Figgins

The Figgins family firmly holds a place in Washington wine history. Back in 1977, Gary and Nancy Figgins founded Leonetti Cellar, in the Walla Walla Valley. More than forty years later, we now enjoy a robust wine region that stretches across the valley and showcases some of the finest wines you can find. So much of this regions success should always be contributed Leonetti . Helping to put Washington on the map not only as high production region but a region for quality.

Even with the incredible success the Figgins family has already gained, president and director of wine making Chris Figgins, is done raising the bar.

Leonetti and Chris joined forces in the late 1990s, and then in 2001 taking over head wine making duties from his father.  Chris’s vison has been slightly different than his fathers as he started to focus exclusively on Walla Walla fruit. He has also put his own touch on the winemaking itself, using less new oak to help highlight the fruit. But Chris hasn’t stopped there as he has set much higher goals.

 The FIGGINS label may be one of the first signs of his true ambition. The focus of this winery is an estate red wine made from a single vineyard located in the Mill Creek Upland section of the Walla Walla Valley. The winery also produces a limited amount of Riesling.

It’s almost lost to the passage of time and Leonetti's focus on Bordeaux varieties that Riesling was in fact the winery's first released wine. Following this history Chris has once again made the grape the family’s main focus.  There being so few Walla Walla Valley whites and the fact that the FIGGINS Riesling drinks dry – a rarity in Washington – only adds to the wine’s intrigue.

Chris Figgins followed this up with the wine project called Toil. Separate but still under the umbrella of Figgins Family Wine Estates, focuses purely on the production of Pinot Noir from the Willamette Valley.

2012 was the first released vintage for the wine, though Figgins made an attempt with what was a challenging 2011 vintage. Vineyards are currently located in the Eola-Amity Hills and Ribbon Ridge.

Of the name he says, “What it’s really about for me is hard work. I like the connection between toil, soil, and hard work.”  Honoring the family's history, the label image is a silhouette of Figgins' great uncle Bill taken on the first day that Leonetti Vineyard was planted in 1976.

One might think Chris is stretched a bit thin with these labels but he is not putting Leonetti on the back burner. He has planted Sangiovese down in The Rocks region of the Walla Walla Valley with the hope of adding this to the winery’s Sangiovese. “It’s another arrow in the quiver,” he says of working with Rocks fruit, noting that he’s hoping the area can bring to the wine the earthy qualities it is so well known for.

Tasting  through the full lineup of Figgins’ wines, it’s impossible not to be impressed by the high quality. Additionally, each of these wines are incredibly unique, avoiding the common pitfall of some winemakers who make wines that are more the same than different.

What will be the legacy of each of these projects? History will determine but one thing is clear, Figgins has already left an impressive make at Leonetti. It’s also very clear that he will continue to push his labels into exciting new chapters.