Leonetti Cellar

Gary Figgins grew up in Walla Walla, Washington in an Italian-American family with deep agricultural roots. His maternal grandparents Francesco and Rose Leonetti immigrated from Italy and settled in Walla Walla, where Francesco worked as a farm laborer and home winemaker producing wine for family consumption from purchased fruit. Gary inherited the home-winemaking tradition and through the 1960s and 1970s gradually moved from home production to serious commercial intent. He bonded Leonetti Cellar in 1977, the first modern post-Prohibition bonded winery in Walla Walla, predating the broader 1980s commercial expansion by several years. The original Leonetti operation was modest: a small winemaking facility behind the family farmhouse on Walla Walla's south side, with fruit sourced primarily from Sagemoor Vineyard (a major Columbia Valley grower) in the early years. The 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon was the winery's first commercial release, and it established the producer's critical reputation when it received strong recognition from early-1980s wine evaluators including Wine and Spirits magazine. The recognition validated the broader Walla Walla wine-region thesis: that premium Bordeaux varieties could ripen at quality scale in eastern Washington's continental climate.

• Gary Figgins: Walla Walla native of Italian-American heritage; grandfather Francesco Leonetti emigrated from Italy and worked as farm laborer + home winemaker
• Bonded Leonetti Cellar 1977: first modern post-Prohibition bonded winery in Walla Walla; predated 1980s commercial expansion by several years
• Original operation: modest winemaking facility behind family farmhouse on Walla Walla south side; early fruit sourcing from Sagemoor Vineyard (major Columbia Valley grower)
• 1978 Cabernet Sauvignon: received strong early-1980s critical recognition including from Wine and Spirits magazine; validated Walla Walla premium Bordeaux thesis at scale

Through the 1990s and 2000s Leonetti shifted progressively from contracted-fruit sourcing to estate-vineyard ownership and Walla Walla AVA exclusivity. The principal Leonetti estate vineyards include Mill Creek Upland Vineyard (the Figgins family estate property in the Mill Creek highland zone above Walla Walla, planted with Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese, and other Bordeaux varieties on Walla Walla highland-loess soils), Loess Vineyard (the Figgins-owned Walla Walla site with the family's most concentrated Cabernet plantings), and Serra Pedace Vineyard (the Figgins family's Sangiovese-focused vineyard, named for the family's ancestral Italian village). The shift toward estate-sourced fruit reflects the Figgins family's commitment to vineyard-control quality and the broader Walla Walla AVA quality identity. The Leonetti bottlings today carry primarily Walla Walla AVA designation rather than the broader Columbia Valley AVA used in early years. Estate fruit now accounts for the bulk of production; selected contracted sites supplement specific bottlings where varietal or stylistic considerations justify outside fruit. The Figgins family was formerly a partner in Seven Hills Vineyard, a shared-ownership Walla Walla site, but exited its Seven Hills and SeVein ownership interests in October 2023 while continuing to buy Cabernet Sauvignon from the site for a transitional period.

• Mill Creek Upland Vineyard: Figgins family estate in Mill Creek highland zone above Walla Walla; loess soils; Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese, other Bordeaux varieties
• Loess Vineyard: Figgins-owned Walla Walla site; family's most concentrated Cabernet plantings
• Seven Hills Vineyard: shared-ownership Walla Walla site supplying many top producers including L'Ecole and Pepper Bridge; former Figgins partner site, ownership interest exited October 2023
• Serra Pedace Vineyard: Figgins family Sangiovese-focused vineyard; named for family's ancestral Italian village (Serra Pedace in Cosenza province, Calabria)

Leonetti's stylistic register combines Bordeaux structural discipline with subtle Italian-heritage influence reflected in the Sangiovese plantings and the broader family-business culture. Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship variety: the Walla Walla Valley Cabernet bottling (the producer's main release) and the Reserve Cabernet (the small-production upper tier) show structured continental Cabernet register with dense blackcurrant, cassis, dark plum, tobacco leaf, graphite, and firm extracted tannin supporting 15-25 year ageing trajectories. Merlot is plush but firm with black cherry, dark plum, and structured tannin; the Leonetti Merlot has been one of Walla Walla's most-cited Merlot bottlings since the late 1980s. Cabernet Franc shows herbaceous-elegant register with dark cherry and tobacco-leaf notes. Sangiovese (a relative rarity among Walla Walla plantings) shows ripe sour cherry and dried herb register reflecting both the Italian-heritage motivation and the Walla Walla climate's suitability for the variety. The Figgins Estate Red Wine (a separate brand introduced in the late 2000s under Chris Figgins's direction) anchors the upper-tier Bordeaux blend from Mill Creek Upland and other estate sources.

• Cabernet Sauvignon flagship: Walla Walla Valley Cab (main release) + Reserve Cab (small-production upper tier); structured continental register with 15-25 year ageing
• Merlot: plush but firm with structured tannin; one of Walla Walla's most-cited Merlot bottlings since late 1980s
• Cabernet Franc + Sangiovese: Cab Franc herbaceous-elegant; Sangiovese ripe sour cherry + dried herb (Italian-heritage motivation, Walla Walla climate suitability)
• Figgins Estate Red Wine: separate brand introduced late 2000s under Chris Figgins's direction; upper-tier Bordeaux blend from Mill Creek Upland + other estate sources

Chris Figgins, Gary's son, took head winemaker responsibility at Leonetti in 2001 after years of working alongside his father; he has guided the producer's evolution into the second generation while maintaining the family operation's core identity. Under Chris's direction, the broader Figgins Family Wine Estates structure has emerged to encompass three brands: Leonetti Cellar (the heritage Walla Walla operation, anchored by Cabernet, Merlot, Sangiovese), Figgins Estate Red Wine (the upper-tier Walla Walla Bordeaux blend brand introduced late 2000s), and Toil Oregon (a separate Willamette Valley Pinot Noir project founded in 2012, with an estate vineyard acquired in 2016 in the Chehalem Mountains AVA). The Toil Oregon project demonstrates the family's commitment to cool-climate cross-Pacific Northwest expansion while maintaining the Walla Walla heritage focus at Leonetti and Figgins. The producer's production scale remains modest, at a few thousand cases per year across all labels, and distribution remains primarily direct-to-mailing-list and limited wholesale; the producer's mailing list has been at full capacity with multi-year waiting lists for many years. The family operation continues through Chris's children and other family members, indicating a continued multi-generation trajectory.

• Chris Figgins (Gary's son): head winemaker since 2001; guided second-generation evolution while maintaining family operation's core identity
• Figgins Family Wine Estates structure: Leonetti Cellar (heritage Walla Walla) + Figgins Estate Red Wine (upper-tier WW Bordeaux blend, late 2000s) + Toil Oregon (Chehalem Mountains Pinot Noir, founded 2012)
• Toil Oregon: cross-Pacific Northwest expansion to cool-climate Willamette Valley Pinot; estate vineyard in the Chehalem Mountains AVA; demonstrates broader family commitment beyond Walla Walla
• Production + distribution: a few thousand cases/year across all labels; primarily direct-to-mailing-list + limited wholesale; mailing list at full capacity with multi-year waiting lists