Leonetti Cellars Wine at Flickinger Wines

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Leonetti Cellars

2011

Reserve Proprietary Blend

$125

VM 94+ (12/2014): (14.1% alcohol; 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot and 7% each petit verdot and Cabernet Franc): Bright, dark ruby-red. I might have identified this as a white wine from the nose, which offers citrus and gooseberry aromas lifted by a floral topnote. Then pure and intense in the mouth, with an element of citrus zest, suggestions of tropical fruits and a strong sour cherry candy quality that reminded me of a top Pomerol. Very densely packed, savory and dry, with strong acidity giving it a light touch. The wine’s serious tannic spine calls for extended cellaring. A singular wine with great eclat—but will it ever surpass the estate’s flagship cabernet bottling?

WA 93 (6/2014): The 2011 Reserve is 65% Cabernet Sauvignon, 21% Merlot, 7% Petit Verdot and 7% Cabernet Franc that spent 20 months in once-filled French oak barrels. Offering more black cherry, black currant, licorice, tobacco and spring flower-like qualities on the nose, this serious 2011 has fantastic mid-palate depth, integrated acidity and a medium to full-bodied, seamless and elegant personality that’s hard to resist. It too will drink beautifully through 2031.

2019

Walla Walla Merlot (1.5 L)

$199

JD 93 (5/2021): The 2019 Merlot is juicy and up-front, with lots of black cherry and blue fruits as well as medium to full body, ripe, soft, ultra-fine tannins, a good sense of freshness, and classic tobacco, graphite, and spice aromas and flavors. Drink this sexy beauty over the coming 10-15 years.

2022

Walla Walla Merlot

$95

WA 93+ (3/2024): Deeply colored and extracted for a Merlot, the 2022 Walla Walla Merlot displays mocha notes with plum and blackberry compote with soft notions of brown baking spices that sway from the glass with a firm, mineral essence. Full-bodied, the palate is still tight with firm,. gripping tannins that will release with additional years in the cellar yet will remain food-friendly for the next decade. The wine spent 15 months in a mix of new and used French oak and neutral botti.

2007

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

$109

WA 94 (8/2010): The 2007 Cabernet Sauvignon (76%) also contains 17% Merlot, 4% Carmenere, and 3% Malbec. It was aged for 22 months in a mix of new and used French oak. The nose displays herbs, olives, Asian spices, coffee/mocha, a hint of balsamic, black currant, and blackberry. This leads to a savory, intense, incipiently complex Cabernet that will benefit from 5-7 years of additional cellaring to show its full potential. It will be in its prime from 2015 to 2027.

VM 92+ (12/2010): Bright, deep medium ruby. Complex nose offers cassis, mocha, minerals, licorice and menthol, lifted by pepper and herb nuances. Sweet, suave, rich and smooth but initially unforthcoming, with flavors of cassis, chocolate, herbs and licorice; a distinct minerality contributes to the wine's backward impression. The broad, long finish features strong building tannins and a serious backbone for aging. A very tricky wine: I tasted two different bottles in Walla Walla that lacked the normal verve of this bottling, but I was unable to follow them with extended aeration. This third bottle, tasted in New York, got better and better with air, becoming more harmonious and sophisticated while gaining in energy. This should be cellared for at least five or six years.

2008

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

$109

VM 94 (10/2011): (14.6% alcohol; 70% new oak): Deep, saturated ruby-red. Sweet aromas of cassis, coffee and licorice. Superconcentrated, voluptuous and seamless, with Outstanding density of fruit. The compellingly sweet, urgent dark berry flavors carry through to an extremely long, broad, sweetly tannic finish. Not at all dominated by oak; Chris Figgins told me that his family is using less and less American oak, and that no new American barrels were used for this cabernet.

