After banging the drum for the Guerrieri Gonzaga familys remarkable (and remarkably consistent) Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend for the last fifteen years, we relish each new endorsement and instance of critical appreciation and Jancis is the just the latest in a long line of articles from major critics. As a reminder…

The wines of San Leonardo are more akin to Bordeaux than Bolgheri with their balance and purity and (said the late and greatly respected Italian specialist Nicolas Belfrage) “can have an elegance-cum-depth capable of taking on the best clarets of the world“. Jancis clearly agrees, noting latterly the wines astoundingly consistent quality and how each vintage is beautifully low-key and like the most refined red bordeaux imaginable, determining it is “Surely the most successful Bordeaux blend of Northern Italy.

The Wine Advocates Monica Larner calls it one of the great wines of Italy Sassicaia and San Leonardo seem like brothers separated in childhood after James Suckling had previously made the comparison referring to San Leonardo as The Sassicaia of the North. The comparison is more than skin deep as San Leonardos 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 helping create Sassicaia with legendary consultant, Giacomo Tachis, whom he subsequently employed at his own estate. The estate has received the top Tre Bicchiere rating from Gambero Rosso for an unprecedented seventeen vintages, and has twice been voted by aggregate Italys top wine release of the year (jointly with Sassicaia, to continue the comparison).

Antonio Galloni weighs in saying The Guerrieri Gonzagas are one of the great families of Italian wine. Over the years, the Guerrieri Gonzagas have produced a number of stellar Bordeaux-influenced reds at San Leonardo, many of which I have had the privilege to taste. Meanwhile his colleague at Vinous, Eric Guido, after a 28-vintage vertical, says If you enjoy classic Bordeaux, if you enjoy the energy and verve of Italian wine, and if you crave experiencing history in a bottle, then you should seek out Tenuta San Leonardo. He also concludes I frankly dont remember the last time I found so much pleasure in tasting for hours on end.

“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