Making History: 21 Vintages of Leonetti’s Red
Wine Reserve

BY ERIC GUIDO |&nbsp;OCTOBER 03, 2023“Iconic” is the word
that comes to mind when I consider the impact the Leonetti family and their
wines have made on Washington State. Today, many names can be associated with
the region's upper echelon of fine wine, but only one remains in that sub-group
that has been there since the beginning. The Leonetti wines not only produced
the spark necessary to bring attention to Washington State Bordeaux blends, but they also continue to be a guiding force in the region by setting the bar high. Leonetti
remains family-owned and operated, aiming to honor the past while looking
fearlessly toward the future.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1696343789674-A+Twenty-one+vintage+vertical+of+Leonetti+Reserve_copy.jpg">A twenty-one vintage vertical of Leonetti Reserve. A Bit of History The Leonetti family has
deep roots in Walla Walla going back to 1902 when Francesco Leonetti immigrated
from Serra Pedace, Calabria, Italy. Together with his wife, Rosalina, Francesco
Leonetti purchased the family farm in 1906, focusing on a broad range of
agriculture, but like many Italian immigrants, making wine for their family's
consumption. Francesco or “Frank” Leonetti inspired his grandson, who was
transfixed by the bubbling fermentations, sounds and smells of his
grandfather’s winemaking hobby. That grandson, Gary Figgins, the founder of
today’s Leonetti Cellar, joined the military service and, while stationed in
California, made regular weekend trips to wine country where he caught the wine
bug. By trade, Figgins was a machinist, but it wasn’t long before winemaking
became his passion. By 1973, he was making wine in his basement with purchased
fruit, and by 1974 through 1977, he began to plant his first vineyards around
the family homestead. Of those plantings, the 1977 block of Merlot still exists
outside of the modern-day winery. This block is regarded as Walla Walla’s
oldest vineyard.&nbsp;

Gary and his wife, Nancy
Figgins, continued to work by day and began to raise a family, all while making
wine and fine-tuning their brand until 1977, when Leonetti became Walla Walla’s
first bonded winery, and then 1978 when they released their first commercial
vintage. Chris Figgins, the current owner and winemaker, explained, “Mom and
Dad struggled to make ends meet. Mom would make cold calls to doctors to make
sales since doctors were known to buy wine or place a sign on the road that
would read, ‘Winery Open House’. Things moved slowly for them.”

As slow as Chris Figgins
recalls, in hindsight, recognition came relatively quickly when, in 1981, Gary
Figgins submitted his 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon to Wine &amp; Spirits Magazine
only to have it finish first place in the tastings and achieve a spot on the
front cover, touted as Top United States Cabernet Sauvignon. Figgins added,
“They only produced about 170 cases and would sell it at $12 per bottle, which
was pretty aggressive at the time. After the article, with just two cases left,
they sold the bottles at $50 a piece, and our family took a road trip to
Disneyland.”&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1696343823918-Chris+Figgins+in+his+element_copy.jpg">Chris Figgins is in his element. 

The recognition that was
shone upon the region motivated a wave of new wineries and plantings throughout
Walla Walla, but also Washington State, and was followed by more attention as
the likes of Wine Spectator and Wine Advocate continued to lump
praise upon Leonetti. However, it wasn’t until 1990 that Gary Figgins felt
secure enough to leave his day job and make winemaking his full-time
profession. “My Mom’s efforts often get overlooked, but she was the glue that
held the family together. In the end, their biggest hope was to make a living
and get the kids through college,” stated Chris Figgins.&nbsp;

In college in the
nineties, Chris Figgins found his love of wine, having begun with a focus on
engineering. He recalls the phone call to his parents to explain his intention
to join the family business and that his father seemed unimpressed but was
later told by his mother that he began to cry after the call. He shared, “You
know, my dad doesn’t cry. I think it was their hope all along, but they never
wanted to push me into coming to the business.” And so, Chris Figgins began to
study viticulture and integrate himself into the winery's day-to-day
operations.&nbsp;&nbsp;

One of the first
projects the family embarked on was a push toward higher-elevation plantings
and a desire to have all-estate vineyards. This was a faithful endeavor, as
frost in 1996 ravaged vineyards throughout the region. Their goal was to avoid
frost damage in the future, yet today, their high-elevation sights have
protected them from global warming. The first of these was the Upland vineyard,
planted in 1997 in the foothills of the Blue Mountains, along with the
expansion of the Seven Hills Vineyards. In the early 2000s, the Loess Vineyard
was added near the winery, and in 2010, the Serra Pedace Vineyard was planted
above Seven Hills Vineyard. By 2003, the winery production was from all 100%
estate-grown fruit and all within the Walla Walla AVA.<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1696343866124-The+Leonetti+barrel+aging+cellar_copy.jpg">The Leonetti barrel aging cellar. The Modern-Day Leonetti When the opportunity
arose to spend some time with the current owner and Director of Winemaking,
Chris Figgins (his father, Gary Figgins, is now happily retired), my request
was to taste through a vertical that would showcase the modern-day wines, how
they can mature and the changes that were made over time. The bottling I chose
was the Red Wine Reserve, a wine that has been produced in every vintage since
2000 and is intended in each vintage to showcase the best of any given year.
The Red Wine Reserve was first made in 1985, labeled the Seven Hills Reserve
Cabernet Sauvignon because of the exceptional fruit that year. This occurred
again in 1987 and 1989, but Leonetti decided to halt production through the
1990s. The return of the Red Wine Reserve marked an evolutionary turning point
for Leonetti because it was also at this time that Chris Figgins took a leading
role in the winemaking process and began to fine-tune the work in the vineyards
and cellar. Cabernet was removed from the label, as the family decided that
this would now be a wine representing the best fruit and vineyards, which would
change from year to year.

