{"id":2470,"date":"2025-02-17T01:33:59","date_gmt":"2025-02-17T01:33:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2470"},"modified":"2025-02-17T01:38:01","modified_gmt":"2025-02-17T01:38:01","slug":"winemaker-interview-series-davis-estates-walter-leiva-january-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2470","title":{"rendered":"Winemaker Interview Series &#8211; Davis Estates &#8211; Walter Leiva &#8211; January 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Walter-Leiva-Winemaker-Davis-Estates-Home.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2471\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Walter-Leiva-Winemaker-Davis-Estates-Home.gif\" alt=\"Walter Leiva Winemaker Davis Estates\" width=\"180\" height=\"248\" \/><\/a>On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, we had a chance to once again interview <a href=\"https:\/\/www.davisestates.com\/about\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Walter Leiva<\/strong><\/a>. Walter is the winemaker for <a href=\"https:\/\/www.davisestates.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates<\/strong><\/a> in Napa Valley. We covered six of his new 2021 vintage red wines. We also coverage 3 newer-vintage Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir offerings. We last <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/?p=2093\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>interviewed Walter back in April 2023<\/strong><\/a>. In that interview, we covered two of his 2021 white wines and six of his 2019 red wines. Check out what we learned from Walter this time.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Before we get to the wine reviews, I thought I would share a few new tidbits we learned during the tasting with Walter.<\/span><\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What is new at the winery in 2025?<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They continue to increase their use of technology in production.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">They have been cutting back on the use of outside fruit. In 2024 they used 270 tons. In 2025 they are planning for only 200 tons.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Vintage updates<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 \u2013 Early heat wave. Didn&#8217;t affect Sauvignon Blanc. Emergency picking on red.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 \u2013 Slow &amp; long.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Davis-Estates-Windmill-Logo.gif\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignright size-full wp-image-2474\" src=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/02\/Davis-Estates-Windmill-Logo.gif\" alt=\"Davis Estates Windmill\" width=\"250\" height=\"236\" \/><\/a><\/span><span style=\"color: #ff9900;\"><strong>Windmill on the label<\/strong><\/span><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> is a giant working windmill on site. It pumps 2 gallons of water per hour out of the ground.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Pinot Noir mini-vertical.<\/span>\n<ul>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Their Pinot comes from the Napa side of Carneros.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2022 \u2013 Softer. Includes 5% from Truchard Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2023 \u2013 Concentrated. Biggest harvest ever. Projected 16 tons, ended up with 27 tons. It was picked 20 days later than 2022. This wine included 5% of Gap&#8217;s Crown Vineyard fruit.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 Merlot \u2013 Mainly St. Helena fruit from an old vine vineyard. 26 months in 40% new oak.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 &#8220;Classic Chase&#8221; &#8211; Merlot and Cab from the St. Helena site. Cab Franc from the Hudson Vineyard.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 &#8220;Napa Valley&#8221; Cabernet Sauvignon mostly comes from the Kairos Vineyard. The 37-acre Kairos Vineyard rests between the Coombsville and Atlas Peak Appellations. It also contains some Ithaca Vineyard fruit (Rutherford), Linked Vineyard fruit (Knights Valley) and Georges III Vineyard fruit (Rutherford).<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 &#8220;Zephyr&#8221; Red Blend is made from 21 different lots, from all different sites. Cabernet Sauvignon from Kairos, Cab Franc from Hudson and Truchard, Merlot from St. Helena, and Malbec from Calistoga.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 &#8220;Calistoga&#8221; Cabernet Sauvignon &#8211; Cab and Cab Franc from the Estate. Merlot from St. Helena.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 &#8220;Oakville&#8221; Cabernet Sauvignon was the star of the show! An unbelievably good wine in 2021! The fruit came from Turnbull\u2019s Fortuna Vineyard!<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">2021 Howell Mountain and 2021 Rutherford&#8217;s Cabernet Sauvignon&#8217;s were not ready and hence not covered this time. They will be ready for our next session. We can\u2019t wait to try them.<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Phase V is a project spearheaded by consulting winemaker Philippe Melka since 2011. This wine is always Excellent! The 2021 vintage is no exception. See details below.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Below is a summary of the wine offerings from Davis Estates that we covered with Walter. The links below are to our full reviews. If you are interested in ordering and trying these wines, you will find some of these wines via your favorite fine wine shop or on top quality wines lists. You can also purchase these wines on the Davis Estates website.