2017 Leonetti Mill Creek Upland
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Tasting notes
Bright ruby. Inkier and more withdrawn on the nose than the Loess, with its aromas of blackberry, cassis, licorice and minerals complicated by bitter chocolate and a medicinal quality; showing its Petit Verdot side today. Surprisingly dense, pliant and sweet on entry but still quite youthfully inky, medicinal and black in character, and in need of time in bottle. A seriously thick, mouthfilling wine with impressive dimension and superb penetration and power. Finishes with strong, broad, slightly clenched tannins and slowly building violety persistence. This is also easier to taste than its 2016 predecessor was a year ago but it's still a very firmly structured, painfully young wine--and more tannic than the 2017 Loess.
Critic scores
Average Score
Stephen Tanzer, Vinous
James Suckling
More reviews and scores
Shows conifer and blue-fruit character with blackberries and blue slate. This is linear and tight with very tight, diffused tannins that are mouth-puckering, yet polished. Needs time to soften. Fascinating. A blend of 67% cabernet sauvignon and 33% petit verdot. Better after 2022.
The 2017 Mill Creek Upland Vineyard is a darker, smoky, black-fruited wine loaded with notions of blackcurrants, licorice, hot asphalt, and lavender. This rich, full-bodied effort has a deep, rich, concentrated mid-palate, loads of tannins, and a great finish. It’s another long-term prospect. Located in Walla Walla and made by Chris Figgins, Leonetti Cellars is one of the benchmark estates in Washington. They produce a bevy of Bordeaux blends, with their Cabernet Sauvignon and Reserve functioning as the flagship wines. They also make a tiny amount of their single vineyard releases, all of which showed brilliantly for this report. Unquestionably, these 2017s are up with the crème de la crème of the vintage. While the 2017 vintage is generally forward and approachable, that’s not the case here and these wines are going to benefit from bottle age.