In a word: the icon.
The label, inspired by the figure of Harlequin, portrays the mask, the tear running down his face, and the tomato stains on his costume.
The grapes are manually-picked cluster by cluster, personally selected by the winemaker; they are placed on drying trays for from 0 to 40 days, depending on the status of the harvest, in an area under natural conditions, with no machines, forced ventilation, or dehumidifiers
The whole clusters are crushed, without de-stemming, and the grapes ferment in concrete vats with ambient yeasts for about 30 days, followed by pumpovers, délestages, and above all by visual and auditory monitoring by the winemaker. After drawing-off, the wine settles by gravity for about 10 days. A two-fold maturation process follows, for a total of 30 months, utilising new French oak 225-litre barrels (200% ), with no rackings. The unfiltered wine is bottled and receives an additional minimum of 2 years
in bottle. Harlequin is produced only in the finest growing years
Appearance: luminous, dense ruby red, tending to garnet with ageing. Glycerine-rich weight
Bouquet: generous, full-volumed medley of alternating fruit, blossoms, and minerality, with clean delineation
Palate: an impression of enfolding richness and complexity. Fruit, spices, and higher alcohols alternate with fruit marmalade and forest floor, followed by pipe tobacco, cinnamon, nutmeg and clove, combining with a vein of minerality to put on display the tremendous depth of this wine. It concludes with great length and an appealing note of sweetness. A clearer definition of detail distinguishes Harlequin from its younger brother Kairos.