Leonetti Merlot 2022
We have 5 in stock (Inventory is live and accurate)
The Land
Walla Walla's reputation was built on Merlot before Cabernet, and Leonetti is the reason. The valley sits in Washington's southeast corner and spills into Oregon, in the rain shadow of the Cascades with the Blue Mountains rising to the east. The soils are wind-blown loess, fine silt piled many feet deep over gravel and sediment left by the Ice Age Missoula floods. Leonetti grows its fruit on its own Walla Walla estate vineyards, from the Loess Vineyard near the winery at about 1,000 feet to Mill Creek Upland in the foothills on the valley's eastern side. Winters are the risk. Merlot is the most cold-tender of the Bordeaux grapes, and the family buries the canes of its Loess Vineyard Merlot each winter to protect them from hard freezes.
The Wine
The Leonetti Merlot 2022 is 100 percent Merlot from Walla Walla Valley, aged about 15 months mostly in once-filled and neutral French oak, with some large neutral botti in the mix. That restraint lets fruit lead. Alcohol is 14.5 percent. The 2022 vintage in Washington started cold: a mid-April blizzard pushed budbreak back two to three weeks, and cool weather lingered through bloom. Heat arrived in late June, but harvest still ran late, and an October running five degrees above average let the fruit ripen with lower sugar and higher natural acidity than recent warm years. Leonetti describes a densely colored garnet wine with blackberry, graham cracker, vanilla and a light medium-roast coffee note. Expect dense, sweet fruit through the middle, grippy tannin that softens with air, and a chalky, lingering finish.
The People
Gary Figgins grew up working his Italian immigrant grandparents' farm outside Walla Walla, then spent years as a machinist while making wine as a hobby. He planted his first vineyard in 1974. In 1977 he and his wife Nancy bonded Leonetti Cellar, named for those grandparents, Frank and Rose Leonetti. It was the first winery in the Walla Walla Valley, started in the family basement. Merlot earned Gary the nickname "The King of Merlot" from Seattle critic Tom Stockley. His son Chris, a horticulture graduate of Washington State University, joined the day after graduating in 1996 and became head winemaker in 2001. Chris moved Leonetti toward fruit from its own vineyards, and his sister Amy runs the estate as manager and partner. This is the winery the entire Walla Walla wine industry grew up around.
Food Pairing
Decant it 30 to 60 minutes ahead. A grilled bone-in pork chop with a cherry and balsamic pan sauce matches the wine's dark fruit, and the tannin handles the fat. Braised short ribs over creamy polenta give the grippy structure protein to work against. Try a wild mushroom risotto finished with Parmigiano for an earthy, savory foil. For a backyard night, cedar-plank salmon with a brown sugar and black pepper rub works with the wine's sweet fruit. This is Washington Merlot for a Saturday dinner at home that deserves a real bottle.
We ship wine to most states with a $100 minimum order for shipping. We don't ship spirits nor beer.
Weather shipping advisory: Orders placed during times of extreme heat or extreme cold will be held for no charge until more favorable weather returns.
Walla Walla Valley is a renowned wine region located along the border of Washington and Oregon, known for producing exceptional Syrah and Cabernet Sauvignon. Winemaking here began in earnest with the founding of Leonetti Cellar in 1977, the valley’s first commercial winery. The region's diverse geography ranges from higher elevations near the Blue Mountains, with cooler temperatures and greater rainfall, to warmer, drier areas on the valley floor. Cayuse Vineyards played a major role in highlighting the distinctive Rocks District of Milton-Freewater subregion, famed for its rocky, cobblestone soils ideal for Syrah. Today, Walla Walla Valley is celebrated for complex, flavorful wines shaped by this wide variety of climates and soils.
Washington - Walla Walla Valley
Merlot, a red grape variety celebrated for its soft tannins and approachable fruit, is a cornerstone of winemaking around the world. It achieves some of its highest expressions on the Right Bank of Bordeaux, particularly in prestigious appellations like Pomerol and Saint-Émilion, where it forms the dominant part of many celebrated blends, contributing richness and plushness. Merlot also plays a significant role in Tuscany, where it is a key component in many Super Tuscan wines, and also stands alone to produce spectacular varietal wines. In Washington's Columbia Valley, Merlot thrives in the region's sunny days and cool nights, producing varietal wines that highlight its velvety texture and generous fruit profile. While Merlot is widely planted in California, some believe it reaches even greater heights in Washington State.
