the shift here fits with that familiar pendulum swing, with a move towards elegance. As with the vineyard, the goal is to do less not more – something that isn’t always easy. “We wait all year to turn grapes into wine,” Empting explains – the excitement sometimes becoming overzealous.  While soil health was, as Empting describes it, “the first hurdle”, David Cilli (Winemaker at Promontory) had been doing much in the winery, gradually dialling in the extraction, with shorter macerations and cooler temperatures (with a maximum of just 26˚C), halving the number of pump-overs. The wine is now mainly fermented in concrete (all with indigenous yeast) and aged in Stockinger foudre – ranging in size from 10 to 60 hectolitres – for 30-36 months.  When they first made the wine, they thought that they’d want and need to separate out the different blocks – since they had such varied profiles. They decided they were willing to sacrifice as much volume as was needed to make the best wine possible for the first vintage, and set about making various micro-blends, as well as one that included everything. The whole was so much more – its harmony so much more appealing. “They need each other, in a weird way,” Empting explains.   Until now, the wine has been made exclusively with the old vines, those that were planted when they arrived, with the new vines not yet mature enough (the young-vine fruit has instead been used for The Mascot). The 2022 will be the first vintage to include some of their earliest replants, which are now 10 years old.  While shifts here have mainly been gradual, 2020 was a significant moment. The first wildfire took hold on 18th August, although it was across the valley – far enough away for there to be no urgent threat, but the team was (especially with 2017’s fires fresh in their memory) on edge. Empting recalls spending time driving up and down the valley watching what was happening. They grouped together and decided to start picking on 22nd August – a good two weeks earlier than normal. They weren’t certain it was the right decision, but also weren’t prepared to risk everything to wait. Two weeks after they finished, the Glass Fire swept through the valley. Anyone that hadn’t picked was at significant risk of smoke taint.  Nature might have forced their hand, but it was a push they needed. The resulting wine stunned them all. It’s a world away from the high-octane reds that Robert Parker favoured – and any Napa stereotype. This is a bright, pure and elegant expression of site that sits at around 13%. And while the team’s fear was that it might not have the tannic depth of a true “Grand Cru” – a wine destined to be cellared – that is simply not the case.  They realised they didn’t need those extra two weeks on the vine for phenolic ripeness. The dry growing season had meant the vine only had a small crop to ripen, helping them out, but the year totally shifted their perspective. In 2021, they picked on the same date. In 2022 – a noticeably hot and dry year – they picked even earlier.  Tasting the 2020 alongside the 2016, ’17 and ’18, the difference is drastic – although the progression is there in the earlier vintages. It marks a sea-change for the estate – one that may divide pundits. But the 2020 matches their vision of this place: while they think of Harlan as a wine of gravity, Promontory is a wine of “lift”.  The Harlan family’s wines don’t come cheap – but you aren’t just paying for good wine (and it is, undoubtedly, very good). Yes, it’s a smart winery, with the very best equipment. But the money isn’t going on new barrels and expensive consultants each year, it’s being invested in the people, place and practices that guarantee its legacy. The 2018 has only just been released, so the 2020 won’t hit the market until 2025. But like anything these visionaries do, it will be worth waiting for. Tasting Promontory 2016 Promontory Will Harlan describes the 2016 vintage as one of the first wines that they felt allowed them to compete on a global stage. Still incredibly youthful, it’s somehow almost approachable yet has significant structure behind. There’s a plush richness to the fruit, a firmness and depth to the tannins that needs time, yet a vibrancy too. It’s just starting to become more supple, yet the phenolics grip onto the finish, drying it out very slightly. The fruit is starting to mellow, mingling with savoury tones. Significantly more weight than the other vintages. 2017 Promontory Deeper and darker, the 2017 shows an intensity and firmness – its framework almost aggressive after the 2016. The structure is boxy, yet also refined, and starting to meld together with the bright, fresh fruit. With air the wine shifts from black to red fruit, relaxing into itself. Fruit reverberates on the mouth-watering finish. 2018 Promontory The 2018 confirms the direction of change. Although on paper the wine looks similar to 2016 (in terms of analytics), this is significantly different – offering a transparency and vibrancy. Empting describes it as “athletic” – a fitting way to describe a wine that feels lithe. The fruit sits on the red spectrum, with super-fine velvet tannins forming a chiselled, linear structure. There’s a lift and florality to the nose, complementing the long, pure palate. 2020 Promontory This is a wine of amazing precision and perfume. A pivotal vintage for the estate, picked two weeks earlier than normal and before fires swept through the valley, it’s a stunning wine. Extraction was gentler and the alcohol is around 13%. It’s a wine of brightness and texture – a fine, chalky, powdered grip of tannins that complements the seamless fruit. The nose shifts with florals and earthier minerality, a savoury, saline edge to the crunchy fruit and juicy acidity. There’s purity and delicacy, with a finesse that is truly remarkable. Find out more about Promontory, or read more Editorial

