A broodingly dark Cabernet Sauvignon with a wonderful nose of chocolate, mint, cassis, cola, and vanillin. The concentrated mouth feel is dominated by black fruits and the wines bright acidity and fine-grained tannins are in perfect balance, backed up with a tremendous finish.
Reviews:
- Wine Advocate: The rich, highly expressive aromas of the 1999 Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley burst from the glass with cassis, spiced oak, jammy blackberries, candied plums, smoke, grilled toast, and juniper berries. Medium to full-bodied, it coats the taster’s palate with Italian Roma tomatoes, red cherries, assorted dark fruits, and countless spices. This lush wine, a blend of 89.5% Cabernet Sauvignon, 8.4% Merlot, and 2.1% Petit Verdot, is dense, concentrated, and reveals loads of tannin in its finish.
- James Suckling: Rich and ripe, packed with beautiful currant and berry flavors, framed with superfine tannins that let the fruit and subtly spicy overtones linger effortlessly on the long finish.
Producer Information
Leonetti Cellar is one of Walla Walla Valley’s pioneering wine producers. It was established in 1977 with plantings of Cabernet Sauvignon and Riesling, and now makes a range of wines from Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese and Aglianico. The estate draws upon several key vineyards throughout Walla Walla. These cover a wealth of terroir, on different aspects and slopes, and with a wide range of soil types based on the Valley’s silty loam soils. This gives Leonetti the ability to carefully select sites for each variety, and grapes are planted in the vineyards in which they are judged to do best. Several blocks in the Seven Hills and Leonetti vineyards have older vines, which are used to make the top wines. Leonetti uses mostly French oak for aging, but the Sangiovese is aged in neutral puncheons to retain its character. Leonetti Cellars has become one of the region’s more premium producers, commanding high prices for its range of mostly Bordeaux-inspired wines. The Reserve Bordeaux Blend has further increased the brand’s prestige in recent years, receiving a 100-point score from the famously influential US wine critic Robert Parker.
