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Harlan Estate, Napa Valley proprietary red

The Oakville hillside proprietary red, about 1,500–2,000 cases, sold by mailing list since 1990.

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Vineyard in Oakville, Napa Valley
Marco · Adobe Stock · Adobe Stock Standard License

Harlan Estate's proprietary red is a Cabernet-led blend from 40 planted hillside acres, aged about 24 months in new French oak, produced in roughly 1,500–2,000 cases and sold by mailing list. The Maiden is the second wine.

Made by
Harlan Estate
From
Oakville, Napa Valley
Style
RedCabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdot
Bottles made in a typical year
21.0K
The kind of wine

Napa cult Cabernet

A small-production Cabernet Sauvignon from the best land in Napa Valley, sold mostly to a private mailing list.

What a bottle like this costs to make

A glass of dark red wine on a winery terrace above vineyards and golden hills at sunset

Good years and bad

One square for each year. The darker the square, the better the weather was for the grapes. Tap a year to read about it.

20232022202120202019201820172016201520142013201220112010200920082007200620052004200320022001200019991998199719961995
ExceptionalExcellentVery goodGoodMixedDifficult
The essentials

The wine and its economics

Harlan Estate's proprietary red is a Cabernet-led blend from 40 planted hillside acres, aged about 24 months in new French oak, produced in roughly 1,500–2,000 cases and sold by mailing list. The Maiden is the second wine.

Every year in a tableHow each year was rated, and the price the producer first asked
VintageHow the year was ratedRelease priceHow rare (0–100)The growing season
2023Very Good — 65
2022Mixed — 66
2021Excellent — 66
2020Difficult — 67The Glass and LNU fires; smoke taint led several cult estates to release no wine from the…
2019Excellent — 67
2018Excellent — 68
2017Mixed — 68Heat spike at harvest and the October fires; several estates released reduced quantities.
2016Excellent — 68
2015Very Good — 69
2014Excellent — 69
2013Exceptional — 70Long, even season; widely rated among Napa's best.
2012Excellent — 70
2011Difficult — 70Cool, wet, late; rot at harvest; many estates made little or declassified.
2010Good — 71
2009Very Good — 71
2008Good — 71
2007Excellent — 71
2006Very Good — 72
2005Very Good — 72
2004Very Good — 72
2003Good — 72
2002Excellent — 72
2001Excellent — 73
2000Good — 73
1999Very Good — 73
1998Mixed — 73
1997Excellent — 74
1996Very Good — 74
1995Very Good — 74
 Release price is what the producer first asked for a bottle. A dash means no price was published.

Find by year and rating

What does this wine cost to make?Our estimate: $26–$80 a bottle

We estimate it costs about $26 to $80 to make one bottle of a wine like this. The price in the shop is far higher because the land is scarce, the name is famous, and many hands take a share on the way to you.

ComponentLowHigh
Imputed land cost$3.82$16.44
Vineyard operations$5.79$18.46
Oak barrels$0.69$1.67
Winemaking labour and cellar work$3.00$6.00
Cellar aging$1.28$3.20
Bottle, closure, label, case and bottling$5.40$14.40
Winery overhead$4.00$10.00
Financing over the aging period$1.53$9.82
Estimated winery production cost$25.51$79.98
 One standard bottle, at the winery door. Built in US dollars and shown in your chosen currency.

See the full breakdown

Recent auction resultsWhat bottles of this wine fetched when collectors sold them
Sale dateVintageHouse and saleFormatLot pricePer bottle
Sep 20261998Christie'sFine and Rare Wines & Spirits Online: London Edition (sale 24534) · lot 1315 × 75 cl≈$4,299≈$860 with premium
Jul 20262011Christie'sFine & Rare Wines: Featuring The Reserve Cellar and 50th Anniversary Wines Direct From Stag's Leap Wine Cellars (sale 24555) · lot 15476 × 75 cl$4,750$792 with premium
Jun 20262017Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6166 × 75 cl≈$4,141≈$690 with premium
Jun 20262017Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6156 × 75 cl≈$4,141≈$690 with premium
Jun 20262016Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6141 × 150 cl≈$2,389≈$2,389 with premium
Jun 20262016Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 61312 × 75 cl≈$13,539≈$1,128 with premium
Jun 20262015Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6122 × 150 cl≈$3,504≈$1,752 with premium
Jun 20262015Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6115 × 75 cl≈$4,779≈$956 with premium
Jun 20262014Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6101 × 150 cl≈$1,513≈$1,513 with premium
Jun 20262014Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6093 × 75 cl≈$2,389≈$796 with premium
Jun 20262013Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6082 × 150 cl≈$4,779≈$2,389 with premium
Jun 20262013Christie'sThe Opulent Cellar: Online (sale 24463) · lot 6072 × 75 cl≈$2,867≈$1,434 with premium
 Prices are in the currency of each sale. Christie’s and Sotheby’s include the buyer’s fee; Hart Davis Hart shows the price before it.

All lots on record

The detailsClassification, grapes, bottle sizes and the rest
Producer
Harlan Estate
Region
Napa Valley
Appellation
Oakville
Classification
Cult Napa Cabernet
Style
Red
Grape composition
Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, Petit Verdotdominant
Vineyard
Harlan Estate hillside
Bottle sizes
750 · 1500 · 3000 ml
Bottles made in a typical year
21,000 bottlesTrade reporting ≈ 1,500–2,000 cases
First vintage made
1990
Great years
11 of 29 rated excellent or exceptional

Comparable wines

Compare →

Wines from the same appellation or region that collectors weigh against this one.

Opus One, Oakville

Opus One

About 25,000 cases a year with Bordeaux-style distribution: Napa's liquidity leader.
Sign for the Oakville American Viticultural Area in Napa Valley, California, surrounded by mustard flowers

Screaming Eagle Cabernet Sauvignon

About 500–600 cases by mailing list: the scarcity benchmark of American wine.
Mustard flowers blooming between grape vines at a vineyard in spring in Yountville, Napa Valley, California

Dominus

Christian Moueix's dry-farmed Yountville Cabernet from Napanook, about 6,000–8,000 cases.
Aerial view of vineyards at sunrise with fog, Rutherford AVA, Napa Valley, California, USA

Scarecrow Cabernet Sauvignon

Old-vine Rutherford Cabernet from 1945 plantings, under a thousand cases, cult-priced within a decade of its 2003 debut.

Sources

  1. Harlan Estate, 2025. Retrieved 3 September 2026.
Last reviewed: September 2026Report an error on this page