The Harlan family isn’t like other families. We spent time with Will Harlan and Managing Director of Winegrowing Cory Empting to talk about Promontory, the vision and philosophy behind it – and why the 2020 vintage is a pivotal moment in this special estate’s tale

How the Harlan family is creating Napa wine estates that are destined to become the stuff of myth: Promontory, Harlan and BOND

The Harlan legend and legacy – Promontory

Legend and legacy in Napa: the Harlan family and Promontory

Magical Merlot: Pétrus 
Our final event of 2022 and arguably the most impressive was a line-up of 20 vintages of Pétrus back to 1947. 
With special guest William Kelley to talk our guests through the wines, this was a momentous occasion, not only for the wines but also because it was the last ever event held in The Ritz’s historic William Kent Room, before this magnificent, iconic space underwent a two-year renovation. 
The last flight of the evening was remarkable – with arguably the greatest vintages of Pétrus ever produced, the 1989, 1990 and an unfathomably rare magnum of 1947. The 1990, 1989 and 1947 were the hottest vintages on record in Bordeaux at the time – and clearly proved beneficial for Pétrus – whose distinct terroir produced three wines of extraordinary complexity. Critic Robert Parker concluded – after tasting it on 11 different occasions – that the 1947 Pétrus is the “wine of the century”, quite some accolade. Despite the excitement around this trio, the top wines of the evening were the 2012, 2010, 2009 and 2006 which really stood out for their incredible depth, elegance and concentration. 
The wines, paired with seven sumptuous courses prepared by Executive Head Chef John Williams MBE made for an unforgettable end to 2022. 
Full line-up: Champagne Henri Giraud, MV10, Grand Cru (in magnum) 1982 Puligny-Montrachet, Premier Cru, Clos de la Mouchère, Domaine Henri Boillot Pétrus vertical: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, 2012, 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 1990, 1989, 1947 (from magnum)
 Castello di Ama’s L’Apparita and La Ricolma versus Percarlo 
Pétrus was not the only iconic Merlot to feature in our events this year. Both L’Apparita (the 100% Merlot from Castello di Ama) and La Ricolma – (San Giusto a Rentennano’s equivalent) have both become wine icons in their own right and beautifully showcase the extraordinary complexity that this grape can achieve in the hills of Chianti. 
Both La Ricolma and L’Apparita started as experiments but, once each of these neighbouring estates (although at completely different altitudes) got a handle on this French import, the results were extraordinary. 
The Castello di Ama and San Guisto a Rentennano events both took place at London’s own Italian icon – The River Café. With Ruth Rogers and her team curating the perfect menu to partner these outstanding wines, it made for two very special evenings. 
For our L’Apparita event, we tasted a vertical back to 1985 – the first-ever vintage of the wine, and one of only six bottles remaining at the estate. Alongside this special wine (which it was a privilege to taste), highlights of the night included the 2018 and exceptional 1995. 
Full line-up: Champagne Henri Giraud, MV10, Grand Cru (in magnum) 2020 Al Poggio Chardonnay di Toscana L’Apparita vertical: 2018, 2015, 2010, 2009, 2007, 2004, 2000, 1998, 1992, 1988, 1985 
 At our San Guisto a Rentennano dinner, La Ricolma was pitted against its Sangiovese sibling Percarlo, in a taste-off spanning 1998 to 2007. It was impossible to pick a winner, but it was the consistency of the wines that really shone through. They were all emotionally charged stunners – particularly 2007 La Ricolma and 2006 Percarlo. 
 Full line-up: Champagne Henri Giraud, MV10, Grand Cru (in magnum) 2021 Fuori Misura Rosato, San Giusto a Rentennano, Tuscany Percarlo vertical: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 1998 (all in magnum) La Ricolma vertical: 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004 (all in magnum) 1997 Vin San Giusto, Passito, San Giusto a Rentennano, Tuscany
 Exploring the Legend: Ch. Rayas 1990-2011 
The Rhône was well represented, with a once-in-a-lifetime vertical of Ch. Rayas – the mystical Châteaunuef-du-Pape estate that has few peers in the fine wine world. With William Kelley co-hosting, the tasting included 19 vintages of this rare, exotic beauty. 
Much to everyone’s surprise, it was the so-called “off-vintages”, years that might be deemed “lesser”, that were the most impressive – it was in these bottlings that the singularity of Rayas shone through, over-riding the character of the appellation or year. 
