Winemaker Notes
The wine exhibits a deep, dark cherry color with hints of cherry and ruby at the rim; on the nose, it offers an explosion of spice, including nutmeg, licorice, chocolate, and roasted espresso bean, lifted by fresh notes of rosemary, muddled blueberries, and violets; the palate opens with a fresh, bright entry balanced by vibrant mid-palate acidity, revealing layers of boysenberry, mulberry, and huckleberry supported by granular tannins and a lingering freshness.
Professional Ratings
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James Suckling
Blackcurrants, sandalwood, nutmeg and pine needles on the nose. Walnuts and tobacco, too. It’s full-bodied with firm, fine-grained tannins. Powerful, yet retains freshness. Pretty, fresh-herb highlights to the fruit. This needs a few years. Drink from 2024.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The deep garnet-purple colored 2018 Cabernet Franc Sleeping Lady Vineyard opens with fragrant scents of wild blueberries, red currant jelly and kirsch, with nuances of dried lavender, pencil shavings and cardamom plus a touch of dusty soil. Full-bodied, the densely packed palate delivers mouth-coating red berry and floral layers with loads of blue fruit accents, framed by firm, finely grained tannins and bags of freshness, finishing long and perfumed.
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Wine Enthusiast
From a beautiful site on the western benches of the Mayacamas, this impressively made and balanced wine bursts in violet and dried herb, with lengthy tannin and integrated oak. Blue and red fruit present as both succulent and softly layered, with a lasting impression of cardamom and dark chocolate.
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Wine Spectator
This shows a solid, packed core of dark currant and blackberry paste flavors that have a strong tug of dark earth throughout as well. Offers nice tobacco and singed cedar accents through the finish. Best from 2023 through 2030.
Wines, like people, are a reflection of their origin and evolution. The Debate are Napa Valley wines crafted by respected winemaker Jean Hoefliger (Lynch-Bages, Newton Vineyard, Alpha Omega, AXR, Harbison and many others). The Debate focuses on the unique terroirs of single vineyard sites for Cabernet Sauvignon & Cabernet Franc exclusively.
The Debate began in 2010 when two friends brought their unique perspectives together to create thought provoking and delicious wines that extend beyond the sense of taste to the thrill of telling stories and the art of listening. By selecting three different vineyards with three different expressions of Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc, the Debate seeks to point out the diversity of terroir as well as the diversity of people.
We live in an age where less and less time is spent at the dinner table discussing these different points of view. The Debate mission is to bring people together to share a glass of wine to discuss and debate just as our team does. Every vintage of The Debate is wrapped in newspaper with “The Debates” of the vintage. Whether its politics, sports, pop-culture or world events, you have the opportunity to reminisce a time, a place and a vintage in history with the people around you.
Undoubtedly proving its merit over and over, Napa Valley is a now a leading force in the world of prestigious red wine regions. Though Cabernet Sauvignon dominates Napa Valley, other red varieties certainly thrive here. Important but often overlooked include Merlot and other Bordeaux varieties well-regarded on their own as well as for their blending capacities. Very old vine Zinfandel represents an important historical stronghold for the region and Pinot noir is produced in the cooler southern parts, close to the San Pablo Bay.
Perfectly situated running north to south, the valley acts as a corridor, pulling cool, moist air up from the San Pablo Bay in the evenings during the hot days of the growing season, which leads to even and slow grape ripening. Furthermore the valley claims over 100 soil variations including layers of volcanic, gravel, sand and silt—a combination excellent for world-class red wine production.