I think I probably overlooked the “as such” part of your initial question. If you are in essence saying “I tried Harlan, I’m interested to discuss the appeal and pricing of trophy Napa cult cabs in that general style,” that does make sense.
My reaction had been to the idea that Harlan was the basis to understand California wine more generally.
Sorry if I misconstrued your topic here.
No problem Chris. My written english is a little bit rusted, and miscommunication can always happen.
Anyway a polite discussion. So everything fine 
I’ve had Harlan maybe two or three times. I had the 1994 Harlan in 2010 – I wrote a note for it in my very first WB post.
I think my tastes have evolved some in the last 13 years, Harlan wines may have changed some since 1994, and 1994 was one of the all-time great vintages for California cabernet. I’m not sure if I would have perceived it the same way today, and/or how I would perceive more recent vintages.
Is always fascinating looking at how our taste and palate change over the years.
Thank you for your tasting notes btw.
It seems to me that the Giacomo’s biggest problem is not with people enjoying this wine, but with the price it commands.
To each their own of course.
I was wondering what people like in Harlan setate wines.
There are many very expensive wines in the world, but i wouldn’t buy a wine like Harlan even at 1/10 of the actual cost.
So i thought of discussing it with actual Harlan lovers.
This isn’t really the site to find “Harlan lovers.” For the most part we are a group that prefers less “excessive” wines.
For what i’ve read on the site, the taste spectrum is pretty broad.
Yes, but leans more heavily towards the restrained side of the spectrum.
Most of the big money goes for Burgundy.
Let’s not open the Burgundy’s pandora box 
I’m still a bit confused. If you had such a strong averse reaction to the wine, is there any explanation that could be provided here that could change your mind? You already read cellartracker reviews where fans of the wine extolled its virtues. If that wasn’t enough, what are you hoping to learn here - or do you just want people to defend their taste?
As you probably noticed many different persons intervened on the discussion. Gave solid advice, and suggested many different wines.
It’s always enriching having conversations with pepole having different opinions about something.
As i said, i would love to broaden my knowledge wit californian wines, even if difficult from Europe.
Discussing it, even if it started with a wine that i didn’t like much is a beginning of a new nourney!
If Harlan is represented as the gold standard for California in Europe, then I can completely understand why you are disappointed. Harlan, Bryant and a few other “cults” represent just one part of a broad spectrum of wines. In fact, Napa is just one part of a broad spectrum of regions within California.
If you like more restrained wines, you may have to dig a little deeper in Europe to find them, but there are plenty worth seeking out. It is nearly impossible in a thread like this to go to deep into recommendations because many of us simply don’t know what is available to you. Mentioned above were Monte Bello and Montelena which you may be able to access. I actually think there are better options outside of Napa but, again, so hard to know what is available to you.
Or at least, those are the wines that people will post about more on here. If you’re someone who enjoys a wide range of wines, it’s sort of human nature to be less likely to post notes about ones that are just going to attract a bunch of derisive replies.
And I’m not saying the derisive replies are wrong or inappropriate – I’m fine with everyone giving their honest opinions on here – I’m just saying a message board zeitgeist tends to be sort of self-perpetuating in that way.
[My comment definitely doesn’t apply to you, though. You do a terrific job of writing on experiences from all parts of the spectrum. I do guess that many others are not like you in that respect.]
I haven’t had the recent producers you mention, but I’ve had a good amount of Cali cab going back to the 90s and I’ve always been biased toward the more classical styles - the producer I have the deepest experience with is Togni, who is very euro styled for California. But I still find even the wines I pursue are notably fruitier than most European wines, it’s something of a terroir signature IMO. But I did find it getting notably worse through the oughts and early teens…glad to hear it may be reversing.