Winemaker Notes
Professional Ratings
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Decanter
2000 was another challenging year in the Walla Walla Valley, and Leonetti's Cabernet Sauvignon (86%) is one of the best wines I've tried from this vintage. Cocoa powder and anise tones combine with black tea and exotic spices on the nose. The elegant, refined palate boasts silky tannins, while tertiary flavours of wild mushroom and cedar combine with minerals and a core of dark fruits. Still showing freshness and a great acid backbone, this wine still has some life in it yet. Drinking Window 2020 - 2027
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Wine Enthusiast
Bursting with fragrant, powerful berries and spice, this wine still shows the edges of youth, with the new oak a bit jagged and the tannins slightly green and chalky. But all it needs is time (or air!) and there is no denying that this is a jammy, juicy, just plain delicious mouthful of wine with a masterful hand at the wheel.
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Wine Spectator
Rich, supple and fleshy, a lovely Cabernet that spills over with plum-scented berry and espresso flavors that linger enticingly on the rich, polished finish. The oak is present but not overwhelming. Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot.
A noble variety bestowed with both power and concentration, Cabernet Sauvignon enjoys success all over the globe, its best examples showing potential to age beautifully for decades. Cabernet Sauvignon flourishes in Bordeaux's Medoc where it is often blended with Merlot and smaller amounts of some combination of Cabernet Franc, Malbecand Petit Verdot. In the Napa Valley, ‘Cab’ is responsible for some of the world’s most prestigious, age-worthy and sought-after “cult” wines. Somm Secret—DNA profiling in 1997 revealed that Cabernet Sauvignon was born from a spontaneous crossing of Cabernet Franc and Sauvignon Blanc in 17th century southwest France.
Responsible for some of Washington’s most highly acclaimed wines, the Walla Walla Valley has experienced a surge in popularity in recent years and is home to both historic wineries and younger, up-and-coming producers.
The Walla Walla Valley, a Native American name meaning “many waters,” is located in southeastern Washington; part of the appellation actually extends into Oregon. Soils here are well-drained, sandy loess over Missoula Flood deposits and fractured basalt.
It is a region perfectly suited to Rhône-inspired Syrahs, distinguished by savory notes of red berry, black olive, smoke and fresh earth. Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot create a range of styles from smooth and supple to robust and well-structured. White varieties are rare but some producers blend Sauvignon Blanc with Sémillon, resulting in a rich and round style, and plantings of Viognier, while minimal, are often quite successful.
Of note within Walla Walla, is one new and very peculiar appellation, called the Rocks District of Milton-Freewater. This is the only AVA in the U.S. whose boundaries are totally defined by the soil type. Soils here look a bit like those in the acclaimed Rhône region of Chateauneuf-du-Pape, but are large, ancient, basalt cobblestones. These stones work in the same way as they do in Chateauneuf, absorbing and then radiating the sun's heat up to enhance the ripening of grape clusters. The Rocks District is within the part of Walla Walla that spills over into Oregon and naturally excels in the production of Rhône varieties like Syrah, as well as the Bordeaux varieties.