Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenere, Merlot
75cl * 13.0% ABV * Trentino-Alto Adige, Italy
The iconic wine of the estate, with its roots deep in its centuries-old history, San Leonardo is a classic Bordeaux-blend of elegance and extraordinary longevity. Jancis Robinson ranked the 2017 vintage of San Leonardo above Sassicaia and decrees that vintages from 1988 are still going strong, with the youngest vintage, 2011, already beginning to drink well. Prized for their consistency, the estate of San Leonardo only makes their flagship wine in years when the weather is obliging.
Marchese Carlo Guerreri Gonzago studied oenology in Lausanne in the late 1950s and then worked at the Tuscan estate that produces Sassicaia, Italy’s prototype 'Super Tuscan' Cabernet. Under the influence of Sassicaia’s creator, Marchese Mario Incisa della Rocchetta, Carlo was keen to see whether similar bordelais subtlety could also be coaxed out of the infertile clay-limestone benchlands of his wife’s estate in Trentino.
Carmenère, the grape variety that is nowadays common in Chile but almost extinct in its Bordeaux homeland, was supplied by mistake by a French nursery when Carlo was establishing his vineyard and was expecting Cabernet. Varietal Carmenère tastes green and unripe if the vines are allowed to be too productive and is too concentrated if they are pruned too severely but Carlo has learnt to tame it.
2021 was a truly extraordinary vintage, characterised by variable weather patterns, with a relatively cold spring and minimum temperatures that even in the first half of April often dropped below zero. A rainy May delayed flowering until early June, when warm and dry days reaching 35 degrees. July and August saw hardly any rainfall, and a windy dry September helped the ripening of the grapes which were showing the signs of an exceptional harvest, with appropriate sugar levels and high acidity. The wine was aged for 24 months - 70% in barriques and 30% in French oak tonneaux followed by blending in concrete vats. The wine then rests for at least 30 months in bottle in their cellars before being released to market.
This wine is described by Marchese Carlo Guerreri Gonzago as a 'marathon runner', built for forty years in the cellar, yet already expressive in the glass. It's the perfect accompaniment to roasts, braised meat and stews, game and mature cheeses.
'A complex style with a spicy nose, showing lots of toasty aromas, red and black currants, pure leather and a whiff of leaves typical of this wine. Medium-bodied, silky and soft with sleek, elegant tannins and midpalate weight. Brilliant integrated acidity tingles in the superpolished, amazingly long finish of licorice and dark fruit. Drink or hold.' 98pts, Aldo Fiordelli for JamesSuckling.com
'Slightly riper on the nose than both 2019 and 2020, the 2021 San Leonardo shows notes of blackberry yoghurt, graphite-laced cassis and cedar mingling with signature bell pepper touches from the generous Carmenere component, and a refreshing balsamic lift. Powdery dark chocolate and undergrowth add further complexity as it breathes. The palate is more tightly wound than the aromatics suggest: bright acidity runs alongside grippy yet fully integrated tannins, supported by just enough creamy, structural red and black fruit to avoid austerity. At 13% alcohol, the finish is ample rather than warm, with a peppery echo bringing extra liveliness, and a saline edge carrying through the aftertaste. A multilayered, shape-shifting San Leonardo that won’t require long ageing to be fully enjoyable - yet it has the energy and depth to last several decades.' 97pts, Raffaele Mosca for Decanter
Available to pre-order, ETA mid-late October.