Leonetti Cellars Washington State Wine Tasting Thursday, April 3rd 7:30pm and all the Leonetti Wines in the store on SALE!!
"Old red wine, not worth a dime; we'll have to finish it after crossing the line."
Old Red Wine by The Who
When we host and event at Wine Watch we open the oldest wines that we have in the store. We are doing our part in drinking as many of the world’s great wines as we can here at Wine Watch. Life is short drink the good stuff first!!
So, when we received this collection of older vintage Leonetti Cellars wines I thought this would be the perfect thing to continue our study of Washington State wines. These Leonetti Cellars wines are all 10+ years of age and from some of the best vintages that are now drinking at or near their peak years. I always say great Bordeaux needs 10-20 years before they start to get interesting and these Bordeaux varietals from the state of Washington are no different.
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $250 + tax. For reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com
Leonetti Cellars Washington State Wine Tasting
Thursday, April 3rd
7:30 PM
2006 Leonetti Cellar Merlot Walla Walla Valley
2008 Leonetti Cellar Merlot Walla Walla Valley
2009 Leonetti Merlot Washington
2005 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
2007 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
2007 Leonetti Cellar Reserve Walla Walla Valley
2008 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
2019 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
2020 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
2015 Leonetti Cellar Serra Pedace Vineyard Aglianico Walla Walla Valley
Menu
Selection of Cheese and Charcuterie
Foie Gras Tourchon with Grape Jelly and toasted Brioche
Pablano Pepper stuffed with A5 Japanese Waygu Filet Mignon and forbidden Rice served over Goat Cheese Crème and Pepper Puree
King Salmon with Ancho Chile BBQ Served over Black Bean Puree
Bourbon Chocolate Chip Pecan Pie with Vanilla Ice Cream
The fee for this tasting which includes dinner is $250 + tax, for reservations call 954-523-9463 or e-mail andy@winewatch.com. Please let us know when you make your reservation if you have any food allergies or aversions and chefs Toni and Dani will be happy to accommodate you.
A bit of history about Washington State Wines:
The first people who planted grapes in Washington were the German and Italian immigrants and that was around 1825.
Chateau Ste. Michelle is Washington state’s Founding Winery, with some of the oldest and most acclaimed vineyards in the Columbia Valley.
Built on the 1912 estate owned by Seattle lumber baron Frederick Stimson, the winery’s roots date back to the Repeal of Prohibition, when the Pommerelle Wine Company and the National Wine Company were formed. They merged in 1954 to form American Wine Growers. In 1967, American Wine Growers began a new line of premium vinifera wines called “Ste. Michelle Vintners” under the direction of legendary California winemaker Andre Tchelistcheff.
Ste. Michelle Vintners planted its first vines at Cold Creek Vineyard in Eastern Washington in 1972. Cold Creek remains one of the oldest and most renowned vineyards in the state. Ste. Michelle Vintners now own more than 3,500 prime vineyard acres in the Columbia Valley.
Some of the other founding fathers of the Washington state wine industry are- Leonetti Cellars, Woodward Canyon and Quilceda Creek. These three producers are the first “cult wines” from Washington state and basically the second round of producers to move in.
Leonetti Cellar, which was bonded in 1977 by Founders Gary and Nancy Figgins, started as Gary’s vision to make world-class wines in Walla Walla has turned out to be a true American success story. Today, Leonetti Cellar produces some of the most sought after wines not onlyfrom Washington state but in the world.
Woodward Canyon Winery was one of the first two wineries to help put the Walla Walla Valley on Washington State's wine map. From its first powerful 1981 cabernet sauvignon to the new releases today they have been among this state's top producers and we have actually have some of these wines in our tasting tonight!
Founded in 1979, Quilceda Creek has had an unbroken string of highly-rated vintages that has led Robert Parker Jr. to name it Washington State’s premier Cabernet Sauvignon producer with five vintages receiving (100 points) from Robert Parker Jr.'s The Wine Advocate, this is the mosxt sought after collectible. Although we are not showing any Quilceda Creek this evening we do have several vintages available for sale after the notice of this tasting we have a list of all the Washington state wines in the store.
The industry and been expanding rapidly, Washington is the second largest wine producing state with just over 500 wineries in 2007. Just a few short years later, today there are over 1000 with the giant Chateau St. Michelle leading the way in terms of size.
