Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Malbec

Food pairings: Barbecue, grilled burgers and ribs, and sauced or fatty meats; a natural for family gatherings.

Winemaking: Each grape variety was fermented and aged as a separate lot in French oak barrels, 25% new and 75% neutral. Winemaker Jason Moulton tasted through every lot and assembled the final blend after 10 months of aging, and the wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered. 2024 is hailed as a classic Napa Valley vintage: abundant winter and spring rain, budbreak three weeks earlier than in 2023, an even crop with perfect fruit set, a warm summer and autumn warmth that brought the Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Malbec to ripeness in early October.

Vineyards and terroir: Tre Leoni is a Napa Valley blend made with sustainable farming practices. Whitehall Lane owns and farms its own vineyards in the Napa Valley, most of them on the gravelly valley floor of the Rutherford sub-appellation, plus sites at the base of the eastern hills of St. Helena and in Oak Knoll, and the winery is part of the Napa Green certification program.

Family and history: Whitehall Lane was founded in Rutherford in 1979. In 1993 Tom Leonardini Sr., a lifelong wine lover of Genoese heritage, learned the small St. Helena Highway winery was for sale on a Monday and owned it by Friday. Three generations of the Leonardini family now run the winery, and Tre Leoni, "three lions", honors them: a serious blend that is also a little fun and distinctly delicious. Wines are made by Jason Moulton, Director of Winemaking and Viticulture since 2016, who trained in New Zealand and worked in Bordeaux and South Africa before coming to Napa.

In the pictures: Three generations of the Leonardini family in the vineyard; the Whitehall Lane winery sign on St. Helena Highway in Rutherford; and an aerial view of the winery and its vineyards (photos courtesy of Whitehall Lane Winery).