Winemaker Notes
Blend: 88% Cabernet Sauvignon, 7% Merlot, 4% Carmenere, and 1% Malbec
Professional Ratings
-
Wine Enthusiast
This is the best bottling of a very fine lineup from Leonetti. Dense, textural and complex, it showcases exceptional blending of flavors from the addition of just 7% Merlot, 4% Carmenere and 1% Malbec. Notes of plum, cassis, coffee grounds, dark chocolate and a hint of herb run through a complete and engaging finish, retaining both elegance and power. Cellar Selection.
-
Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
The Leonetti 2009 Cabernet Sauvignon - which incorporates some Merlot and Carmenere along with a smidgeon of Malbec - surprisingly evinces blueberry as well as cassis and cherry, in sweet but neither cooked nor confitured fashion, shadowed by suggestions of their high-toned, distilled counterparts. Ginger, cinnamon, toasted pecan, black tea and mint accents add to the appeal of lush fruit on a finely-tannic, full-bodied (14.6% alcohol) yet buoyant palate, and this finishes with an invigoratingly tart fruit skin edge and positively vibrant "ping" of sheer juiciness and energy that leave one's attention focused on a quivering tongue and the next sip. What a terrific example of how to achieve richness and sweetness of fruit while remaining fleet of foot! This beauty is unlikely to take a misstep for at least the next 12-15 years.
-
Wine Spectator
Smooth and vibrant, this red offers rich blackberry and black tea flavors on a sinewy frame, lingering easily on the expressive finish.
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.