All the Wines from Leonetti Cellars on SALE!!!
2021 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese Walla Walla Magnum
Price: $235.00 Your Price: $206.80
2021 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese Walla Walla
Price: $122.00 Your Price: $107.36
The color is a gorgeous garnet hue. Complex nose of allspice, coffee with caramel, strawberry sorbet, roasted tomatoes, and charcuterie. Very fine-grained tannin structure with a focused palate of dark cherry and cranberry fruit character, and a surprisingly long, refreshing finish.
2019 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese Walla Walla Valley
Price: $145.00 Sale Price: $114.00 Quantity in Stock: 5
The color is a gorgeous garnet hue. Complex nose of allspice, coffee with caramel, strawberry sorbet, roasted tomatoes, and charcuterie. Very fine-grained tannin structure with a focused palate of dark cherry and cranberry fruit character, and a surprisingly long, refreshing finish.
Our Sangiovese is made to age for 20 - 30 years in your cellar. Of course, there are some vintage-to-vintage variations to this recommendation.
2018 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese Walla Walla Valley
Price: $155.00 Sale Price: $125.00 Quantity in Stock: 6
Dark ruby color. Classic Sangiovese nose of dark Bing cherries, strawberries, dried rose petals, fresh cream, and a hint of asphalt. Incredibly polished tannins on top of a core of silky fruit and earth notes. A lengthy finish with a lovely, refreshing string of acidity.
2007 Leonetti Cellar Sangiovese Walla Walla Valley
Price: $155.00 Sale Price: $125.00 Quantity in Stock: 1
(92 Points) The medium purple-colored 2007 Sangiovese (which contains 14% Syrah) spent 22 months in mostly neutral French oak. It offers up a nose of spicy cherries and strawberries. On the palate it displays savory, spicy fruit, elegance, a vibrant acid structure, and several years of aging potential. (JM) Review Date: 08/2010 Wine Advocate
2022 Leonetti Merlot Columbia Valley Magnum
Price: $280.50 Your Price: $246.84
2022 Leonetti Merlot Columbia Valley
Price: $135.00 Your Price: $118.80
(93 Points) 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. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2020 Leonetti Merlot Columbia Valley
Price: $120.00 Sale Price: $95.00 Quantity in Stock: 13
Winemaker Notes Intensely deep color. The aromatics are rich and sweet with notes of pomegranate, plum, raspberry, baking spices, vanilla, bay leaf, and a hint of plumeria. Broad and elegant on the palate with cherry chocolate character, a silky-smooth mouthfeel, and a plush, lengthy finish.
2019 Leonetti Cellar Merlot Walla Walla Valley
Price: $135.00 Sale Price: $110.00 Quantity in Stock: 11
Deep ruby to the rim. This 100% Merlot boasts an incredible nose of white lilac, boysenberry, reduced blueberry syrup, and candied walnuts. It has an incredible purity of fruit and the absolutely seamless, supple tannins that made Leonetti Merlot famous. The wine has a wonderfully long finish that lingers on the palate.