The 2008 (given “only” 93 points by Parker back in 2012, upgraded from its original 90 in 2010) was the wine of the night for most people. By contrast, the top-rated 2009 from a blockbuster vintage was impressive, yet the vintage ever so slightly masked the Rayas style – making the wine feel more like another (very good) Châteauneuf-du-Pape. Overall, the wines showed an effortless timelessness. 
Tasting through this line-up was an absolute privilege; for these rightly revered, rare wines are incredible. With no new oak, they are all about the purity and quality of fruit. They show exceptional longevity, an ethereality and easy grace that mesmerises. 
Full line-up: Champagne Henri Giraud, MV10, Grand Cru (in magnum) Ch. Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape Blanc vertical: 1999, 2004, 2006 Ch. Rayas Châteauneuf-du-Pape vertical: 2011, 2010, 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2004, 2003, 2002, 2001, 2000, 1999, 1998, 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, 1990 
Harlan: Napa’s iconic Cabernet 
Another icon, this time from the other side of the pond was explored in our event with Napa’s Harlan, an estate that has led the charge when it comes to planting vineyards above the valley floor. 
When first established, Harlan took a substantial risk, buying uncultivated land at a higher altitude that had never been planted to vines. The hillsides of Napa are largely unsuitable for cultivation, either too steep or too rocky for vines to take root. Harlan’s vines commonly have less than a foot of topsoil to burrow into before hitting the bedrock. This combination of soils, multiple exposures, the drainage of these hillside plots and the altitude all help produce a wine of singular character.   
 Tasting 11 vintages of this extraordinary wine, from the early days through to the present, was an insightful journey into one of Napa’s most complex terroirs. The favourites of the night had to be the 2006 and 1994, but the landmark vintages such as 2018, 2013 and 2001 were unsurprisingly show-stopping. 
Full line-up: Champagne Henri Giraud, MV10, Grand Cru (in magnum) 2018 Corton-Charlemagne, Grand Cru, Henri Boillot (in magnum) Harlan vertical: 2018, 2017, 2016, 2013, 2010, 2006, 2001, 1997, 1996, 1993 
Champagne takes centre stage: Henri Giraud’s Arg̈onne World-class Champagne producers were also well-serviced in our events in 2022. A vertical of Arg̈onne – Henri Giraud’s top cuvée – was a masterclass in oak-matured Champagne. 
Arg̈onne is named after the oak forest that defines the wine. Only made in exceptional vintages, it’s a particularly special, age-worthy Champagne that is 100% fermented and aged in Argonne oak that winemaker Sébastien le Golvet hand picks from the forest. Once transformed into a barrel he then custom toasts the barrels to suit the vintage characteristics. 
Sébastien le Golvet – son-in-law to founder Claude Giraud – is constantly experimenting. After making wine at Giraud for over 20 years, he believes the oak helps retain tension in the wines, allowing them to better express the Aÿ terroir. The talented winemaker believes that the toast level is integral to the wine’s resulting style. 
It was a fascinating tasting and the way this wine develops with age is extraordinary. The highlights of the evening were the 2008 Argonne for its depth, richness and balance, but also the 2011 Blanc de Blancs, which was pure precision, richness and controlled intensity. 
 Full line-up: Champagne Henri Giraud, MV07 2019 and 2009 Coteaux Champenois, Aÿ Blanc, Grand Cru, Henri Giraud 2011 and 2002 Champagne Henri Giraud, Blanc de Blancs 2012 Champagne Henri Giraud, Arg̈onne Rosé Arg̈onne vertical: 2014, 2008, 2004, 2002 Champagne Henri Giraud, Arg̈onne 2000 Champagne Henri Giraud, Fût de Chêne d'Arg̈onne 1995 Champagne Henri Giraud, Fût de Chêne Ratafia Champenois Solera 90-16, Henri Giraud (17%) 
Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne 
Everyone who tries Taittinger’s Comtes de Champagne seems to be immediately seduced by it. We felt such a crowd-pleaser deserved centre stage at one of our events this year and we invited Taittinger’s Chef de Cave Alexandre Ponnavoy to London to explain the magic behind what is almost everyone’s favourite Blanc de Blancs.  
The Champagne is named after the 16th century Count of Champagne – Thibaud IV le Chansonnier – who, legend has it, returned from the Orient during the Crusades with both the Damask rose and the Chardonnay grape. Comtes de Champagne represents the top bottling in Taittinger’s range and the label features a portrait of Thibaud IV le Chansonnier.  
