Grape varieties: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère, 10% Merlot
Fermentation: Spontaneous 15/18 day fermentation in small concrete vats with periodic pumpovers and délestage
Maturation: 24 months in new, once-, and -twice used French oak barrels

97+ The Wine Advocate
“A wine to drink at least 10 years from now, the 2016 San Leonardo is positioned to be enjoyed in the far long term. Like its Tuscan cousin from Bolgheri, Sassicaia, San Leonardo from the mountainous north of Italy is always a wine that starts off quietly but that grows in intensity and complexity as it completes its bottle evolution. This elegant vintage reveals beautiful tones of dark berry fruit, spice and freshly milled white pepper. The wine is exceptionally balanced, fresh and long. I can't wait to come back to this vintage 10 or 20 years from now.”

96 Vinous
“It’s hard to understand just how unique the wines of San Leonardo are, until you see just how unique their location is. Traveling north through Trentino, up from Lake Garda, the valley narrows, with vines that seem to span out directly from the autostrada on both sides and run uphill until they meet the forests at the top. After exiting the main road, and after a few very sharp turns, you arrive at the gates of San Leonardo. Over 1000 years ago, the main building was a monastery, yet for the last three centuries it’s been the home of the Marchesi Guerrieri Gonzaga family. The detailed history of the estate was explained in my piece, “The Grand Vin of the North: San Leonardo.” However, to experience the sight of it is something totally different. The oldest vines of the estate, trained using the pergola system, grow in deep sandy soils on the hills surrounding the winery, soils that were deposited by the Adige River over millennia. As you move further uphill (or shall I say up the mountain), you find stony soils of carbonate rock and limestone, with current plantings using the Guyot training system. This is where Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, the current managing generation, believes that the future of San Leonardo exists, especially due to the onset of global warming. The winery continues to plant at higher elevations, with four new hectares in place, and another three-hectare vineyard being constructed. At this time, the property consists of a total of 30 hectares, all of which are farmed using organic principles...Another year in bottle added unexpected depths and dimension to the 2016 San Leonardo. It wafts up with an alluring bouquet of smoky black currant and plum skins, complicated by savory herbs, hints of white pepper and fresh tobacco. Its hard chiseled edges have formed into smooth contours now, velvety yet youthfully dense, washing mineral-encased dark red and black berries across a core of brisk acidity as a combination of saline minerals and grippy tannins add tension towards the close. This finishes incredibly long yet also structured, begging for time in the cellar, as hints of licorice and earth tones grumble under an air of inner violet florals. The potential within the 2016 San Leonardo is off the charts, yet it will require a good amount of time to come fully into focus. Bury your bottles deep.”

Past Vintages
Vinous                 Wine Advocate
1995 – 96            2015 – 97+
2004 – 96            2013 - 96
2006 - 96            2010 – 95
2015 – 95
2010 - 94