Leonetti, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley

Ruby red in color with some bricking at the edge of the glass. 13.7% ABV. Stunning nose of black fruits, creme de cassis, Whitman Sampler Box and violets. Medium to full bodied with exquisite acidity and balance. Plush, powerful and concentrated. Black currants, cassis liqueur, tobacco leaves and bittersweet chocolate on the palate. The finish is exceptionally long and silky with mostly resolved tannins. Tremendous Cabernet Sauvignon from a great vintage that has aged beautifully. Absolute perfection! Well stored bottles …

1998 vintage

Left it too long, as it has definitely faded. Classic aged Cabernet brick in the glass with decent depth of color and nose given its age. Still has a lovely complexity. Pronounced cedar box and tobacco bouquet with undercurrents of prunes and dried cherries. Fades a bit quickly on the finish, again, due to its age.

1998 vintage

RDB 65 birthday with Wally Pat and Aline. Drank from Bin North 11. Gift from Warren May 2001. Leather blackberry nose with hint of lavender. Clear dark purple. Soft even body leather oak middle hint of cherry and long dry finish. Delightful aged Cabernet Sauvignon. 9.5/10.

1998 vintage

I say I don't like cricket oh no I love it I don't like cricket no no I love it Don't you walk thru my words You got to show some respect Don't you walk thru my words 'Cause you ain't heard me out yet

1998 vintage

Lovely mature claret. Wholly integrated tannins, acid and dried fruit and herbs. I don't see it getting any better so drink up over the next few years.

1998 vintage

Drinking great and still had enough life that I think it could go 5 more years. Dark cherries and chocolate the nose, switching to rich pie cherries on the palate. Overall, delicious.

1998 vintage

Some brett and funk, otherwise standard smooth Leo goodness, consume soon

1998 vintage

Excellent wine medium bodied with nice acidity. It drank much younger than I expected and went well with my mesquite grilled rib chop. I'm very happy to have 1 bottle left.

1998 vintage

Perfect cork and fill. Pnp Drinking at or near peak. Gorgeous bouquet of red roses, dried cherries, graphite, blueberries and herbs. Medium body with a bright, clean mouthfeel. Complex. Very few fine tannins dust the long finish. Wonderful example of an aged meritage!

1998 vintage

Amazing wine, just pops on the glass. Currants, cherries and berries. Long earthy finish.

1998 vintage

Finally, a great cab as I think many rave about. Drank this side by side a 2006 Quilceda. Absolutely wonderful. Perhaps this is what Leonetti is all about.

1998 vintage

Briefly decanted. Ruby red in color. 13.7% ABV. Sensational aromatics of black fruits, pencil, leather and plums. Flavors of cassis, cloves, graham cracker, and currants. This finish is long and spicy with super silky tannins and just a hint of toasty oak. Sexy wine from an outstanding vintage in Washington. This wine should cruise to twenty years of age which is when I will check in on my last bottle.

1998 vintage

First glass not decanted. Perfect cork. Slightly shy aromas of plum, cedar, charcoal and black cherry. On the palate, the tannins are fully integrated and waves of tobacco-accented cherry and red licorice fill the mouth. With air, the tannins showed up a bit, but not obtrusively so. This a stately WA red and shows the pedigree of the vintage, the fruit and the winemaker. Will hold for up to 5 more years before a (slow) decline.

1998 vintage

Beautiful. Well aged. Wished had more

1998 vintage

Well past it's prime; not even drinkable now

1998 vintage

The wine is ruby red in color. The nose just screams Leonetti. Spicy oak, vanilla and cherries. Cassis, currants, graham cracker and herbs. This wine is super silky with seductive tannins. The finish is long and sweet. This wine is exceptional now and I would not cellar it much longer.

1998 vintage

Rich & balanced. Improved with age

1998 vintage

On the decline. Musty nose and a bit of a medicinal finish. Still enjoyable but not what it use to be.

1998 vintage

earthy, dark fruit, medium weight, balance good, medium finish, decanted 90 min ahead. Good wine but not great.

1998 vintage

RussK WW KenB at LaBro. My WOTN, by a small margin. Like the Leonetti cabs more than the merlots. 92-

1998 vintage

Over the top. layers of fruit and earth. was perfect with food.

1998 vintage

OTH

1998 vintage

Seems to have lost some of it's stuffing. Will not decant the next one to see if that makes it last a little longer.

1998 vintage

Had a bottle last night with a BBQ'd flank steak and was disappointed at the lack of complexity. Nothing wrong with the wine (decanted for 4 hours), just not significantly more interesting than the standard Leonetti Cab and quite a bit more expensive....save your money and stick with standard.