  All the grapes for Comtes de Champagne are sourced from the Côte des Blancs, a ridge running 30km north to south with east-facing vineyards, predominantly planted to Chardonnay (95%). The fruit is sourced from all five Grand Cru villages in the Côte des Blancs – Avize, Chouilly, Cramant, Mesnil-sur-Oger and Oger. This cuvée is made in only the top vintages exclusively from first-press juice only. A small percentage (5%) of the blend is aged in new oak barrels to create a delicate balance of toasted notes in the final wine.   Tasting vintages back to 1989 was fascinating to see, not only how the wine matures but also the change in style as the dosage has altered considerably over the years, becoming drier as drinkers’ tastes have changed.  All the wines showed beautifully. The evening started with the then yet-to-be-released 2012 – which our guests were the first in the world to taste – But it was the 1995 Blanc de Blancs and ‘85 Rosé that were the standout wines of the night. The rosé was in pristine condition despite its age, coming direct from the cellars of Taittinger. Full line-up:  Champagne Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Blanc de Blancs vertical: 2012, 2011, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 2000, 1989, 1988, Champagne Taittinger, Comtes de Champagne, Rosé vertical: 2009, 2008, 2007, 2006, 2005, 1996 Montrachet Dinner with Domaine des Comtes Lafon Getting to taste a vertical of Montrachet from Comtes Lafon spanning 2017 to 2001 was an undeniable highlight of the year. This was a truly rare opportunity to explore this coveted and rare wine through the ages.  Treasured for its scarcity and revered for its quality, Lafon’s Montrachet comes from a miniscule plot (just 31.82 ares) in the Grand Cru – and, unsurprisingly, delivers excellence year after year. Secured by collectors immediately on release, this is the pinnacle of white Burgundy.  Critics speak of a herbal minerality, of crustacea, of vivacious florals and bittersweet nuttiness: these wines capture the true essence of complexity in each vintage – the wine is a masterclass in singularity. With an exquisite menu courtesy of world-renowned three-Michelin-starred chef Hélène Darroze at The Connaught, we were joined by Léa Lafon, fifth-generation member of the Lafon family and a custodian of the renowned Meursault-based domaine to talk us through this incredible vertical. Comtes Lafon makes one of the richest and most powerful Montrachets, possessing both great concentration, yet also amazing freshness that carries it through its long drinking window. Being fortunate enough to drink through 15 vintages really highlighted the wines’ capacity to age.  The top 2017, 2014 and 2010 vintages were a masterclass in Chardonnay perfected, but it was the supposedly “lesser” years such as 2006 or 2011 that showed the sheer class of both the site and the winemaking. Full line-up:  Champagne Henri Giraud, MV07 Montrachet, Grand Cru, Domaine des Comtes Lafon vertical: 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015, 2017
 And much, much more We also explored a property that is a firm FINE+RARE favourite, tasting through all the vintages ever made of Venissa’s unique white. This wine is made from the Dorona di Venezia grape – a variety that was almost lost to history were it not for Gianluca Bisol’s heritage site on the island of Mazzorbo. Nothing tastes quite like it, and it was a privilege to explore its evolution with Matteo Bisol.  Full line-up:  Champagne Henri Giraud, MV07 Venissa Bianco vertical: 2017, 2016, 2014, 2013, 2011, 2010 Venissa Rosso vertical: 2016, 2015, 2012, 2011 Venissa Vermouth   We also hosted events outside London. Our Hong Kong team explored the wonderful Rieslings of the Mosel’s Markus Molitor paired with the finest Sichuan dishes from Jing Alley. It was an unforgettable culinary experience perfectly pairing Molitor’s precise razor-sharp Rieslings with Chengdu-style Sichuanese cuisine. In Europe, we held events in Portofino, Milan and Piedmont celebrating the great whites of France to a much-appreciative crowd of Italian Francophiles.  Looking into 2023  Last year’s line-up is going to be hard to beat but we are going to do everything we can to outdo ourselves in 2023. Next month we kick off with our first event in London with a vertical tasting of Ch. Ausone – one of Saint-Emilion’s finest estates. We will explore the vintages under the tenure of current owners, the Vauthier family, which has taken this property to new heights over the last 20 years. Later in the year, we will be celebrating the tenure of Bordeaux legend Paul Pontallier with a vertical of Ch. Margaux from his time at the estate, covering some of the finest vintages ever made at the First Growth, wines which are a lasting tribute to Pontallier’s legacy. And that’s only the beginning – with much, much more in the pipeline. We hope you can make it!   Find out more about our events + experiences 

