Winemaker Notes
This OWC includes three bottles of 2003 Harlan The Maiden.
Deep, dark red in appearance. Complex nose offers high notes of black fruits, licorice, graphite, chocolate, espresso over truffle and earth, and the distinctive "forest floor" elements. Good composition, detail, concentration, and depth. Nice length, persistence and purity in the finish, but still relatively chunky in its youth. Look for this vintage to provide increasing finesse and pleasure over time.
Blend: 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc, 2% Petit Verdot
Professional Ratings
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
Readers looking for more immediate gratification should seek out the seductive, sexy 2003 The Maiden. It offers lots of cedarwood, white chocolate, black currant and damp forest notes in a medium to full-bodied, round, generous style with all the oak absorbed. The acidity provides good vibrancy, but no tartness, and the tannins are not astringent. This spicy, open-knit, fleshy 2003 is showing extremely well at present. Enjoy it over the next decade. One of the most stunningly beautiful vineyards in all of Napa Valley, Harlan Estate is located in the foothills of the Mayacamas Mountains overlooking the Oakville Corridor. Harlan has been making world-class, first growth quality wines since the debut vintages of 1990 and 1991. Virtually nothing has been changed by winemaker Bob Levy, owner Bill Harlan and globe-trotting consultant Michel Rolland. The wine is largely all Cabernet Sauvignon and the production from the 40-acre vineyard is usually under 2,000 cases. The vineyard has a surprising composition of 70% Cabernet Sauvignon, 20% Merlot, 8% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot. Most blends lean heavily on the Cabernet Sauvignon with slightly more Cabernet Franc being utilized over recent vintages. Following the great 2001 and 2002 vintages, 2003 is the type of vintage that has a tendency to be forgotten, but the two 2003s prove that the site’s great pedigree is never easy to dismiss.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.