About Leonetti Cellar
Leonetti Cellar occupies a singular position in Washington wine history — founded in 1977 by Gary Figgins, it was the state's first licensed winery, and it has spent five decades producing Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot that set the benchmark for Washington red wine. When Robert Parker awarded the 1995 Leonetti Reserve Cabernet 100 points, it confirmed what Walla Walla had long suspected: this remote eastern Washington valley was producing wines of world-class stature.
The winery remains family-owned and operated by Gary's son Chris Figgins, who has continued the tradition of minuscule production, high-elevation vineyard farming, and wines allocated almost exclusively to a mailing list that has been closed to new members for years. The Figgins family's Seven Hills Vineyard plantings, dating to the 1980s, are among the most historically significant in the valley.
Leonetti Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot are the apex of Washington's red wine pyramid — structured, concentrated, and built for decades of cellaring. Finding them at retail requires extraordinary luck or auction access. A visit to the historic Walla Walla estate is a pilgrimage for anyone serious about American wine.