While we’re in the midst of planning our full line-up of events for 2023, we look back at 2022’s dinners and tastings – with highlights including verticals of Pétrus, Rayas, Harlan and Comtes Lafon’s Montrachet

A round-up of some of the best events we hosted in 2022 – including verticals of Pétrus, Rayas, Comtes Lafon and more

Looking back at our wine events in 2022

Looking back at our 2022 events

As the drone camera takes us up over the trees, you can see how dense the forest is around Promontory’s vineyards in the western hills of Oakville district in Napa. Apart from the small vineyard plots dotted along the canyon, the landscape is rugged and untamed. In total, just 10% of the Promontory estate is planted to vines, representing 34 hectares of the property.  The whole area is protected so this site will remain small and genuinely cut-off – but that is exactly how proprietor Will Harlan wants it. “Promontory is truly a world apart from the Napa Valley that most people experience,” he says. For a long time, this canyon was hidden in plain sight. Many locals born and raised in Napa were completely unaware of its existence. Looking up from Napa, all you see are the mountain ridges above, yet beyond theses ridges lies this hidden valley, its undulating hills ideal for vineyards. It was in fact Will Harlan’s father H. William, or Bill, Harlan (founder of Napa’s most prestigious cult Cabernet, Harlan Estate) that literally stumbled across the canyon while hiking back in the 1980s. Although his interest in the land spans over 30 years, the opportunity to buy the property only arose in 2008. At first, the family thought the vineyards might be used for Bond or Harlan – but the character of the fruit was so fundamentally different, Will explains, that they decided to make Promontory its own project. Fast forward to the current day, and the 2016 vintage – the eighth ever – is about to be released. With the second generation of Harlans (Will) and winemaker Cory Empting (also from Harlan Estate) at the helm, Promontory has fast become one of Napa’s most consistent and captivating, not to mention collectable, Cabernets. While only a 20-minute drive from the Harlan winery, Promontory feels remote – with a totally different microclimate. The vineyards are mainly on the valley’s cooler east-facing slopes (with an average gradient of 38%), but they have some decent elevation too, sitting at between 150 and 340 metres above sea-level. The fog that settles in the valley brings much-needed moisture to the vines, as well as moderating the temperature and allowing the team to produce cooler-toned and fragrant Cabernet Sauvignon. 
The first vines were planted in the mid-1980s and early 1990s, with a mixture of varieties, but the team started replanting in 2011, focusing entirely on Cabernet – the grape that they feel best expresses the place. The fruit from the young vines is being used for a separate wine (The Mascot) that isn’t part of Promontory. The older vines are dry-farmed, and the plan is for everything to be long term – with just a little irrigation being used to establish the young vines and “educate them not to be irrigated”, Will explains. 
Beyond the seclusion, these hillside vineyards have two distinct fault lines running through them, roughly demarcating the boundaries between volcanic, sedimentary and metamorphic soils. This diverse geology is another facet that distinguishes the Promontory vineyards from the rest of Napa and is what Harlan believes provides a distinct mineral backbone and tension to the wine. As we walk (virtually) through the winery, we arrive in the barrel room, faced with a gigantic piece of volcanic rock. It is a beautiful sight in itself – lifted out of the vineyard and displayed at the winery, underpinning the specificity of the terroir of this secluded canyon. The place is so different that Harlan feels they needed “to unlearn and relearn” an approach that suited the property. The barrel room holds another important element in creating these special wines – their Stockinger barrels. Austrian coopers Stockinger have become one of the most reputable for fine wine in recent years and Promontory was the first in the US to use them. They realised the wine’s tight but very fine tannins needed more time as it evolved slowly. As such, they started looking for larger barrels and in 2012 purchased a range from Stockinger – from 1,800  to 4,400 -litres.  The Stockinger barrels are praised for their ability to limit the influence of oak flavour, while carrying out all the subtle micro-oxygenation that enables the building of long tannin chains. These tannin chains produce a fabulous textural complexity in the wine, while at the same time the fine-grained oak preserves the natural aromatics and fruit purity. Harlan and Empting give the wines five and a half years between harvest and release – with two and a half to three of those in barrel, allowing the wines to “unfold” in these more neutral and “respectful” barrels.  The results are breath-taking. Tasting the soon to be released 2015, which was aged for two and half years in cask, the textural finesse and precision of the tannins in some ways make the wine feel almost weightless in structure, while at the same time being detailed and complex. It's astonishing that this property and its potential lay undiscovered for so many years. One thing’s for sure now, though: the secret’s out. Find out more about Promontory, or its sister estates Harlan and Bond

Promontory’s owner Will Harlan took us on a virtual tour of this remarkable property tucked out of sight in the Napa Valley.

Visiting Promontory in Napa’s Oakville district with Will Harlan (from the family who founded Napa’s most prestigious cult Cabernet, Harlan Estate).

