Whitehall Lane Winery Tre Leoni 2024

The 2024 vintage is being hailed a classic Napa Valley vintage. Winter and Spring brought an abundance of rain, which provided a boost for all of Napa Valley and its vineyards. Budbreak arrived 3 weeks earlier than 2023 due to the warm spring weather. The moisture in the soil led to a perfect bloom (flowering) condition in the vineyard. The vines, as a result, provided a nice, even crop with perfect fruit set for the grape clusters. Summer was warm, with several hot days allowing the grapes on the vine to develop slowly. Autumn had some latent heat that pushed the vines into perfect maturity, leading to an early harvest season. This consistent growing season encouraged our Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec grapes to ripen in early October.

Each grape varietal was fermented and aged as separate lots in 25% French oak, 75% neutral French oak barrels. Winemaker Jason Moulton tasted through each lot and put the final blend together after aging for 20 months. This wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered.

This blend has depth, balance and big flavors. The nose evokes hints of red raspberries, fresh strawberries, mixed berry pie, vanilla and candied notes of cocoa dust. On the palate, it bursts with fruit ranging from black and red currants, cherry candy, goji berries, licorice and raspberry croissant. This wine has great texture that ultimately finishes with round, silky smooth tannins.

Whitehall Lane is a small, family-owned winery in Napa Valley's historic Rutherford appellation. Estate vineyards are comprised of approximately 140 acres of prime Valley-floor vineyards including the Leonardini Vineyard in St. Helena.

Whitehall Lane has received accolades and awards for producing some of the greatest wines in the world. In Wine Spectator Magazine's year-end ranking of wines, Whitehall Lane has been honored an unprecedented three times in five years for producing wines rated among the top five in the world. The winery has also been voted Winery of the Year from the Quarterly Review of Wines and Wine and Spirits Magazine.

Whitehall Lane was founded in 1979 but the history of soil cultivation dates back two centuries. In the mid-1800s, Napa Valley settlers were drawn to the deep, loamy soils and ideal climate, planting high-quality grape vines at the Whitehall Lane Winery site. A barn constructed in the early 1900s for equipment storage is still used today. In 1979, two brothers started the winery and directed their winemaking efforts successfully to Merlot and Cabernet Sauvignon. They named the winery after the road that runs along the southern border of the property, Whitehall Lane.

In 1993, the Leonardini Family of San Francisco took control of the Whitehall Lane estate. They updated the winemaking, instituted a new barrel-aging program and continued sourcing the finest vineyards. What started with only one vineyard is now seven prime vineyards that are the cornerstone on which the wines are made and include the Whitehall Lane Estate Vineyard, Millenium MM Vineyard and Bommarito Vineyard in the Rutherford Appellation, the Leonardini Vineyard and Fawn Park Vineyard in St. Helena, Oak Glen Vineyard in the Oak Knoll District and Rassi VIneyard in Sonoma. The Estate Vineyard is 25 acres of "Rutherford Dust" offering beautiful Merlot and Sauvignon Blanc grapes. The Millenium MM Vineyard offers outstanding Cabernet Sauvignon fruit while the Bommarito Vineyard is planted to Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. The Leonardini Vineyard is 14 acres of gravely soil yielding powerful Cabernet Sauvignon fruit and elegant yet intense Merlot grapes that go into the "Leonardini Vineyard" vineyard-designated wine. The Fawn Park Vineyard is on a gentle slope of the eastern hillside and produces intense Cabernet Sauvignon. The 25-acre Oak Glen Vineyard produces flavorful Sauvignon Blanc and Cabernet Sauvignon grapes.

In its short history, Whitehall Lane has developed into a world-class winery. The efforts of the Leonardini Family are evident in the recent run of accolades from wine publications but are even more apparent in the beautifully made, elegant wines they continue to make.