Wm. Harrison Vineyards & Winery (William Harrison)
Rutherford Red Blend
Rutherford, Napa Valley, California, USA
Another great Classic Wine Happy Hour in the books! Always a treat to have a designated day each month where guys can pull out some unique bottles!
Another 2011 vintage that is killer. Thanks @Mark Flesher for this. Heavy percentage of petit Verdot and Malbec in this, but the rough year brought the intensity of those varietals down and it's in a nice spot. Inky, blackberries and more blackberries, dusty/earthy quality alongside supple texture. Finished with a candied note.
Another great Classic Wine Happy Hour in the books! Always a treat to have a designated day each month where guys can pull out some unique bottles!
Another 2011 vintage that is killer. Thanks @Mark Flesher for this. Heavy percentage of petit Verdot and Malbec in this, but the rough year brought the intensity of those varietals down and it's in a nice spot. Inky, blackberries and more blackberries, dusty/earthy quality alongside supple texture. Finished with a candied note.
Tasted alongside a 2008 Quintessa, this producer's immediate neighbor. In a nutshell, this wine came out swinging from the very first minute. Definitely a boxer ready for the fight. Dark and brooding, inky. Volcanic blackberry and tar nose. Had a roasted St. Helena character. Blackberry, black licorice, hint of ripe fig and pipe tobacco on the front and mid palate. Rutherford dust on the finish. Almost goes more to the red clay volcanic Howell Mountain profile at 11 years of age likely thanks to its unique soil composition at the estate. The style here between this one and the Quintessa were remarkably different yet the dust is still there on both. The Quintessa seemed much more youthful and even a little bit lighter, which definitely could be astringency, with age-ability probably a bit better yet this Harrison is going nowhere for the next 10 years itself. In my opinion, no clear victor between the two. Well done Wm. Harrison!
Tasted alongside a 2008 Quintessa, this producer's immediate neighbor. In a nutshell, this wine came out swinging from the very first minute. Definitely a boxer ready for the fight. Dark and brooding, inky. Volcanic blackberry and tar nose. Had a roasted St. Helena character. Blackberry, black licorice, hint of ripe fig and pipe tobacco on the front and mid palate. Rutherford dust on the finish. Almost goes more to the red clay volcanic Howell Mountain profile at 11 years of age likely thanks to its unique soil composition at the estate. The style here between this one and the Quintessa were remarkably different yet the dust is still there on both. The Quintessa seemed much more youthful and even a little bit lighter, which definitely could be astringency, with age-ability probably a bit better yet this Harrison is going nowhere for the next 10 years itself. In my opinion, no clear victor between the two. Well done Wm. Harrison!
Sep 21st, 2019Catching up....Out of 3 heavy hitters, 1 clear winner, but this was 2 or 3. This wine wins the award for most rounded wine. Nose is black and purple fruit. Decanted for about six hours. Entry is medium++ bodied. Some fig and plum, but backbone of black and purple fruit. Finishes with classic Rutherford dust. Second place finish out of 2, third place finish out of the other 2. Other two wines were Spoto secret acre Cab 13 and Spoto PR 14, all of which were decanted for at least 5-6 hours as well. The efforts of Mr Harrison are ridiculously commendable for producing a wine that can hang with wines out of its price point!
Catching up....Out of 3 heavy hitters, 1 clear winner, but this was 2 or 3. This wine wins the award for most rounded wine. Nose is black and purple fruit. Decanted for about six hours. Entry is medium++ bodied. Some fig and plum, but backbone of black and purple fruit. Finishes with classic Rutherford dust. Second place finish out of 2, third place finish out of the other 2. Other two wines were Spoto secret acre Cab 13 and Spoto PR 14, all of which were decanted for at least 5-6 hours as well. The efforts of Mr Harrison are ridiculously commendable for producing a wine that can hang with wines out of its price point!