2010

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

$109

WA 97+ (6/2013): More serious, edgy and structured, the spectacular 2010 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as a blend of 76% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Merlot, 8% Petit Verdot and 4% Carmenere that spent 22 months in new and neutral French oak. Layered, pure and complex, with ethereal spice-laced black currant and blackberry fruit, singed herbs, coffee and floral notes on the nose, this full-bodied, impeccably balanced 2010 has phenomenal purity of fruit, a great mid-palate and masses of finely polished, perfectly ripe tannin that coat the palate. Brilliant on all accounts, it will live to see its 25th birthday in fine form. Drink now-2035.

2011

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

$109

VM 95+ (12/2014): (14.2% alcohol; blended with 10% each Merlot and petit verdot plus 5% Malbec): Saturated medium ruby. Pristine aromas of cassis, raspberry liqueur, blueberry, licorice and graphite. Outstanding inner-mouth energy gives this extremely dense wine a wonderfully light touch. The sappy, dry flavors of slightly high-toned red and black fruits are complicated by a saline quality. Wonderfully velvety in the middle palate but dry, classic and still a bit youthfully clenched on the chewy, extremely long back end, where the harmonious tannins coat the front teeth. An Outstanding Bordeaux-like wine that may well merit an even higher rating eight to ten years from now.

WA 94 (6/2014): The best of the 2011s, the 2011 Cabernet Sauvignon is Pauillac-like with its gorgeous creme de cassis, lead pencil shavings, tobacco leaf and graphite styled aromas and flavors. Medium to full-bodied, pure, silky and layered on the palate, with a broad frame and sweet tannin, it’s already approachable, yet will evolve nicely for 5-7 years and hold for a decade after that.

2012

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

$119

WA 96 (6/2015): The 2012 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon is similar to the Reserve, yet slightly more elegant and streamlined at present. Made from 89% Cabernet Sauvignon, 6% Merlot, 3% Cabernet Franc and 2% Petit Verdot that spent 22 month in new and once-used French oak, it exhibits terrific aromatics of leafy herbs, spring flowers, violets, lead pencil shavings and ample cassis and black raspberry-style fruit. Full-bodied, seamless and perfectly balanced, with a stacked mid-palate and building tannin, it’s another candidate for short-term cellaring and will have 2-3 decades of overall longevity.

VM 94+ (11/2015): (14.7% alcohol; from multiple sites; aged for 22 months in new and once-used French oak): Bright ruby-red. A real high-pitched essence of Cabernet, offering aromas of black cherry, red berries, bitter chocolate and spices plus a whiff of pungent dried rosemary. Wonderfully deep and sappy wine; more red than black fruit in style and not at all overripe but still darker in character than the Reserve, not to mention more tannic in the early going. This wonderfully aromatic, spicy, bulletproof wine seems set for a long and glorious evolution in bottle.

2013

Walla Walla Valley Cabernet Sauvignon

$119

WA 96 (6/2016): Leading off the 2013s, the 2013 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon comes all from estate vineyard and is 75% Cabernet Sauvignon, 9% Merlot, 9% Petit Verdot and 7% Malbec, all of which spent 22 months in new and once used French oak. It’s vibrant purple color is followed by classic notes of crème de cassis, violets, tobacco leaf, lead pencil shavings and graphite. This full-bodied, ripe, yet still elegant Cabernet (which checks in at 14.7% alcohol) has terrific purity, ripe, polished tannin and a great finish. It has the purity and finesse to drink beautifully today, but it will have 20-25 years of overall longevity.

VM 93 (11/2016): (70% new French oak): Bright red-ruby. Very sexy aromas of blueberry, dark raspberry, pomegranate, mocha, cola and top-quality oak, lifted by violet and mint high tones. Very rich, deep, creamy wine, with its intense, vibrant red and darker berry flavors accented by spices. Slightly edgy acidity and youthfully clenched tannins call for patience; I would not be at all surprised if this seriously structured but plush and very long wine eventually merited an even higher rating.

