I really enjoy Washington State Cab Sauv and am a big fan of Leonetti. This Reserve is drinking wonderfully, tannins smooth and fully resolved, flavors very integrated and balanced. blackberry oak black cherry blackcurrant chocolate
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Had this six months ago. This is a full bodied wine that benefitted from a 90 min decant. Silky smooth up front fruit with a mostly resolved tannin structure that leads to a nice finish. This is in its prime with a decade left of life. Paired well with a rack of lamb.
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Darn. this bottle had gone slightly south. The cork broke and the wine had an immediate funky taste. it only improved slightly as time passed. I wasn't completely horrible, but it clearly was way off of what it should be. Possibly TCA? I bought the bottle on release, and it has been properly stored. Very disappointing.
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1 hour decant- a decadent, silky smooth wine that exceeded my expectations after the 07’s poor performance. This is certainly in its prime and should be consumed in the next 2-3 years while the upfront fruit is so polished. Revisit 2024
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A really good bottle on its own, but just could not live up to some of the Bordeaux it went up against this night. Nice fruit. Integrated. Just no wow factor
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Grabbed a taste when first opening the bottle, and was disappointed by the lack of fruit and savory flavor profile. Wonderful with deep blue fruit after a 90 min decant.
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Decanted for 3 hours before dinner and the Leo kept developing. Like some of the other reviews have stated, it's lighter on the pallet but at about 5 hours the wine became more full bodied. I have one more in the cellar and won't be touching it for another 3-5 years.
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This is still a young wine. It has finally started to enter into its drinking window, but it has a long life ahead. It is still fairly primary, with loads of red and dark fruits. The alcohol is a little hot for me and the tannins still need to integrate, but this is really starting to show it's stuff. Overall, this is a great wine that will only get better over the next 5-10 years.
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Every bit a 94......perfectly aged fruit, tannins, acidity. Red fruited, smooth, everything integrated/balanced, in a great drinking window right now. Perfectly matched with home made lasagna and garlic bread with a balsamic glazed salad including blueberries and strawberries. Absolutely wonderful as it pushes a 95.
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Decanted ~2hours, moderate sediment. Dark violet floral aromas, with black tar, subtle creosote/burned forest, and camphor. Delicious, rich blue and black fruits with excellent structural balance. Paired extremely well with thick, grilled NY strip steaks that were seasoned using pink salt, black pepper, XXXXXX hot chili powder (double XXX), ground fennel, cumin, and coffee. This wine can handle a good bit of seasoning. Drank the last glasses after dinner and it was beautiful & satisfying. This may become a bit more elegant over next 5-6 years, but it's bangin' now!
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Very dark in glass with almost no meniscus. Very much a big WW wine, still primary but had softened nicely so was excellent with a meat-centric meal at Park Lodge in Spokane (highly recommended btw).
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95 all day long and 96 on Sundays.....this is drinking so well right now, but has such perfect acidity it surely can go for many, many more years Just a beautiful cab nose, full weight on entry with beautiful dark fruit and soft tannins. This is just a really good cab in a really good place. Enjoy!
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Friends brought this to my 7/15/17 smoked beef short rib and Zinfandel birthday dinner. It had a rich, complex and tight bouquet of black currant, black cherry, mocha, cocoa and dried herb aromas. The palate was rich, complex, layered and tight with flavors of black currant, black cherry, mocha, cocoa, toast and dried herb aromas. Our group’s average score was 92.33 points.
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Rich and silky smooth on the palate. Very quality feel to it. Layers of delicious black and red fruit, licorice, everything working together very well. Could use a little more time in the bottle but certainly ok to drink now. Really nice wine, I am a fan.
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Drank four wines produced by the Fiiggins Family from this vintage. The wines were 2009 Figgins Estate Red, Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon, Leonetti Reserve, and Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon. The bottles were not decanted but all were given significant time to breathe. The Figgins Estate and Leonetti Reserve are Bordeaux blends, the other two are primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. All of the wines were excellent. As might be expected, the tasters had differing impressions and those impressions changed over time. The Figgins had an excellent nose with a lot of Blackberry and Blueberry and a rich, complex taste. The Leonetti Reserve also had a rich complex taste and really was impressive as time went on. I think both of these wines really displayed the benefit of the full Bordeaux style blend. Of the two Cabs, the Doubleback, while enjoyable, seemed a bit simpler and was the least impressive, and the Leonetti showed more oak initially. It was an interesting and fun comparison of four related, but different, world class wines. My take away was that Doubleback may not be worth it's price.
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12/24/2023 - tedcholl Likes this wine: 93 Points
I really enjoy Washington State Cab Sauv and am a big fan of Leonetti. This Reserve is drinking wonderfully, tannins smooth and fully resolved, flavors very integrated and balanced. blackberry oak black cherry blackcurrant chocolate
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8/5/2023 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 93 Points
Had this six months ago. This is a full bodied wine that benefitted from a 90 min decant. Silky smooth up front fruit with a mostly resolved tannin structure that leads to a nice finish. This is in its prime with a decade left of life. Paired well with a rack of lamb.
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3/9/2023 - Redteeth wrote:
Darn. this bottle had gone slightly south. The cork broke and the wine had an immediate funky taste. it only improved slightly as time passed. I wasn't completely horrible, but it clearly was way off of what it should be. Possibly TCA? I bought the bottle on release, and it has been properly stored. Very disappointing.
