Award Winning Wines
When introducing our wines to guests our hosts and servers always emphasize that “everyone’s palette is different” and “what you may like someone else may not”. We emphasize wine tasting is a subjective art, which is exactly how wine and food educator, Patrick Bartlett, described his recent wine judging experience in his article “The only Constant in Wine is Change” in the April 2013 issue of Inland Empire Magazine. Leoness Cellars was happy to find that two of our wines earned medals in the yearly Inland Empire Magazine Wine Competition with our 2009 Rolling Hills Vineyard Cabernet and our 2009 Signature Selection Syrah.
Our 2009 Rolling Hills Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon ranked Gold in the Cabernet Sauvignon segment of the tasting. Our winemaker, Tim Kramer, describes our 2009 Rolling Hills Cabernet Sauvignon as “complex and balanced, with black fruit and eucalyptus notes distinctive of this vineyard; soft tannins along with layers of clove and vanilla continue into a rich, velvety finish”. This Cabernet Sauvignon was from our Vineyard Selection Series which are hand-crafted from specially selected lots of wine that showcase the unique characteristics imparted on a varietal by a particular vineyard.
Our 2009 Signature Selection Syrah aged for 30 months in small French oak barrels won silver in the Syrah portion of the competition. Described as “rich and robust, this wine explodes with blackberry and black currant aromas and flavors, complemented by layers of black pepper and licorice with a soft, lingering finish”. Our Signature Selection wines focus on the art of blending different varietals, creating wines noted for their grace and elegance, as well as their intensity and character. Made from carefully selected lots harvested from mature vines, each wine in our Signature Selection Series has been meticulously cared for from the vine to bottle. These wines are produced in extremely small quantities and are available exclusively at the winery.
By Amanda Livaudais
Leoness Cellars Host Department