<\/span><\/p>\n<ol>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2022-Sauvignon-Blanc\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2022 Sauvignon Blanc &#8220;Private Reserve&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Napa Valley) $50 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93<\/strong><\/span><\/span>)<\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2022-Carneros-Pinot-Noir\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2022 Pinot Noir &#8220;Carneros&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $85 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 92.5<\/strong><\/span><strong>)<\/strong><\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2023-Carneros-Pinot-Noir\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2023 Pinot Noir &#8220;Carneros&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $85 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2021-Merlot\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2021 Merlot &#8220;Napa Valley&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $90 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2021-Classic-Chase\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2021 Red Blend &#8220;Classic Chase&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Napa Valley) $105 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 95<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2021-Napa-Valley-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Napa Valley&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $90 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 93.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2021-Zephyr-Red-Blend\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2021 Red Blend &#8220;Zephyr&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> (Napa Valley) $135 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 96.5<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2021-Calistoga-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Calistoga&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $135 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 94<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<li><span style=\"color: #000000;\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Davis-Estates-2021-Oakville-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Oakville&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $145 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 98<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<p><span style=\"text-decoration: underline;\"><strong><span style=\"color: #000000; text-decoration: underline;\">We also covered another Excellent wine made by Davis in one of our High-End blind tastings!<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">\u00a0 \u00a0 10) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/wine_review\/Phase-V-2021-Cabernet-Sauvignon\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Phase V 2021 Cabernet Sauvignon &#8220;Napa Valley&#8221;<\/strong><\/a> $305 (<span style=\"color: #800000;\"><strong>KWGTP 97<\/strong><\/span>)<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">You can find reviews of past and future Davis Estates wines that we cover on the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.davisestates.com\/store\/products\/current-releases\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><strong>Davis Estates KWG winery page<\/strong><\/a> on our website. We hope you enjoy these terrific wines as much as we did. Cheers! &#8211; Ken<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>On Wednesday, January 15, 2025, we had a chance to once again interview Walter Leiva. Walter is the winemaker for Davis Estates in Napa Valley. We covered six of his new 2021 vintage red wines. We also coverage 3 newer-vintage Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Noir offerings. We last interviewed Walter back in April 2023. In [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":2471,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2107,22,18,2546,1544,1195,1968,2790,2049,104,88,1188,11,1433,2791,95,10,123,1759,1969,1970,12,1206,1201,249,9,2201,1844,1967,126,8,6,1292,1288],"tags":[2118,625,412,1551,1964,1158,2783,1953,1863,1475,2789,779,1765,2787,2786,1436,2788,495,519,507,661,1965,1137,492,1170,1165,910,518,1843,2785,1849,1952,2784,1966],"class_list":["post-2470","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-atlas-peak","category-cabernet-franc","category-cabernet-sauvignon","category-calistoga","category-carneros","category-coombsville","category-davis-estates","category-fortuna-vineyard","category-gaps-crown","category-georges-iii","category-high-end-wines","category-howell-mountain","category-kens-wine-guide-tasting-panel","category-knights-valley","category-linked-vineyard","category-malbec","category-merlot","category-napa-valley","category-oakville","category-phase-v","category-philippe-melka","category-pinot-noir","category-private-reserve","category-red-blend","category-rutherford","category-sauvignon-blanc","category-st-helena","category-turnbull","category-walter-leiva","category-wine-ratings","category-wine-recommendations","category-wine-reviews","category-winemaker","category-zoom-wine-tasting","tag-atlas-peak","tag-cabernet-sauvignon","tag-calistoga","tag-carneros","tag-classic-chase","tag-coombsville","tag-davis-estate","tag-davis-estates","tag-fortuna-vineyard","tag-gaps-crown-vineyard","tag-georges-iii-vineyard","tag-howell-mountain","tag-hudson-vineyard","tag-ithaca-vineyard","tag-kairos-vineyard","tag-knights-valley","tag-linked-vineyard","tag-malbec","tag-merlot","tag-napa-valley","tag-oakville","tag-phase-v","tag-philippe-melka","tag-pinot-noir","tag-private-reserve","tag-red-blend","tag-rutherford","tag-sauvignon-blanc","tag-st-helena","tag-truchard-vineyard","tag-turnbull","tag-walter-leiva","tag-windmill","tag-zephyr"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2470","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=2470"}],"version-history":[{"count":11,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2470\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2483,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2470\/revisions\/2483"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/2471"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=2470"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=2470"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.kenswineguide.com\/blog\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=2470"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}