On our recent trip to the Temecula Valley (you can read a summary of the trip here), our fist winery stop was Leoness Cellars on De Portola Road. It is an area with many wineries on both sides of the road, but this one had been recommended by someone at the Temecula Valley Winegrowers Association, so we pulled in after an hour and a half ride from the San Diego airport.
Most of the wineries in the area are next to, if not completely surrounded by vineyards. Leoness is
The tasting room
no exception, and when you wander out the back of the spacious and comfortable tasting room you can see the vineyards rolling away from you. There is also a restaurant here, which we did not try but heard good things about. On this day we were only here to try the wine.
At the tasting bar we were greeted by Heidi, who has her WSET Level II certification and knows her wine. Leoness has multiple levels of wine, reaching from their Cellar Series, to the single vineyard Vineyard Series and then the premium Signature Series. We were fortunate enough to try wines from each, and found excellent examples in each series as well.
The 1942 tractor
A little context and history is in order at this point. Gary Winder, co-founder, spent 50 years farming in the Temecula Valley. He was joined in 1989 by Mike Rennick. Then in 2002,
Looking out over the vineyards
with the addition of several other individuals, Leoness Cellars was born, initially making wine on their 20 acre Cabernet Sauvignon vineyard. Other varietals and a port quickly followed. Now, Leoness makes a wide range of varietals from estate vineyards as well as contract vineyards. In the contract vineyards, Leoness controls all aspects of the growing and harvesting. When you visit you can still see the old 1942 tractor which belonged to Gary Winder’s father.
Today the committment to farming is carried on by the current owners, the Steyn family. The winemaking is handled by Tim Kramer. Tim really becomes an alchemist in his blends, as he takes different barrels, blocks and vineyards to weave a story. In some cases there are twenty different wines in a single blend. The results are impressive. Let’s take a look at what’s in the bottles. Prices are shown for what is available on their website.
2023 Sauvignon Blanc (Cellar Series): a wine of very little color, this had a pretty nose with pear, lemon and
honeydew. Good acid keeps it clean through the finish. It is a smooth and pleasing wine. $33
2023 Viognier (Cellar Series): this is 90% Viognier, along with 10% Roussane. You see a lot of Roussane in the Temecla Valley as the Rhone varietals do well here. This wine had a nose of pear and bubble gum, but specifically the kind of bubble gum that used to come in trading card packs. I know I’m dating myself but this was one of those times that an aroma just pegged itself to a memory. There is also some pepper in this complex wine, along with good fruit and acid. Some tropical fruit joins the party as well as a hint of herbs. This is super complex and different. I loved it. $36
2019 Cabernet Sauvignon (Cellar Series): medium ruby in color, with a tiny touch of amber at the rim. Red currants fill the nose along with some cherry fruit. It has medium+ body, medium tannins and a very long finish. An all around excellent wine. The quality level here is obviously very high. $49
2019 Syrah (Cellar Series): what a great nose on this wine! You get rich plum, caramel and baking spice, along with some pepper at the end. The body is medium+, as are the tannins. A very long finish caps off an excellent wine. This is a good value. $45
2020 Cabernet Franc/Merlot (Cellar Series): there’s a touch of amber at the edge of this medium ruby colored wine. The nose is filled with beautiful fruit, as is the palate. Medium+ body and perfecly balanced acid frame an absolutely delicious wine. The rich fruit carries all the way through, joined by some spice. This is a very high quality wine. One of Cheri’s favorites. $55
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Pace Vineyard: a very dark, ruby colored wine. The nose brings red and black fruit, a hint of funk as well as something phenolic. It’s complex and long, although a touch leaner than the Cellar Series Cabernet Sauvignon. 14% alcohol and very good.
2020 Merlot
2020 Merlot – Los Caballos Vineyard: this is made from 33 year old vines, which sadly lent their last fruit to this vintage. There will be no more, and that is a very sad thing indeed. It is a medium ruby in color. There is a little bit of funk initially and then waves of dark, ripe berries and spice. It is medium++ in body with a beautiful, fruit filled finish. This is pretty great, and if you want some you have to act fast. My favorite of the tasting. $69
2021 Cabernet Sauvignon – Rolling Hill Vineyard: this is from a single block, the Terrace Block, and carries a hefty 14.9% alcohol level. The color is a dark purple red. There is a hint of barnyard. Black currants carry the palate, along with baking spices. It’s a little
Signature Serie Cab Franc
lighter in the mouth than you’d expect. Medium+ tannins, great length and a complex overall experience create a great wine. We really liked this.
2021 Cabernet Franc (Signature Series): this is blended with a small amount of other varietals. Red plum, spice and orange peel highlight a complex nose. We got some oak here as well. It is medium+ in body and incredibly long. Very good.
2021 Cabernet Franc – Signal Rock Vineyard: medium dark ruby in color and beautifully vibrant, this features
red and black berries, spice, caramel and a touch of oak. There are also some earthy notes on the palate. With approachable, medium tannins perfectly integrated right now, it is smooth and pretty special. Simply a superb wine. Almost tied with the Merlot as my favorite.
2021 Malbec – Marshall Vineyard: for us this is a miss. Malbec can sometimes carry too much earth, and that sort of ruins the fruit and lingers into the finish. We did not like the flavor profile as well. The wines here are all so well made, so not sure what happened with this one. Definitely not to our taste, but an outlier.
2021 Syrah – Dragon’s Den Vineyard: this wine was made with grapes from 2 year old vineyards at the time of harvest. That alone is pretty remarkable as vines generally take 3-5 years to really start to bear fruit worthy of winemaking. Here the result really matches the very young vines. The nose is lean and the color is a deep purple red. The core is lacking in fruit, although the pieces are all there, just not mature enough. Tannins are medium++ and a bit harsh right now. This wine needs more time, as do the vines, which are probably producing spectacular wine now with a few more years under their belts.
2021 Petite Sirah – Clarke Vineyard: this juice is a very dark purple/red. We got plum and some berry fruit in
the background, also some caramel. The palate is quite rich and the wine finishes long, although the fruit fades a bit into the finish. Overall this is very good, and reminded me of a classic Napa or Sonoma Petite Sirah.
What a great way to kickoff our visit to Temecula. Leoness offer a truly impressive line of wines with a laser focus on quality. You can find that throughout all three of their wine levels. Heidi was a great host and the overall experience is fun and relaxing. Of course, it is probably a lot busier on the weekends!
We’ll have other Temecula winery reviews coming out over the next few weeks.
A votre santé!
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