Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Jeb Dunnuck
The 2021 The Ultimate is a winemaker cellar selection that's pulled from all the single vineyards, and it's a blend of equal parts Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon. You could safely put this beauty up with anything out there and it would do just fine. Its saturated purple hue is followed by a brilliant bouquet of red, blue, and black fruits intermixed with spring flowers, graphite, dark chocolate, and some classic Cabernet Franc underbrush and herbal nuances. With incredible purity, laser-like precision, and a full-bodied, majestic, flawlessly balanced profile, it's going to benefit from upwards of 4-6 years, if not longer, of bottle age, and pretty much blow you away any time over the following two decades.
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Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
A 50-50 blend of Cabernet Franc and Cabernet Sauvignon, selected and blended from the single vineyards, the 2021 The Ultimate is a terrific wine, boasting sexy aromas of smoked meat to go with waves of black cherries, plums and cassis. Full-bodied, it's big and rich yet soft and supple on the mid-palate, only to firm up and show plenty of structure and potential longevity on the long, cedary yet fresh, fruit-driven finish. Pretty complete (and serious) stuff.
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James Suckling
Poured from a magnum, this blend of half cabernet sauvignon and half cabernet franc from notable single vineyards tastes rich, warm and broadly fruity, while generous oak spices lend an almost sweet, cinnamon character. The wine brings together all of the individual vineyard sources in the single vineyard The Debate wines. Drink or hold.
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.