2020 Promontory Napa Valley 750 ml

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. It 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 truly captures the untamed splendor of Napa Valley. 

Bob Levy, director of winegrowing for Harlan Estate and Promontory, told Perrotti-Brown that Promontory’s “ripening curve” allowed them to bring in the fruit in August. This freed them from the challenges that many wineries faced in 2020. As he told The Wine Independent:

“It was always our wish that we could move our ripening curve up. And we were concerned about sugar ripeness, but it wasn’t a worry in 2020. With old vines and dry farming, we have been able to bring the harvest forward. In 2020, we started harvesting in August.” As such, “Promontory was all in before the Glass Fire.”

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—and the 2020 more than merits that treatment.