2008

Walla Walla Valley Merlot

$79

WA 92 (8/2010): The 2008 Merlot (100%) spent 15 months in a mix of new and used French oak. It exhibits an aromatic array of smoke, spice box, violets, black cherry, and black raspberry. Elegant on the palate with excellent volume, concentrated, spicy flavors, and a hint of minerality, it has enough structure to evolve for 2-3 years and will offer a drinking window extending from 2013 to 2022 if not longer.

VM 92 (11/2010): Good bright red. Smoky red fruits and musky wilder notes of tobacco and tea leaf on the nose. At once silky and precise; shapely, almost voluptuous, but without any undue weight. Builds impressively on the back end, finishing with very suave, sweet tannins and lingering red fruits. Incidentally, Chris Figgins describes his 2008 reds as more generous than his 2007s, but says the earlier vintage has a more classic structure and balance and may age longer. "But 2005 is my favorite ever," he adds.

2009

Walla Walla Valley Merlot

$79

WA 93 (8/2011): The 2009 Merlot displays inviting aromas of balsam wood, earthy minerals, spice box, black currant and blackberry. This sets the stage for a velvety-textured, layered, succulent wine that has impressive volume and length. It will provide prime drinking from 2013 to 2024.

VM 90+ (11/2011): Deep red-ruby. Very ripe, slightly medicinal aromas of kirsch, black raspberry and licorice. Dense, powerful and dark in the mouth, with a slightly tough quality to the mulberry and licorice flavors. Finishes with good length, but the wine's serious tannic spine and a late peppery quality leave the finish a bit rigid today. Will this tightly coiled, very primary wine unwind with several years in bottle? Chris Figgins notes that very hot weather from mid-June to July was harder on the merlot in 2009 than it was on the cabernet sauvignon, and that the merlot struggled to achieve physiological ripeness. Stephen Tanzer.

2011

Walla Walla Valley Merlot

$69

WA 93 (6/2013): Coming from the estate Loess, Seven Hills and Mill Creek Upland vineyards in Walla Walla, the 2011 Merlot is a superb, plush and yet gorgeously elegant and detailed effort that boasts knockout aromatics of spring flowers, black cherry, plum, licorice and dusty mineral on the nose. Already complex and approachable, it nevertheless has full-bodied richness on the palate, as well as a supple, mouth-filling texture, juicy acidity and no hard edges. Drink it over the coming decade. Drink now-2023.

2011

Walla Walla Valley Reserve Red Wine

$129

2013

Walla Walla Valley Reserve Red Wine

$149

WA 96 (6/2016): Similar to the straight Cabernet release, the 2013 Walla Walla Reserve has even more Cabernet Sauvignon in the blend and is 81% Cabernet, 11% Petit Verdot and 8% Merlot. It does nicely in the vintage and has beautiful purity and elegant as well as textbook Cabernet notes of cassis, toasted spice, graphite, scorched earth and hints of chocolate. A touch fresher and more focused than the Cabernet Sauvignon release, this beautiful concentrated, impeccably balanced 2013 will need 4-5 years of cellaring and have 20-25 years of overall longevity.

VM 94+ (11/2016): Saturated medium ruby. Less showy on the nose than the Cabernet Sauvignon, with brooding but very ripe aromas of black cherry, mocha, dusty rose and violet. Compellingly sweet and fine-grained, with deep black cherry and dark berry flavors complicated by an element of Belgian chocolate that carries through the very long, building finish. Tannins saturate the palate and cheeks. This is less harmonious today than the Cabernet Sauvignon bottling but longer on the aftertaste. Stephen Tanzer.

2020

Walla Walla Valley Reserve Red Wine

$149

WA 94+ (3/2024): A blend of 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 12% Malbec and 5% Petit Verdot, the 2020 Walla Walla Reserve is bright, fresh and expressive. Its juicy dark red and black berry essences are followed by notes of French oak and baking spices and seductive dusty floral notes that grasp your attention. Full-bodied, firm and tight, the mouthfeel is generous yet strict. The wine continues to evolve over the long, lingering finish that has me craving flame-kissed ribeyes.