Leonetti Cellar 2023 Reserve Red Wine Walla Walla Valley 750ml

The goal of Leonetti Reserve has never been complicated: craft the finest wine that the Walla Walla Valley's vineyards can possibly produce. Only the best individual barrels from each vintage earn a place in the blend — a Cabernet Sauvignon-dominant assembly whose exact varietal percentages shift every single year, determined entirely by which barrels, from which vineyards, genuinely rise to the top. It is produced only in exceptional vintages, and the resulting wine has been compared, without exaggeration, to the finest Bordeaux blends anywhere in the world.

Leonetti Cellar was founded in 1977 by Gary and Nancy Figgins, on family land in Walla Walla settled by Gary's grandparents, Francesco and Rosa Leonetti, in 1906 — Walla Walla Valley's first commercial winery, and one of the founding forces behind the entire modern Washington wine industry. Chris Figgins, the fourth generation to steward this ground, took over winemaking in 2001 and now serves as CEO and Winemaking Director. Reserve is his and the estate's ultimate statement: the wine that gets built only when the vintage genuinely deserves it, barrel by barrel, with no fixed recipe from year to year.

For 2023, the blend melds 83% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14% Malbec and a remainder of Petit Verdot — and the result, according to Owen Bargreen, is the finest wine he has yet tasted from Leonetti and its eminent winemaker. He awarded a perfect 100 Points: "a mesmerizing wine... it begins with purple rose petals, tar, Turkish coffee and green herbs from the PV alongside opulent black and blue fruits. The palate is plush and seamless throughout the downright ethereal drinking experience, as this effortlessly glides, showing both sensational weight and poise. You can see each varietal working here with clockwork efficiency." His recommendation: give this remarkable wine at least another year in the bottle, then enjoy across a drinking window stretching from 2028 through 2055. This is Leonetti at its absolute pinnacle — the best barrels of an exceptional vintage, blended with total precision by a fourth-generation family that has spent nearly five decades perfecting exactly this.

Origins & Craftsmanship

Leonetti Cellar was founded in 1977 by Gary and Nancy Figgins in Walla Walla, Washington — the valley's first commercial winery, named for Gary's grandparents, Francesco and Rosa Leonetti, who settled the family's land in 1906. Gary planted his first commercial vineyard on that same ground in 1974. Chris Figgins, the fourth generation of the family, assumed the role of head winemaker in 2001 and now serves as CEO and Winemaking Director, following Gary's retirement in 2011.

Leonetti Reserve is the estate's ultimate expression — produced only in exceptional vintages, assembled through diligent, barrel-by-barrel selection to bottle the single finest wine the property's vineyards can yield in any given year. Because the blend is built entirely around which individual barrels earn their place rather than a fixed formula, the varietal composition shifts meaningfully from vintage to vintage: some years lean more heavily on Malbec, others on Petit Verdot, always anchored by a dominant proportion of Cabernet Sauvignon. The 2023 vintage blend is 83% Cabernet Sauvignon, 14% Malbec, and a remainder of Petit Verdot — sourced from among the estate's finest vineyard holdings, including Mill Creek Upland, Seven Hills, Holy Roller, Serra Pedace, and Leonetti Old Block. Wines across the Leonetti range are aged in a mix of old and new French oak, typically for 15 to 22 months, with the Reserve specifically built from the barrels judged most exceptional across that entire aging process. Total estate production across all four Leonetti wines — Merlot, Sangiovese, Cabernet Sauvignon, and Reserve — runs around 5,500 cases annually, with Reserve representing a small fraction reserved for only the most exceptional vintages.

Critics Reviews

Owen Bargreen — 100 Points:
"A mesmerizing wine, the 2023 Leonetti 'Reserve' melds 83% Cabernet Sauvignon with 14% Malbec and the remainder Petit Verdot. It begins with purple rose petals, tar, Turkish coffee and green herbs from the PV alongside opulent black and blue fruits. The palate is plush and seamless throughout the downright ethereal drinking experience, as this effortlessly glides, showing both sensational weight and poise. You can see each varietal working here with clockwork efficiency. This is the best I have yet tried from Leonetti and eminent winemaker Chris Figgins. Give this remarkable wine at least another year in the bottle. Drink 2028-2055."

No numerical score from James Suckling, Vinous, Wine Spectator, Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, Decanter, or Wine Enthusiast is confirmed for the 2023 Reserve at this time.

Tasting Profile

Nose
Purple rose petals open the nose with immediate, dramatic perfume, joined by tar and Turkish coffee for depth and intensity. Green herbs contributed by the Petit Verdot component add a savory, structural counterpoint, alongside opulent black and blue fruits that carry the wine's full weight forward from the first sniff.

Palate
Plush and seamless throughout, in what Owen Bargreen called a downright ethereal drinking experience — the wine effortlessly glides across the palate, showing both sensational weight and real poise simultaneously. Each varietal component works with clockwork efficiency: the Cabernet Sauvignon providing the structural backbone, the Malbec adding richness and color, the Petit Verdot lending herbal lift and grip.

Finish
Long and refined, carrying the wine's black and blue fruit core through a close of genuine sophistication and length. A wine built for extended cellaring — at least another year in the bottle before opening, with a full drinking window extending from 2028 through 2055.

Quick Overview

Food Pairings

• Prime rib or dry-aged steak
• Rack of lamb
• Duck breast with dark fruit reduction
• Aged hard cheeses
• Classic celebratory occasions