Commonly referred to as “the Sassicaia of the North”, 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’.
San Leonardo 2000: "A very dry growing year. Precipitation of only 229 mm from April to October made it the least rainy year since 1983. The flowering period was very favourable, with only 36 mm of rainfall in May and June, followed by normal weather. September was very dry, with almost no precipitation and day-night temperature fluctuations of more than 15 °C. The harvest took place from mid September until early October in ideal conditions. Half bottles: 4,690; bottles: 81,059, magnums: 3,048; double magnums: 199; imperials: 10; salmanazars: 10. Dark crimson. The nose is decidedly lifted with a stony element, somehow. Then there’s a deeply fruity undertow expressing considerable ripeness. Big, bold and like a particularly fresh red bordeaux. Claret incarnate, with that stoniness on the finish too." 18 pts, Jancis Robinson
San Leonardo 2003: Big, ripe and rather bold. This wine from the heatwave vintage doesn’t have the subtlety of many other vintages but it has admirable and rather unexpected freshness. Carlo apparently decided to stop de-leafing and performing a green harvest this year to prevent sunburn and overripeness of too small a crop. The Carmenère element seems quite strong in this wine. If I tasted it in isolation I would probably be more impressed, but it doesn’t stand up so well in comparison with less challenging vintages. 17 pts, Jancis Robinson
San Leonardo 2008: Vibrant deep ruby. Intense, confident, well melded Bordeaux blend with a notably dry finish. Lots of tang. Only medium weight. For lovers of traditional claret. Others might reproach it for not being ripe enough. 17 pts, Jancis Robinson
San Leonardo 2010: "The 2010 San Leonardo (Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Merlot) is a seamless and polished wine that shows the best of this estate and this vintage. This is a profound and lasting wine with a bouquet that opens to dark fruit tones backed by spice, leather, tobacco and polished river stone. It tastes very young now but offers good material (in terms of richness, acidity and structure) to promise a steady aging evolution ahead. This edition of San Leonardo is gorgeous with a capital G." 95/100 Wine Advocate (May-2016)
San Leonardo 2011: The 2011 San Leonardo (Cabernet Sauvignon, Carmenère and Merlot) is another landmark edition of this celebrated wine. This warm vintage has shaped a slightly more opulent and succulent expression with dark fruit nuances of blackberry and Morello cherry. The bouquet is intense and exuberant. Delicate layers of spice, leather and tobacco give volume at the back. Like most past vintages of San Leonardo, this wine is difficult to taste at such a young age. It is built to last and it would be a horrible shame to pull the cork before the wine has reached its prime. For that, I suggest another ten years of cellar aging (at a minimum). 93/100 Wine Advocate (May-2016)