Harlan Estate

"Harlan Estate might be the single most profound red wine made not just in California, but in the World."

                     - Robert M. Parker, Jr.

In 1984, H. William ("Bill") Harlan, a real estate developer and Napa Valley resort owner, purchased a 240-acre property, with steep hillsides, multiple elevations and exposures, west of Martha's Vineyard in Oakville. His vision was the create the best first growth wine in California. 

Bill's first encounter with Napa Valley goes back to the 1950s, when as a college student, he would visit for its free wine tastings. During the decades that followed, his passion and love of wine grew.

But in his early years, wine was never a singular passion. In addition to building a successful real estate business, Bill devoted himself to various pursuits - including racing motorcycles, sailed continents, and professional poker. In his own words, Bill Harlan was focused on " living in the moment."

This all changed on his 1980 trip to Burgundy and Bordeaux, organized by the legendary Robert Mondavi. He was impressed by the history and the legacy of the place. "I came away from that trip very changed," he recalls. He returned certain that he needed a longer term plan and decided to devote himself to building a lasting wine business.

And what business it has now become. Harlan Estate has been described as "the ultimate cult winery," with its limited availability, elevated prices, and its status among the wine collectors. Its flagship Harlan Estate is one of the most sought-after Californian wines on the market, in addition to its second wine, the Maiden.

Stylistically, Harlan wines are overripe and hedonistic. "Our site is so inclined for ripening fruit that for a long time we were being rewarded for ripeness. But our real pursuit is harmony," says the winemaker. He wishes more people could taste and see for themselves.

But few ever will. And fewer still will ever get to visit the Harlan estate, located at an unlisted address off the serpentine Oakville Grade, high up a winding road in a secluded hillside forest. At this elevation, Harlan seems to reign over Napa, like a moat-flanked castle on a hill. The 240-acre property wants nothing, perhaps not even people in it. It is complete. As one design critic wrote of it, "neither seeking nor needing crowds of new admirers."