San Leonardo is a small village in the Adige valley, in the province of Trento, chosen almost 300 years ago by the De Gresti family to build the family estate, obtained from a medieval monastery, in 1724. With the marriage between Gemma De Gresti di San Leonardo and Tullo Guerrieri Gonzaga di Montebello the estate passed into the hands of the latter. The Guerrieri Gonzaga family had already begun to cultivate the vine in the 18th century and so it was almost natural that the Marquis Tullo continued this activity in San Leonardo. From the Marquis the estate passed to his son Anselmo, then to his nephew Carlo who, after finishing his studies in enology at the Federal Station of Lausanne, in the early ’60s, had the opportunity to establish a friendly relationship with Mario Incisa della Rocchetta. Thanks to this friendship Carlo got to know the innovative work carried out at Tenuta San Guido, and to get passionate about the production of Bordeaux-style blends, both Italian and French, a passion transmitted to his son Anselmo, current manager of the company.
From this passion was born, in 1982, the wine San Leonardo, a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon (60%), Merlot (30%) and Carmenere (10%) created by Carlo with the support of the famous winemaker Giacomo Tachis. The wine quickly reached fame, conquering the most demanding palates and gaining the nickname of “North Italy Sassicaia”, coined by the famous American critic James Suckling. For its production the three grapes are harvested separately, because of the different aging times, and then they are taken to the cellar where, after destemming, they are conveyed, as soon as possible (to preserve their freshness), to the ancient cement tanks. Here the wine ferments spontaneously for about 15-18 days, with frequent pumping over and délestage, and then is placed to age two years in small barriques, and one in bottle, before commercialization.
The 2015 vintage has an intense and impenetrable ruby color, with an olfactory range that opens with notes of vinyl, pot pourri, tobacco and humus, followed by cherry, prune, pomegranate, tomato leaf and Sichuan pepper, with concluding echoes of blood, vanilla and boisée. The taste is soft and fresh, with the savory-bitter component that gradually emerges, accompanied by really very elegant tannins, while, retro-olfactory, returns the vinyl, red fruit and the note of blood that persist even after a long balsamic closure.
Rating: 93/100
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