2021 Promontory Napa Valley 750 ml

In a Napa Valley vintage as outstanding as 2021, you expect the icons—the true blue-chip collectibles—to be beyond flawless. 

You expect them to be awe-inspiring, soul-stirring, magical: Words that describe the Harlan family’s incredible 2021 Promontory. 

This is a wine of profound depth and precision, opening with monumental aromas of blackcurrant, plum compote, and blueberry, layered with graphite, cedar, and wild sage. The palate is powerful yet sculpted, with concentrated dark fruit, finely grained tannins, and a long, resonant, and tightly coiled finish.

When the Harlan family undertakes a new endeavor, the wine world takes notice. Bill Harlan, proprietor of Harlan Estate, BOND, and Meadowood, discovered the site that would one day be Promontory during a hike along the edge of Oakville in the 1980s. The wine first landed on the international wine stage when the 2009 vintage debuted in 2014, and it’s been almost impossible to acquire ever since.

Promontory is situated on the confluence of two fault lines that create a canyon with a unique terroir 500 feet above the valley floor. The vineyards, planted to Bordeaux varieties, encompass less than 10% of the entire estate. Walking these vineyards, you feel like you are discovering a secret secluded site, and the wine seems to capture that feeling of the vineyards. It truly captures the untamed splendor of Napa Valley. 

Promontory’s majesty comes across in their bunker-like cask room, a circular concrete-walled space where the wine matures in 800-gallon Austrian-oak casks. When you walk in the dimly lit space, there is a lone spotlight on an upright barrel in the center of the room, upon which rests your taste of the property’s singular wine. There are no distractions. You are able to fully immerse yourself in the symphony of the wine—and it deserves that kind of attention.