Buying Wine

Barrel tasting with Chris Figgins

Chris Figgins, son of Leonetti Cellar founder Gary Figgins, assumed full responsibility for winemaking at Leonetti in 2001. For years Leonetti purchased their grapes but over time have moved to using Estate grapes from their own vineyards. The genesis for FIGGINS was the idea of making one wine from a single estate vineyard. For the second year in a row…

Continue Reading

Bottle Notes

Pick My Next Bottle – Taste Washington Wine Month

The March Installment of Pick My Next Bottle focuses on great bottles from some of the best producers in Washington. As I mentioned in the first installment, the purpose of this series is to provide insight into specific wines or producers you may currently have in your cellar. The winning bottle will be opened this Sunday and a Bottle Note…

Continue Reading

russian river valley grapes
Random Musings

Making a List

In the spirit of the upcoming holidays I am making a list of wines I’d like to see made. In some cases it is a winemaker that I would like to see make a wine from a new varietal and in other cases it is an existing varietal from a different vineyard source. Lets get this list started with a…

Continue Reading

home wine cellar
Bottle Notes, Merlot

In Defense of Merlot

It’s become fashionable to bash Merlot. Will Lyons of the Wall Street Journal wrote: “What struck me was how different the vintages were in style, how poorly some of the Merlots showed and just how stunning the Cabernet Sauvignons were.” From Tim Fish of The Wine Spectator: “The 2010 California Merlots just aren’t much fun to taste. Another tough day…

Continue Reading

2004 Leonetti Merlot
Bottle Notes, Merlot

2004 Leonetti Merlot – Bottle Notes

Leonetti Cellar was founded in 1977 by Gary and Nancy Figgins. Leonetti, along with Quilceda Creek and Woodward Canyon put premium Washington Cabernet Sauvignon on the radar of wine consumers across the United States. Leonetti also produces one of the very best domestic Merlots. Leonetti is near and dear to me as a wine consumer, and I’ve been on their…

Continue Reading

2003 Leonetti Merlot
Bottle Notes, Merlot

2003 Leonetti Merlot – Bottle Notes

Leonetti Cellar was founded in 1977 by Gary and Nancy Figgins. Leonetti, along with Quilceda Creek and Woodward Canyon put premium Washington Cabernet Sauvignon on the radar of wine consumers across the United States. Leonetti also produces one of the very best domestic Merlots. Leonetti is near and dear to me as a wine consumer, and I’ve been on their…

Continue Reading