Harlan Estate Napa Valley 2002

100 points Robert Parker: "The extraordinary Harlan Estate, which I awarded 100 points seven years ago, offers no justifiable reason to doubt its perfect score. It is still a baby, with an inky purple color and notes of smoky camphor intermixed with creme de cassis, Asian soy and a hint of cedar beginning to emerge as well as some espresso and subtle damp forest floor notes. The wine has awesome intensity, a full-bodied mouthfeel, a skyscraper-like texture, and a finish that goes on for close to a minute. This is a perfect wine, still youthful and young, and not even in full adolescence as of 2012. It has 40 or more years ahead of it, but should hit its plateau of full maturity in another 5-10 years. It is certainly one of the most showy , flamboyant and remarkable Harlan Estates made to date. (More recently, the 2007 tends to resemble this wine more than any other vintage I can think of.) Kudos to Bill Harlan! (Jun 2012)"

99 points Wine Spectator: "Approaching perfection. Wonderful perfumed and floral aromas, with rich cassis, blackberry and wild berry fruit scents. On the palate those flavors are intense and vibrant, creating a mouthcoating sensation and finishing with a persistent aftertaste and rich, integrated tannins. 1,248 cases made. Collectibles. (11/15/05)"

98 points Stephen Tanzer (International Wine Cellar): "Deep medium ruby. Knockout nose combines black raspberry, blackberry, candied violet, licorice pastille, black pepper and a suggestion of dusty earth. Like a liquid confection in the mouth: thick and sweet yet almost magically shapely and fresh. The longest, most inexorably palate-staining wine of my tour of the North Coast in early March: this lost no strength in my mouth after I had spit it. Damn near close to perfect wine; only my own refusal to give a perfect score to a wine that's still a decade or more short of its peak kept my score down. Bill Harlan, incidentally, compares the 2002 vintage to the 1995, which is showing spectacularly today... This very backward wine has the acid/tannin spine to evolve in bottle for 15 to 20 years. (May/Jun 2005)"

19/20 points The World of Fine Wine: "This was another difficult year, one that prompted the Harlan team to wonder if they should even make a wine. Fortunately, they did. The color is deep and red, and the nose classic pencil lead, smoke, damp earth, and herbs, with intriguing malty notes. Fleshy and opulent, with high alcohol, it’s very juicy and super-ripe, albeit with less prominent structure than the 2001, but a long, long finish. A favorite of most of the tasters. (Dec 2014)"