2009 Leonetti Merlot Washington
Price: $175.00 Your Price: $154.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
(94 Points) Though 2009 was a difficult vintage for Washington Merlot, this is a truly luscious wine. It welcomes the taster instantly with massive, generous fruit cloaked in toasty, chewy, mocha and caramel flavors. Tasted over the course of 48 hours, it held up well, developing broad, well-integrated flavors of berries to complement the hedonistic oak. Sure to be a favorite among all the current releases from Leonetti. -Wine Enthusiast
2008 Leonetti Cellar Merlot Walla Walla Valley
Price: $120.00 Sale Price: $99.00 Quantity in Stock: 16
(92 Points) 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. (JM) Review Date: 08/2010 Wine Advocate
2006 Leonetti Cellar Merlot Walla Walla Valley
Price: $125.00 Sale Price: $99.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
(96 Points) This bright, aromatic, vivid wine opens with a bowlful of berries and cherries. There is plenty of acid under the ripe fruit, which takes center stage at the moment. The signifcant additon of Carmenere (from the Seven Hills Vineyard) adds black pepper to the engaging mix of flavors. Despite its youth, the flavors persist for a remarkably long finish. *Top 100 Wines of 2008* (PG) Review Date: 12/2008 Wine Enthusiast
2021 Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley Magnum
Price: $300.00 Your Price: $264.00
2021 Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon Columbia Valley
Price: $161.00 Your Price: $141.68
(95 Points) Made with the addition of 7% Petit Verdot, 5% Merlot, 4% Cabernet Franc and 3% Malbec, the 2021 Walla Walla Cabernet Sauvignon is a broad, structured and generously layered wine. It exhibits a full-bodied and complex profile with juicy freshness, fine-grained tannins and a dusty essence of dark red and black fruits. Ending with a plummy finish, this wine promises to evolve and drink even better in the coming years. The wine matured for 22 months in new and once-filled French oak barrels and neutral oval botti. Robert Parker's Wine Advocate
2020 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
Price: $145.00 Sale Price: $114.00 Quantity in Stock: 23
(98 Points) The 2020 Cabernet Sauvignon checks in as 82% Cabernet Sauvignon and 6% each of Malbec, Petit Verdot, and Cabernet Franc from a mix of sites in the heart of the Walla Walla Valley. Its dense purple/plum color is followed by beautiful bouquet of pure cassis, leafy tobacco, chocolate, spicy oak, and graphite. This carries to a powerful, concentrated, burly, yet incredibly well-balanced Cabernet with a great mid-palate, a layered, building, powerful texture, beautiful tannins, and outstanding length. This blockbuster, serious, age-worthy beauty needs 3-5 years of bottle age (it will probably take a decade to hit maturity) and will have 2-3 decades of longevity. Review Date: 06/2023 Jeb Dunnuck
2019 Leonetti Cellar Cabernet Sauvignon Walla Walla Valley
Price: $145.00 Sale Price: $114.00 Quantity in Stock: 33
(96 Points) Darkly alluring and brooding in the glass, the 2019 Cabernet Sauvignon opens with dusty dried flowers and black currants lifted by nuances of mint and pine. This washes across the palate with total elegance, silky and suave, with sultry ripe red fruits underscored by saline-minerals that slowly saturate. Residual acids add a bump of energy that balances, as tart wild berries and currants give way to grippy tannins that linger on. This is a wonderfully radiant and entrancing vintage for Leonetti's Estate Cabernet. (EG) Review Date: 03/2023 Vinous
2007 Leonetti Cellar Reserve Walla Walla Valley
Price: $190.00 Sale Price: $159.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
(96 Points) The 2007 Reserve is composed of 69% Cabernet Sauvignon, 11% Merlot, 11% Petit Verdot, and 9% Cabernet Franc aged for 23 months in new and seasoned French oak. Deep purple colored, it displays aromas of pain grille, earth notes, espresso, violets, black currant, and blackberry. Dense and rich on the palate with restraint and elegance, this lengthy effort will reward 5-7 years of patience from those who buy it. (JM) Review Date: 08/2010. Wine Advocate
2015 Leonetti Cellar Serra Pedace Vineyard Aglianico Walla Walla Valley
Price: $135.00 Sale Price: $110.00 Quantity in Stock: 4
Inky darkness to the rim. The nose is loaded with spiced plumb, tobacco, and dried dates. Four full years in clay amphora and oak casks have created absolutely seamless tannins, beautiful profile of red fruits, and a mouthwatering, creamy acidity I can’t get enough of. Our third release of Aglianico, and our finest yet. Aglianico is a very late ripening variety, and it is often November before we harvest. 2015 was one of our warmest years on record and this variety is absolutely glowing this year, having been harvested at the peak of its ripening curve.
2018 Leonetti Cellar Serra Pedace Vineyard Aglianico Walla Walla Valley
Price: $135.00 Your Price: $118.80
(98 Points) The Serra Pedace vineyard is a high-elevation site that was named after ancestors Frank and Rose Leonetti’s hometown in Calabria, Italy. The 2018 offers anise, tar and black licorice notes combined with suggestions of black cherry syrup on the nose. The palate shows good freshness and serious flavor density. crème de cassis and crème de violette flavors meld well with minerals, sweet pipe tobacco, creosote and shades of espresso grounds. This is a big, generous, weighty Cabernet Sauvignon, yet the focus and precision in the winemaking are really impressive. This is drinking beautifully even in its youth, but try to resist for at least a few more years if you can. (OB) Review Date: 10/2021, Vinous