2018 The Debate - Cabernet Sauvignon Napa Artalade Montagna Vineyard (750ml)

The Debate was founded in 2010 by longtime friends Rob McKay and Jean Hoefliger, who set out to explore how the same variety could express itself differently across distinct sites. Their concept centers on three separate Napa Valley vineyards, each vinified identically so the differences in the finished wines come purely from terroir. The name reflects that spirit of comparison and conversation, inviting drinkers to taste multiple expressions side by side and form their own opinions about place and style.

The Artalade Montagna Vineyard sits on Pritchard Hill, a mountain site known for producing dense, structured fruit with real aging potential. The 2018 Cabernet Sauvignon was fermented entirely in barrel, spending twenty-seven days on the skins before an extended twenty-three month aging period in French oak, seventy percent of it new. Production stays intentionally small, allowing close attention to every barrel and reinforcing the wine's concentrated, mountain-driven character.

This wine pours a deep, dense purple and opens with blueberry, black cherry, and cassis, layered with tobacco, graphite, and crushed stone minerality that builds with time in the glass. The palate is rich and full-bodied, carried by firm, well-structured tannins built for the cellar. Its power and depth call for equally bold food, such as grilled bison steak, aged pecorino, or a rich dark chocolate torte.