Uncovering Oakville’s hidden valley, Promontory

Uncovering Oakville’s hidden valley: Promontory

As perhaps befits a man on the brink of his 9th decade, Bill Harlan measures time not in weeks, months or even years, but decades, half-centuries, centuries. It seems natural, sitting as we are among the grand oak fermenters at Harlan, having finished a tasting of 27 vintages of this most renowned of wines, to look at the broad sweep of time both forward and back. 
Harlan, who turns 80 in September, has talked before about his “200-year plan” for the great Napa estate. “This is a work in progress. If you have a long-term plan it makes short-term decisions easier – is this the best decision for the long term? So we ask, how many times a century will we be replanting? Then interplanting of rows and vines – should that be every 40 years or every 50 years?” 
Longevity has always been the plan, ever since 1984, when Harlan, Ric Forman and David Abreu identified six acres of hillside above Oakville as land with the potential to make first-class wine. It was a heavily wooded parcel, chiefly volcanic and sedimentary soil bedrock, which over time would be expanded to the 100ha (240 acre) horse-shoe of ridge, shallow valley and mountainside, with aspects to all points of the compass, that the winery sits on today. To stand on the terrace and look east over Napa is to get a sense of the extraordinary vastness and beauty of the land. Harlan's goal is simple: “We need to know how better to express the character of the property.” The soil is key, of course, but there’s a certain poetry to this slight, grizzled adventurer (something of a daredevil in his youth, he founded the Pacific Union real estate company in 1984 and went on to develop upscale resort Meadowood and co-found Merryvale winery before realising his dream in Harlan Estate. He’s said to be a ferocious negotiator. “You wouldn’t want to get into a poker game with him,” one observer has noted). “Most of the estate is wild land. You still have the animals, the fresh smell of the air, the forest floor. All these things make up the character of the wines.” 
Harlan has no intention of expanding the 16ha (40 acres) vineyard, which produces an average 2,000 bottles a year – just making it “better, and stronger”. He considers that the period of “stabilising” is over, and they are now into a process of “establishing”. 
It’s a subtle difference, and when Harlan hands over full responsibility to his son Will and daughter Amanda later this year (“an 80-year-old oughtn’t to be running anything”), they will have decades of experience to draw on. Bob Levy, the director of winegrowing, joined full-time in 1990, winemaker Cory Empting has been there 20 years, estate director Don Weaver since 1986 – two generations of treading the dirt. This is not to mention the “vinemasters” – veteran vineyard workers who are given total responsibility for sections of vineyard, in order to “get to know each vine,” as Harlan puts it. “The continuity is understanding the land.” 
