California Wines

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Even better and my favorite of the trio (although this is splitting hairs since all three are sensational wines), the 2015 Cabernet Sauvignon offers the more flamboyant, sexy style of the vintage and has a huge nose of crème de cassis, scorched earth, graphite, and crushed flowers. It’s a singular, exotic wine that has full-bodied richness and depth yet never seems heavy or cumbersome, possessing incredible purity of fruit and perfect balance. The 2015 is a blend of 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 18% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot, and the rest Petit Verdot. I’d be thrilled if I had bottles in the cellar and it should deliver the goods for 2-3 decades.Jeb Dunnuck | 99 JDThe 2015 Ovid is a rich and racy wine. Here, too, the style is noticeably more refined and polished than in the past. Dark red cherry, plum, lavender, rose petal and mint give the wine much of its tonic energy. Fresh, perfumed and lively, the 2015 is showing beautifully, even at this early stage. Time in the glass brings out the wine’s textural richness and body nicely. Ovid is rarely this expressive in the early going.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 17% Cabernet Franc, 4% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Proprietary Red Wine comes charging out of the gate with gregarious crushed black cherries, chocolate mint and crème de cassis scents plus suggestions of red roses, Christmas cake, sandalwood, cloves and unsmoked cigars with a waft of shaved pencils. Full-bodied, concentrated and boldly fruited, with wonderfully decadent in the mouth, the plushly textured palate gives bags of spicy black fruits and a minty kick to the epically long finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 96 RPA beauty, with waves of red and black currant puree rolling through steadily, while tar, licorice snap, apple wood and briar notes swirl around. Authoritative grip lies underneath, allowing the fruit to keep playing out on the very long finish. A large wine that should be long-lived. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Petit Verdot. Best from 2022 through 2040. 392 cases made.Wine Spectator | 96 WS

The 2015 Harlan Estate is a beast of a wine that shows the sexy, opulent style of the vintage married to the classic structure and depth of this estate. A downright smorgasbord of blackcurrants, blackberries, crushed rocks, graphite, smoky camphor, cured meats, and dried tobacco aromas all emerge from the glass, and it shows the deep, concentrated style of the vintage yet still has awesome complexity and nuances. Deep, powerful, and structured, yet opulent and incredibly sexy on the palate, it reminds me of the 2002. A brilliant wine from this estate, it's already approachable given its wealth of fruit yet has the tannic backbone and density to keep for 3-4 decades or more.Jeb Dunnuck | 100 JDBottled in early 2018, the deep garnet-purple colored 2015 Harlan Estate is a little closed, slowly unfurling to reveal black cherries, crème de cassis and plum pudding with nuances of potpourri, baking spices and tilled soil plus wafts of garrigue and wild sage. The palate is full-bodied and concentrated with exquisitely ripe, fine-grained tannins and fantastic poise and depth with a long, decadently fruited finish.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 100 RPIncredible aromas of fresh flowers, such as roses and violets, and blackcurrants. Full body and defined levels of fruit and tannins too. Love the brightness and texture. An excellent finish. Production was down by a third because of bad berry set. Try in 2021.James Suckling | 99 JSThe 2015 Harlan Estate has developed into an arrestingly beautiful wine. Racy and sumptuous, the 2015 is already quite showy, with tons of dark cherry, plum, mocha, espresso, licorice, spice and tobacco character. Today, the 2015 comes across as a bit brooding and hard to read, although some of the rougher edges in the tannins I saw last year have softened. Even so, I would prefer to cellar 2015 for at least a few years. There is so much to look forward to.Antonio Galloni | 97 AGA huge red, with powerfully rendered dark fig, macerated black currant and steeped boysenberry fruit framed by a bittersweet chocolate note. With time in the glass, the fruit unwinds slowly, allowing anise and loam accents to fill in on the fleshy finish. There's some serious heft here through the back end too, with a long echo of smoldering tobacco and a great tug of dark earth. Best from 2022 through 2040. 1,839 cases made.Wine Spectator | 97 WSLike most Harlan vintages, this is about 85% Cabernet Sauvignon, with small additions of Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot. The nose displays a wonderfully refined blend of sumptuous blackcurrant fruit with stylish oak. Although rich and very concentrated, it's restrained and polished, showing excellent balance and length with no overbearing character and a discreet but present tannic structure. Drinking Window: 2021 - 2045.Decanter | 96 DEC

Composed of 38% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 23% Syrah and 9% Counoise, the 2015 Oublie 22 has six extra months in barrel compared to the straight Oublie cuvée. With a medium garnet-purple color, it reveals expressive black cherries, dried mulberries and raspberry preserves notes with a spice box and garrigue undercurrent, plus a waft of tapenade. Full-bodied, concentrated and with tons of spices developing in the mouth, it has a chewy frame and plenty of freshness, finishing on a berry preserves note.Robert Parker Wine Advocate | 95 RPThe extended aged version of the Oublie, the 2015 Oublie 22 (38% Mourvèdre, 30% Grenache, 23% Syrah and 9% Counoise) spent 22 months in barrel and sports a slightly deeper color as well as notes of black cherries, graphite, cured meats, pepper and assorted butcher shop-like notes. It’s slightly more concentrated than the base cuvée, its tannin is slightly more polished, and it will also evolve slightly longer.Jeb Dunnuck | 95 JD Structured and stylish, with floral garrigue, crushed stone and blackberry accents that build power and richness toward big but refined tannins.Wine Spectator | 94 WS