Apr 26th, 2019Probably a 97 a maturity. Solid 94 today. WOW this wine is young. Nose is reminiscent of a young Malbec. Of course, the Rutherford red blend is always heavy on the Malbec (historically 10 to 15 %) , although the percentage breakdown is not listed on this vintage. Has almost a meaty sort of a nose. Entry is youthful fruit that seems to have ripened just yesterday. Still very astringent black cherry and a little bit of baking spice to the middle. Finishes with a softer texture than expected, but also with some pretty stiff Young Oak tannin. This one definitely did better with dinner to cut through the tannin which made the finish a little more present and that hint of Rutherford dust stick out! But, with this one needs more than anything is about 5 years in the bottle to figure itself out. Looking forward to big things!
Probably a 97 a maturity. Solid 94 today. WOW this wine is young. Nose is reminiscent of a young Malbec. Of course, the Rutherford red blend is always heavy on the Malbec (historically 10 to 15 %) , although the percentage breakdown is not listed on this vintage. Has almost a meaty sort of a nose. Entry is youthful fruit that seems to have ripened just yesterday. Still very astringent black cherry and a little bit of baking spice to the middle. Finishes with a softer texture than expected, but also with some pretty stiff Young Oak tannin. This one definitely did better with dinner to cut through the tannin which made the finish a little more present and that hint of Rutherford dust stick out! But, with this one needs more than anything is about 5 years in the bottle to figure itself out. Looking forward to big things!
Jan 26th, 2019This wine is in a perfect spot right now. After about an hour and a half of air, it was singing. Nose with hawthorne and a little red fruited. Entry was more dirty dusty blackberry. Middle shows the meaty, earthy, red clay side with a really dense and somewhat dark finish. Rutherford dust VERY present here. I just love how these wines age.
This wine is in a perfect spot right now. After about an hour and a half of air, it was singing. Nose with hawthorne and a little red fruited. Entry was more dirty dusty blackberry. Middle shows the meaty, earthy, red clay side with a really dense and somewhat dark finish. Rutherford dust VERY present here. I just love how these wines age.
May 18th, 201844 Cab, 35 PV, 11 Cab Franc, 5 Malbec, 5 Merlot. A little "different" as far as your usual weighted percentages go. This one is just starting to show its true personality. Nose of black fruit, black licorice. Entry is dark, inky, a little acidic. Black and blue fruit. Vanilla. Black licorice on the middle with some kind of floral note. Finished with softening tannins. Mild acidity. Meaty. Big wine, and definitely not going anywhere for the next 10 years except up!
44 Cab, 35 PV, 11 Cab Franc, 5 Malbec, 5 Merlot. A little "different" as far as your usual weighted percentages go. This one is just starting to show its true personality. Nose of black fruit, black licorice. Entry is dark, inky, a little acidic. Black and blue fruit. Vanilla. Black licorice on the middle with some kind of floral note. Finished with softening tannins. Mild acidity. Meaty. Big wine, and definitely not going anywhere for the next 10 years except up!
Jul 31st, 2017Out of a field of probably 14-ish wines, this one was probably number 4 or 5 IMO out of the reds. For an 11, the "damned" vintage, this wine was delicious. 15% Malbec and greater than 30% PV, this wine had quite a bit of youthful fruit, blackberry and black licorice on the front with floral showing the same plus a dark floral presence. This wine wasn't just jam packed in the fruit category but it had a lot of other things -- there was a hint of black pepper and oregano on the finish. This wine really was quite a bit more dense than my last evaluation of it, and I'm sad to say that there is only one of these left. I do feel that a little bit of bottle age has done this one well, so I will probably hold the other one for a few years.
Out of a field of probably 14-ish wines, this one was probably number 4 or 5 IMO out of the reds. For an 11, the "damned" vintage, this wine was delicious. 15% Malbec and greater than 30% PV, this wine had quite a bit of youthful fruit, blackberry and black licorice on the front with floral showing the same plus a dark floral presence. This wine wasn't just jam packed in the fruit category but it had a lot of other things -- there was a hint of black pepper and oregano on the finish. This wine really was quite a bit more dense than my last evaluation of it, and I'm sad to say that there is only one of these left. I do feel that a little bit of bottle age has done this one well, so I will probably hold the other one for a few years.
Jun 25th, 2017
This is a well balanced red blend with long finish. A new winery to me. If you like red blends as I do , check this wine out.
This is a well balanced red blend with long finish. A new winery to me. If you like red blends as I do , check this wine out.
Nov 30th, 2016
