2016 The Debate Cabernet Sauvignon Artalade Vineyard
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Tasting notes
This is a solid cabernet from Pritchard Hill with lots of blackberries, fresh herbs and conifer and crushed-stone undertones. Full body, juicy tannins and a long and flavorful finish. Needs three or four years to soften. Better after 2022.
Critic scores
James Suckling
Jeb Dunnuck
More reviews and scores
From a vineyard on Pritchard Hill and all Cabernet that saw the standard barrel fermentation and 23 months in 70% new barrels, the 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Artalade also has a chalky minerality as well as a more structured, concentrated style. Deep purple-colored, with plenty of black cherry and graphite aromas, full body, and silky tannins, it’s another terrific wine from Hoefliger, but this one is going to require some patience. Hide bottle for 4-5 years, and it should drink beautifully over the following two decades or so.
The 2016 Cabernet Sauvignon Artalade emerges from one of the best-known sites on Pritchard Hill. Powerful and savory in the glass, the Artalade has a lot to offer, but it also needs time to shed some of its tannin. At this stage, the 2016 is pretty forbidding, its considerable allure notwithstanding.