Tenuta San Leonardo, San Leonardo, 2017 - Half-bottle
Tenuta San Leonardo, San Leonardo, 2017 - Half-bottle
- 37.5cl
- 13%
- Red Still
- Cabernet Sauvignon, Carménère, Merlot
- Organic
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Optimal drinking window: 2027 - 2036
"…one of the great wines of Italy… Sassicaia and San Leonardo seem like brothers separated in childhood." Wine Advocate, December 2014
"Surely the most successful Bordeaux blend of Northern Italy" Jancis Robinson, August 2012
The wines are more akin to Bordeaux than Bolgheri with their balance and purity and (says leading Italian critic Nicolas Belfrage) ‘can have an elegance-cum-depth capable of taking on the best clarets of the world‘. San Leonardo’s owner Marchese Carlo Guerrieri Gonzaga, a rare example (at the time) of a professionally-trained aristocrat-oenologist, spent time at Tenuta San Guido back in the 1960s and subsequently employed the same legendary consultant, Giacomo Tachis, as Sassicaia for a time.
San Leonardo’s outstanding Bordeaux blend has received ‘Tre Bicchiere’ from Gambero Rosso for an extraordinary fourteen vintages consecutively and was also numbered among the Guide’s ‘Fifty Wines which changed Italy’. Latterly the critics have got on board with great write-ups from Jancis Robinson, The Wall Street Journal (to whom we introduced the estate) and the Wine Advocate giving recent vintages of San Leonardo 94-97 point scores.
"One of my personal favourite Italian wines, unquestionably the top winery in the region and renowned as one of the most consistent – stylistically and qualitatively – in the whole of Italy, YET its wines remain extremely well-priced by comparison to more widely publicised names."
Tom Harrow, Honest Grapes Wine Director
What the critics say:
"The Tenuta San Leonardo 2017 San Leonardo (in a heavy glass bottle) shows subtle but unmistakable generosity and exuberance that is absolutely in line with this hot vintage. In this regard, the 2017 stands apart from past vintages from this estate that is celebrated for its elegant, undertone and long-term approach. This wine is slightly more accessible too, with plush, dark fruit, balanced oak spice and perfumed rose over a polished, silky mouthfeel."
"The 2017 vintage of San Leonardo is one of the smallest productions in recent memory: not only did it hail twice in August, drastically reducing the crop, but one of the vats cracked and the winery lost the equivalent of around 15,000 bottles of wine. Despite the challenges, it's a typically elegant red, full of scents of balsam, spicy black and red berries, tobacco and earth. A tangy attack of sweet fleshy red fruits is followed by some spicy, earthy currants on the mid-palate and fine-grained, grippy tannins. Intense, super-fresh, fragrant and complex, the long finish shows flecks of tobacco and balsamic lift."
The vineyards sit at 150 metres elevation in the Vallagarina valley, where Lake Garda moderates the alpine climate and the Ora winds provide crucial diurnal temperature variation. The soils are ancient alluvial deposits mixed with limestone and clay, providing excellent drainage whilst retaining enough moisture for the vines during hot summers. This unique microclimate allows Bordeaux varieties to ripen slowly and evenly, developing the structure and minerality that sets San Leonardo apart from warmer Italian regions.
Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT covers the mountainous terrain of Trentino, where altitude and alpine influence create conditions more akin to Bordeaux than the Mediterranean. The regulation allows international varieties like Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, which struggle in traditional Italian appellations but thrive in these cooler, higher sites. Unlike Tuscany's Super Tuscans, wines from this region achieve elegance through natural acidity and mineral tension rather than concentration alone. The IGT classification gives producers freedom whilst the challenging climate ensures only serious estates survive.
The 2017 vintage in Trentino arrived after a challenging growing season that tested even the most experienced producers. A dry winter gave way to an exceptionally hot summer, with temperatures soaring well above average and precious little rainfall to ease the vines' stress. The saving grace came from Trentino's altitude and the cooling influence of the Dolomites, which helped preserve acidity levels that might have collapsed entirely at lower elevations. Harvest began unusually early, with many growers picking in late August rather than their traditional September dates.
What emerged from this punishing year surprised many of us: wines with real concentration and character, though yields were predictably low. The reds, particularly Teroldego, show remarkable density and structure, whilst the whites - Pinot Grigio especially - display more weight and texture than usual without losing their mountain freshness entirely. These aren't the lithe, mineral-driven Trentino wines we typically champion, but they're compelling in their own right. Most are drinking well now and will continue to do so until 2025, though the best Teroldego may reward patience until 2027.
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