1998 vintage

USA Cabernet Masterclass (Rockpool Bar and Grill Sydney) : colour: end of bottle so much deposit Nose: leather, cedar, concentrated black fruit, spice, cloves Mouth: talcy texture, black fruit up front but this diminishes to reveal spice and vanilla. Bit difficult to make a call on this wine with so much deposit in the glass.

1998 vintage

Nice classic Leonetti aromas of spice and dark fruit. Rich, smooth and velvety on the palate with nice dark fruit flavours accented by spicy Leonetti oak. Fruit and oak are well integrated. When I was younger this was perhaps my favourite wine. I think one of the first really great wines I ever tasted was the 1992 Leonetti Merlot. Over the years my palate drifted away from the new world towards the old. But it was great to come back …

1998 vintage

Peaked and starting to lighten. Good concentration, tannins still firm

1998 vintage

just jumps out of the glass. Layers of cherries, plums, and currants. Fresh and young.

1998 vintage

excellent, smooth,

1998 vintage

Tasted blind against a 2006 Martini Cab. Sonoma. The price online for the Leonetti is 10x the Martini. It is not even 2x better. I found the Leonetti well balanced , smooth ,fruity and little else.

1998 vintage

We brought this bottle to a seafood restaurant and consumed with friends. Opened and poured for tasting. Immediately I could tell this bottle had to have "brett" (brettanomyces). It had strong smells of Band-Aids and hospital notes. I drink Leonetti's regularly and the nose was distinctly different. I watched my friend taste a glass before I said anything and his response was "interesting..." He is actually on their mailing list and detected it right away too. I do know in …

1998 vintage

Decanted several hours. While very good, wishing we drank it sooner!

1998 vintage

Outstanding for a WA Cab! Not much difference to the reserve. Probably can get bigger taste from CA!

1998 vintage

Unbelievable! California watch out! By far the most amazing WA Cab!

1998 vintage

Excellent wine, probably the best WA Cab I've ever had. Fruit bold and luscious even 12 years later. Usually that would hide the tannins, but they were nicely present. Opened up even more at 24 hours, and then showed some cedar to go with the plum. Expensive for me, and I have found really excellent WA BDX blends in the $40-$50 range, so I'm not sure if the value is there for my pocket book, but it was definitely a …

1998 vintage

Mature with smooth tannin, leather, hint of tar,soft sweet fruit.

1998 vintage

In a great place right now. The tannins aer totally integrated and the oak is not too oberblown.

1998 vintage

Pleasant dark fruit flavors, smooth and well balanced but fading.

1998 vintage

Tasty but a bit over the hill, classic graham cracker, still some good fruit

1998 vintage

Still very well balanced. It's right in it's sweet spot right now-- drink 'em if you got 'em.

1998 vintage

Saturday Tasting Group (Knightsbridge Wine Shop (Northbrook, IL)) : Lighter in style than I expected from my first Leonetti Reserve taste. Layered and more subtle complex dark berry flavors.

1998 vintage

Good but going toward the brick color and it faded pretty fast.

1998 vintage

Superb on day 2, silky texture, nice balance

1998 vintage

Decanted about 1/2 hour. 99+ point nose. Slightly past its peak. Medium body, moderately rich.

1998 vintage

GWC does "the Best of Washington" (Watt's Home) : Served Blind: I correctly guessed Leonetti Rsv. really sweet and tasty--a wine to savor over a leisurely dinner. Perhaps the best Leonetti I can recall tasting--well integrated fruit and lots of stuffing made for a great wine experience.

1998 vintage

Initial Impression: Wow, greatly complex on the tongue despite a shy nose. Coffee, chocalte, earth and fruit working together against resolving tannins. This is quite impressive right out of the bottle. 15 minutes: Very smooth and harmonious, this brings me back to all I like about Leonetti. It might not be the most long lived cab as I think it has hit its peak at 10 yrs., but it is a distinctive and intriguing wine with unique flavors that I …

1998 vintage

Superb NW Cab that is smooth and silky. fabulous nose and still has some tannins that could last a few more years.

1998 vintage

kept waiting to get blown away and it never happened. Decanted for two hours and still didn't come around. Got the cherries and the plum, touch of chocolate and the oak but nothing really put itself out there. I do agree with the out of balance - couldn't put my finger on the problem but that is as good as any thought - this is clearly not up to their standards.

1998 vintage

This bottle was oak juice. Others at the dinner thought it was great but I couldn't get past the oak and vanillia. We also openned an 99 regular cab and while the reserve was the better of the two, thats still not saying much.

1998 vintage

Very nice, oak well integrated, tangy fruit, med tannin well integrated, mature cab flavors not overly complex but very tasty

1998 vintage

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Leonetti, Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon, Walla Walla Valley

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