San Leonardo 2016

Why is this Wine so Yummy?

Bottle shot by @ Cristina Mecuri DipWSET.

The iconic wine of the estate, with its roots deep in its centuries-old history. A classic Bordeaux blend of breed, aristocratic elegance, and extraordinary longevity. 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 Cellarability | 30 years and more.

About San Leonardo

Described by Gambero Rosso as one of the “fifty wineries that changed Italy,” it is impossible not to be captivated by the sheer beauty of San Leonardo. Established in 1770 with the Dolomites serving as an imposing backdrop, the estate includes protected parkland, a stunning villa (headquarters of the counterespionage section of the German high command during WWII), a museum, the original Roman road to Austria and a cellar to rival any Bordeaux chateau. The comparisons with Bordeaux do not end there, for the wine could easily pass as cru classé left bank. The wine that became an Italian classic is made from Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot and Carmenere, released only in the best vintages. Terre is the junior sibling, more fruit forward with ripe plum, dark cherry, spice, leather and Trentino’s classic mineral backbone.

Eric Guido of Vinous has written an extended piece “The Grand Vin of the North: The Past, Present and Future of San Leonardo” on the estate and it’s wines including a vertical tasting.

🎧 Enjoy Levi Dalton’s I’ll Drink to that Podcast. Erin Scala explores when Cabernet might first have been brought to Italy. Dalton interviews Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, who along with his father Carlo, manages Tenuta San Leonardo, in Italy’s Trentino-Alto Adige.

More than 1000 years ago, it was a monastery, but for over three centuries now San Leonardo has served as the residence of the Marchesi Guerrieri Gonzaga family, its proud custodians. Today, the San Leonardo estate is a garden of vineyards and roses, protected by the massive barrier of the Alps, which blunt the force of the cold northern winds while the valley floor benefits from, and in turn releases, warmth from nearby Lake Garda. The tenuta remains an antique world, in which winemaking practices, still uncompromisingly artisanal, yield wines that are true gems of Italy’s wine tradition, marked by freshness, harmony, and an innate elegance.

The soul of San Leonardo is embodied in the Guerrieri Gonzaga family, winegrowers here as far back as the 18th century. They have been intimately involved in every aspect of the estate throughout its long and fascinating history, and its traditions infuse every corner of the property. Marchese Carlo’s father, a passionate winemaker, first reorganised the estate between the late 18th and early 19th centuries. But Carlo was the family’s first true winemaker: his love for great wines led him to concentrate on San Leonardo almost all his efforts and time over fifty years. That passionate love for the vine and its wine he passed on in turn to his son Anselmo, who today directs the family winery, with every decision animated by that love for an estate so beloved by so many generations of his family.

In the Vineyard

The estate covers an overall area of 300 hectares, of which the vineyards, planted to red grapes beginning at an elevation of 150 metres, amount to 30 hectares. Merlot is planted in pebble-rich soils that were once the bed of a tributary of the Adige, while Cabernet Sauvignon and the old vineyards of Carmenère are in predominantly sandy soils. All are well-drained, low-fertility soils that yield wines with truly unusual levels of anthocyanins, and not just for the Trentino. In 2015, San Leonardo launched a project of conversion to organic viticulture, which concluded successfully in late 2018 with the award of official certification. In the same year, the BWA Friends of Biodiversity organisation certified San Leonardo as a Friend of Biodiversity, testifying to San Leonardo ́s deep commitment to preserving the character of its growing area.

VINE TRAINING SYSTEMS
Guyot and spurred cordon at a density of 6,600 plants per hectare.

AGE OF VINES
From 20 to 50 years.

YIELD PER HECTARE
50–60 quintals/hectare (2.25-2.67 tons/acre).

HARVEST PERIOD
The grapes are picked when perfectly ripe during the months of September and October.

In the Winery

The iconic wine of the estate, with its roots deep in its centuries-old history. A classic Bordeaux blend of breed, aristocratic elegance, and extraordinary longevity. 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 Cellarability | 30 years and more.

Where in the World is San Leonardo?

San Leonardo is Trentino, located in the Vallagrina, an area carved out by the Adige river. The very bottom point in the dark brown section of the map below.