Upon assuming the role of
winemaker, Chris Figgins reduced dependence on new oak, one of the first
significant changes. “Being all-estate vineyards, I wanted to show off the
quality of our vineyards and how carefully we farm. In the 1980s and 1990s,
Leonetti was a style-driven winery, not a vineyard-driven winery. I wanted to
show the terroir of Walla Walla Valley, and dialing back the oak was
important,” Figgins explained. This was an important shift of direction for
Leonetti, as they began to follow a Bordeaux-inspired practice of creating
wines of longevity and refinement. Figgins added, “Dad would use all new oak,
but 30 to 40% of new American oak. It can be very interesting aromatically if
there are small amounts in the blend, but it will otherwise overpower the wine.
He also pressed fairly early and with a lot of sugar. We still don’t press
completely dry, but much later than Dad. The original wines were very showy in
their youth. More hedonistic.” New oak represents about 70% of the mix today,
and Leonetti focuses more on barrels that add texture instead of aromas and
flavors.&nbsp;

These adjustments were
paramount in creating the Red Wine Reserve and the portfolio we know today. As
for the Red Wine Reserve, Figgins's top expression of each vintage is built
through a selection in the vineyards and the cellar, using all of Leonetti’s
parcels, which are vinified separately. This means location and the varietal
makeup of each vintage. The blend in the early 2000s relied heavily on a
classic mix of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc and Petit Verdot.
Cabernet Franc was quickly removed from this combination, and then in 2006,
Malbec was added. Figgins commented, “I love Malbec. It has a laser-like focus
and softens Cabernet differently than Merlot. Merlot is about fat on the
mid-palate, while Malbec is more about juiciness. It’s a completely different
creature.” The addition of Malbec peaked in 2015 at 29%, but as stated before,
all the varieties are chosen for their merit from vintage to vintage, with some
years, like 2017, where Petit Verdot was featured at 32% of the blend.&nbsp;<img alt="" src="https://s3.amazonaws.com/images.vinous.com/uploads%2F1696343892817-Gary+Figgins%2C+founder+of+Leonetti+and+inspiration+to+Walla+Walla+winemakers_copy.jpg">Gary Figgins, founder of Leonetti and inspiration to Walla Walla winemakers. Twenty-one Vintages of Red Wine Reserve The 21-vintage vertical was
an eye-opening experience, as I’ve always known how well these wines can age,
but I didn’t realize how balanced they would show through long and open
drinking windows. Moreover, while the varietal composition and small changes in
winemaking occur from year to year, the process is very similar from 2004
through 2020. Only from 2000 through 2003 was any American oak used to refine
the wines. From 2004 on, it’s a combination of French barrique, neutral
puncheons and large oak casks, where the wine matures for 22 months. Case
productions were at their highest from 2007 through 2015, and it was also in
2015 that the winery changed out its entire barrel inventory to remove a
growing problem with brett that can be sensed mostly in the 2013 vintage. The
Red Wine Reserve production has been lower since 2016, around 900 cases, partly
due to Leonetti’s new single-vineyard lineup, but that’s a story for another
time.&nbsp;&nbsp;

There are times that I
feel fortunate to do the work that I do. Tasting through this lineup was one of
them. In nearly all cases, these wines surpassed my expectations. Each was opened
just before my arrival and was tasted over two hours. I can also guarantee that
nearly all of them would have only improved if there had been more time to sit
with them. The wines show best after ten to fifteen years, as it was only when
arriving at the 2008 and 2009 vintages that they began to show any signs of
maturity. As for the older vintages, 2006, 2005, 2004, and 2001 were
spellbinding and in a perfect place. While from the more recent years, many of
which were stunning, the 2010 and 2018 were off the charts. Anyone lucky enough
to have these in their cellar will smile from ear to ear over the coming
decades.

I tasted the wines in
this article at the Leonetti estate in Walla Walla, Washington in May 2023.© 2023, Vinous. No portion of this article may be copied, shared or re-distributed without prior consent from Vinous. Doing so is not only a violation of our copyright, but also threatens the survival of independent wine criticism.<hr> You Might Also Enjoy<a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/rhones-on-the-rise-washington-state-takes-the-lead-aug-2023">Rhônes on the Rise: Washington State Takes the Lead</a>, Eric Guido, August 2023 <a target="_blank" href="https://vinous.com/articles/against-all-odds-washington-states-2020s-and-2019s-mar-2023">Against All Odds: Washington State’s 2020s and 2019s</a>, Eric Guido, March 2023

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