Washington vs. California Part One

Last night, I had my usual get together with my local wine nerds and decided to step it up and do something I have been thinking about doing since I started this blog, a head to head tasting. Over the next few weeks, I will be comparing Washington state wines against their counterparts both domestically and abroad. Each of these wines will be of similar pricepoints, similar scores or accolades, and also similar styles for the varietal.

Tonight, I decided to pit two of my favorite Cabernets against each other, the 2005 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon and the 2004 Philip Togni Cabernet Sauvignon. Each of these producers are very storied, produce consistently great wines from vintage to vintage, and retail for about the same price if you are able to get them.

The first on deck was the 2005 Leonetti Cellars Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced fruit in the Walla Walla Valley. For those who are not familiar with Leonetti Cellars, Leonetti is one of the oldest wineries in the area, started by Gary Figgins in 1977. Since then, Gary has focused his efforts on the Walla Walla Valley and has been making storied wines there since the late 70's. The wines typically score extremely well, many of the more recent vintages being rated well above 90 by the Advocate and Spectator. This particular vintage received a 94 from Parker's Wine Advocate.

Leonetti is primarily a mailing list wine, with a few retail outlets being able to get a few bottles every so often. Thankfully, I am relatively close to one of those places. I picked up the bottle from J. Emersons Fine Wine and Cheese in Richmond, VA for $99.00.

Initial Impressions: This wine quite simply has amazing color. It is primarily black, with some dark garnet tinges on the outer rim and also completely opaque. Tipping the glass does virtually nothing to the density, with the dark black color extending to the outer rim of the glass. First whiff of this wine brings about a nice amount of milk chocolate and dark cherries, with a little vanilla.

Nose: This nose already shows the balance and care in which this wine was made. Everything melds together beautifully and seemingly effortlessly. There are huge amounts of dark and powdered milk chocolate on the nose, which is by far the most apparent component. It is followed up by dried cherries, cherry skins, blackberries, and extracted blueberry juice. Everything seems to work very well together in this nose and it is everything one would look for I think in a Cabernet.

Taste: Much like the nose, the balance of this wine is absolutely amazing. Again, the flavors that are very present are integrated and layered beautifully on top of each other, allowing everyone to play a part in the delectable flavors that is sooo there in this wine. There are huge amounts of sour black cherries, milk chocolate, bitter dark chocolate, vanilla extract, rose petals, and the acidity of strawberries and other red fruit. The flavors are seemless in their integration and are solid and beautiful from start to finish. The mouthfeel of this effort is amazing, giving the feeling of velvety silk just draping itself perfectly over the palate. The finish just goes and goes, lulling you to take another sip of the wine with perfect amounts of silky chocolate and earth.

Overall Impressions: This wine is in my opinion one of the best examples of what the Cabernet grape can do. It has the brightness and bombastic nature of what you come to find in the new world, while having the balance and polish of a fine left bank Bordeaux. In my opinion it is a little young, but structurally is elegant enough now to drink and could last many years if put down. I quite simply love this wine. 97 Points

Its competitor is the 2004 Philip Togni Estate Grown Cabernet. While still generally not as well known as the Caymuses and Silver Oaks, Togni is one of the most respected vintners in the Napa Valley region, producing wines that are in my opinion as good as some of the best Napa Valley mailing list only wines sold for many times what Togni sells for. This particular vintage received a 95 rating from Parker in the Wine Advocate and a 96+ rating from Gary Vaynerchuk. I picked up this wine from Total Wine and More in Newport News, VA for $99.99. Without further ado, lets get to the wine.

Initial Impressions: Much like the Leonetti, this wine is loaded with dark, inky, black color with a little garnet. Certainly this stands up to the Leonetti in this respect. Tipping the glass does nothing to lessen the density in color that this wine has and just extends the dark black and garnet tones to the end of the glass. Absolutely beautiful.

Nose: A definite change from the Leonetti, the Togni is absolutely beautiful in a different way. There are huge amounts of Jalepeno and Bell pepper juice and skins at the front end, segwaying nicely into a well integerated mix of earth, dark chocolate, black fruit juice, and very sour cherries. Not quite as seemless as the Leonetti though, although a lot more bombastic and in your face.

Taste: Whoa, this is definitely what California brings to the table. I have not had this type of punch from a Cali Cabernet since I had a taste of Harlan and Bryant Family cabs ala 2001 from a very generous friends cellar. This wine kinda punches you in the face with a balanced attack of bell pepper skins up front, quickly segwaying into a bombastic attack of sour cherries, some earth, blackberry skins, strawberry like sweet acidity. There are some definite tannins present, showing that youngness of the wine and the value of putting the wine down for a few more years. The mouthfeel is ridiculous, coating the palate with a little less refinement that the Leonetti has. The finish lasts for minutes, not letting your palate go until its good and ready.

Overall Impressions: While not having the elegance or refinement of the Leonetti, the Togni definitely brings it with the huge amounts of loaded flavors and huge mouthfeel. It is an amazing example of a California Cab, but without the amazingly huge price tag that these mailing list only efforts are charging. I am simply in love with this wine, much like the Leonetti. Pick this one up. 95 Points

Decision: While both wines are stellar examples of everything that can be done with the Cabernet varietal, I would have to give the nod to the Leonetti Cellars Cabernet. The refinement and structure of this effort simply pulls it away from most of what Washington and California has to offer, along with perfectly melding everything together into one perfect little package.

Washington 1, California 0