The tasting took place at a long table in the fermentation room at Harlan Estate in early March 2020. As well as Bill and Will Harlan, Levy, Empting and Weaver were present, Harlan educator Kelli White, Jamie Ritchie, head of Sotheby’s fine wine, Jim Walker (a long-standing Harlan collector) and critic Elaine Chukan Brown. The vintages were tasted young to old, 2016 to 1990, in three flights of nine wines. Harlan talked of a work in progress: this was to see it in operation, a clear progression as vines get older, the estate increases in size and parcel selection gets more targeted. Today a blending session comprises up to 150 wines, taken from multiple different vineyard samples, tanks and barrels. This was, without doubt, one of the signature tastings of my career. These are some of the most expensive and sought-after wines in the world, and to spend a day tasting them – out of magnum – was a remarkable experience. This is not to say that the wines were approached with undue reverence. Harlan, his longstanding team, and the few guests examined each flight with concentration but not awe. The Harlan style runs through the vintages, getting stronger towards the present. The finest wines are brightly perfumed in youth and mellowing to dried petals and dried herb as they age; there is earth, blue fruit ageing to dark, a certain savouriness and sometimes an animal tang (“most of the estate is wild land”).  Another hallmark is understated energy, a pure and clear line that runs through each wine and through the decades. The wines have weight and heft – you know where you are with them – but only once was alcohol, or over-ripeness, mentioned. There is marked vintage variation – the notoriously cool and wet 2011, or the famously warm 1997, for example, are unmistakable. From Bordeaux to Napa, wines of great renown are sometimes described as “smart”, which means they are in some way tailored; they may be delicious, but they are made with an audience in mind. Harlan Estate doesn’t give that impression: you rather understand that here is a winemaker and a team searching for an interpretation of a terroir that is not fixed but changing as the vines age. Bill Harlan returns to this theme again and again. He talks of having “captured” the land, of its protean nature – “as the roots go deeper, the shapes of your blocks move and evolve like amoebas. It’s organic – you don’t lay out the blocks for good, you learn how they change, by being out there in the field.” As the land changes so do its stewards. The official handover to the next generation is imminent and Harlan is happy. “Everything seems to be in place,” he says. “They’ve never done this before, and I’ve never done it before, but it’s working well.” Tasting notes NB: All wines are Bordeaux blends of approximately 15% alcohol, with an average 75% Cabernet Sauvignon plus varying proportions of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Published with the kind permission of luxury wine, spirits and lifestyle brand Club Oenologique - an exclusive community for those who enjoy the rarer pleasures of life.  Read more about Harlan 

Earlier this year, one of Napa’s starriest names put on a vertical tasting of its entire 27 vintages for luxury wine, spirits and lifestyle magazine, Club Oenologique. Adam Lechmere reflects on the wines and hears from Bill Harlan as he prepares to hand over the reins to his children

Napa’s starriest names put on a vertical tasting of 27 vintages and we hear from Bill Harlan as he prepares to hand over the reins to his children

Harlan Estate

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