Decanter

• By Owen Bargreen
  Leonetti producer profile, 6/19/2020 (link)

  (Leonetti Cellar, Cabernet Sauvignon, Columbia Valley, Walla Walla Valley, Washington, USA, Red) Subscribe to see review text.

Vinous

• By Stephen Tanzer
  Washington: Various Shades of Hot (Oct 2017), 10/1/2017 (link)

  (Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Washington Red) Subscribe to see review text.

Full Pull

• By Paul Zitarelli
  Full Pull Leonetti, 3/1/2017

  (Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon) Hello friends. Today we have one of our annual Full Pull rites: our offering of Leonetti’s new releases. Deep in the stubborn gloom of early March, it’s a bud pushing through cold earth: a clear indication that spring is on the ascendancy. It’s one of my favorite offerings to write each year. After all, it isn’t every day that you get to write about the grand dame of the Walla Walla Valley, the founding winery in that AVA that quickly became one of Washington’s few cult producers. Founded in 1978 by Gary Figgins, Leonetti rapidly established a reputation as one of Washington’s top Cabernet and Merlot producers, helped along by their 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon being recognized as best in nation in a Wine & Spirits Magazine blind tasting. Brisk mailing list sales followed, and soon thereafter, the mailing list closed and the waiting list opened. Currently it’s the second generation helming the winery, in the form of Chris Figgins. Chris has subtly shifted the emphasis of the winery towards its estate vineyards in the past few years, and the results have been outstanding. I have also been lucky enough to taste vintages of Leonetti wines from the ‘80s and ‘90s, as well as plenty of more recent vintages. These are wines that can age in profoundly beautiful directions (if you can resist their youthful charms). The transition to Leonetti’s second generation is just about complete, and the future for this Mt. Rushmore-level Washington winery looks bright indeed. Now, a quick logistics reminder: This is a pre-release offering, where we’re sending the offer before we know our allocations. Using this model allows us to advocate on behalf of our list for allocations that most accurately reflect our overall demand. The flip side is: some pre-release offerings turn out to be mirage wines: wines where we end up receiving smaller-than-expected allocations and then need to under-allocate. Apologies in advance if that’s the case here. As far as timing goes, we should be able to send out allocation notices in 2-3 weeks (orders will remain Pending until then), and the wines should arrive before the end of March. Now let’s dig into them: First produced in Leonetti’s inaugural vintage – 1978 – this 2014 marks the 37th consecutive vintage of Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon. This comes from four Leonetti Estate sites (Mill Creek Upland, Loess, Leonetti Old Block, and Serra Pedace), as well as the old block at Seven Hills Vineyard. The blend includes 11% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot. No reviews yet for the 2014, but the 2008 received 98pts Gregutt (and the #3 position on Wine Enthusiast’s Top 100 of 2011), the 2009 97pts Gregutt, the 2010 97+pts Dunnuck and 95(+?)pts Stephen Tanzer (Vinous), the 2011 95(+?)pts Tanzer, the 2012 96pts Dunnuck, and the 2013 96pts Dunnuck. Winery tasting notes: Impenetrably dark. An explosive nose of coffee, red and black fruits, Russian sage, and garden herbs. Lesser notes follow of crème cassis, currant, and black olive. On the palate, the wine is dense, sweet, and broodingly dark. Simply perfect fine-grained tannins melded with laser-focused acidity deliver impressive length that lingers on the palate.