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3/7/2023 - N.Bonaparte wrote: 93 Points
1 hour decant- a decadent, silky smooth wine that exceeded my expectations after the 07’s poor performance. This is certainly in its prime and should be consumed in the next 2-3 years while the upfront fruit is so polished. Revisit 2024
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5/21/2022 - jkwoodward Likes this wine: 93 Points
A really good bottle on its own, but just could not live up to some of the Bordeaux it went up against this night. Nice fruit. Integrated. Just no wow factor
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7/10/2021 - Red Sox Fan Likes this wine: 94 Points
Grabbed a taste when first opening the bottle, and was disappointed by the lack of fruit and savory flavor profile. Wonderful with deep blue fruit after a 90 min decant.
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4/3/2021 - PDXWineO Likes this wine: 94 Points
Decanted for 3 hours before dinner and the Leo kept developing. Like some of the other reviews have stated, it's lighter on the pallet but at about 5 hours the wine became more full bodied. I have one more in the cellar and won't be touching it for another 3-5 years.
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8/29/2020 - Winning_Wines Likes this wine: 94 Points
This is still a young wine. It has finally started to enter into its drinking window, but it has a long life ahead. It is still fairly primary, with loads of red and dark fruits. The alcohol is a little hot for me and the tannins still need to integrate, but this is really starting to show it's stuff. Overall, this is a great wine that will only get better over the next 5-10 years.
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4/30/2020 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 94 Points
Every bit a 94......perfectly aged fruit, tannins, acidity. Red fruited, smooth, everything integrated/balanced, in a great drinking window right now. Perfectly matched with home made lasagna and garlic bread with a balsamic glazed salad including blueberries and strawberries. Absolutely wonderful as it pushes a 95.
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11/1/2019 - Red Sox Fan wrote:
Gave to Piers and Lisa
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10/20/2019 - oldcorke Likes this wine: 96 Points
Decanted ~2hours, moderate sediment. Dark violet floral aromas, with black tar, subtle creosote/burned forest, and camphor. Delicious, rich blue and black fruits with excellent structural balance. Paired extremely well with thick, grilled NY strip steaks that were seasoned using pink salt, black pepper, XXXXXX hot chili powder (double XXX), ground fennel, cumin, and coffee. This wine can handle a good bit of seasoning. Drank the last glasses after dinner and it was beautiful & satisfying. This may become a bit more elegant over next 5-6 years, but it's bangin' now!
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9/21/2019 - skifree wrote:
Very dark in glass with almost no meniscus. Very much a big WW wine, still primary but had softened nicely so was excellent with a meat-centric meal at Park Lodge in Spokane (highly recommended btw).
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9/13/2019 - Elkcims Likes this wine: 95 Points
Been saving this since release and after reading the reviews here, decided it's time. Full bodied, velvet mouthfeel, and lovely savory fruit.
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1/9/2019 - Mark1npt Likes this wine: 95 Points
95 all day long and 96 on Sundays.....this is drinking so well right now, but has such perfect acidity it surely can go for many, many more years
Just a beautiful cab nose, full weight on entry with beautiful dark fruit and soft tannins. This is just a really good cab in a really good place. Enjoy!
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11/24/2018 - jkwoodward Likes this wine: 94 Points
Still plenty of time, decanted for 4 hrs, excellent dark fruit and smooth long finish. Really nice.
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5/14/2018 - RDHudak wrote: 91 Points
Still young, but thinner than expected. red and dark fruit. Medium body and finish.
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7/15/2017 - garambler Likes this wine: 93 Points
Friends brought this to my 7/15/17 smoked beef short rib and Zinfandel birthday dinner. It had a rich, complex and tight bouquet of black currant, black cherry, mocha, cocoa and dried herb aromas. The palate was rich, complex, layered and tight with flavors of black currant, black cherry, mocha, cocoa, toast and dried herb aromas. Our group’s average score was 92.33 points.
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5/17/2017 - Don and Pam Likes this wine: 94 Points
sadly our last. Lot's of sediment but wow on the taste.
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8/5/2016 - Empirate wrote:
2 hr decant.
Concentrated bright red fruit. Nice complexity with distinct dried flower component.
Well made, will probably wait on my second bottle for tertiary development experiment past 2022.
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11/2/2015 - SonnyChiba wrote: 94 Points
Rich and silky smooth on the palate. Very quality feel to it. Layers of delicious black and red fruit, licorice, everything working together very well. Could use a little more time in the bottle but certainly ok to drink now. Really nice wine, I am a fan.
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12/31/2013 - Redteeth wrote:
Drank four wines produced by the Fiiggins Family from this vintage. The wines were 2009 Figgins Estate Red, Doubleback Cabernet Sauvignon, Leonetti Reserve, and Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon. The bottles were not decanted but all were given significant time to breathe. The Figgins Estate and Leonetti Reserve are Bordeaux blends, the other two are primarily Cabernet Sauvignon. All of the wines were excellent. As might be expected, the tasters had differing impressions and those impressions changed over time. The Figgins had an excellent nose with a lot of Blackberry and Blueberry and a rich, complex taste. The Leonetti Reserve also had a rich complex taste and really was impressive as time went on. I think both of these wines really displayed the benefit of the full Bordeaux style blend. Of the two Cabs, the Doubleback, while enjoyable, seemed a bit simpler and was the least impressive, and the Leonetti showed more oak initially. It was an interesting and fun comparison of four related, but different, world class wines. My take away was that Doubleback may not be worth it's price.
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