GUERRIERI GONZAGA 'Tenuta San Leonardo' Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT 2018 Bottle (los)

Description

IN BRIEF
The iconic Tenuta San Leonardo 2018 exemplifies the estate’s rich history and commitment to excellence, presenting a classic Bordeaux blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère, and 10% Merlot. Aged for 24 months in a mix of new and used French oak barrels, this wine is celebrated for its aristocratic elegance and remarkable longevity. The Wine Advocate awarded it 98 points, highlighting fine aromas of wild blackberry, tobacco, and cherry tartlet, which promise great aging potential. Decanter rated it 95 points, praising its complex scents and intense concentration balanced by bright acidity. Wine Enthusiast awarded 93 points for its rich profile and firm yet opulent character, solidifying it as one of Italy’s premier Bordeaux-style blends.

ABOUT THIS PRODUCT

THE WINE ADVOCATE 98 points
Reviewed by: Monica Larner
Drink Date: 2026 - 2055
This edition from the legendary Tenuta San Leonardo estate in Trentino is presented with an artist-signed label. The special release of 999 bottles features the surreal artwork of Simone Berti. From a cool vintage, the 2018 San Leonardo is incredibly fine and beautiful with a filigree of aromas that recalls wild blackberry, tobacco, pressed rosemary, cherry tartlet and orange marmalade. The wine's elegance is extraordinary, and the mouthfeel is very fine and precise. This classic vintage will certainly appeal to San Leonardo purists. I recommend giving it a long runway to age.

DECANTER 95 points
Tasted by: James Button
(at Windsor, 30 May 2023)
Drinking Window: 2023 - 2040
‘In July, we finally saw a brilliant sun, whose welcome heat warmed a season that was quite wet up to that point and with below-average temperatures,’ said Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga of the 2018 vintage. The newest release of this standout northern Italian red offers complex scents of tobacco, spices, earth and rich, wood-imbued black berries. In the mouth it combines intense concentration with freshness in a vertical sensation of poise and sapidity. Dark, plummy, spicy hedgerow berries are perfectly balanced by bright, moreish acidity and ripe, grainy tannins, with spicy cedar, dried currants and a touch of balsam in depth. Still has so much to give.

WINE ENTHUSIAST 93 points
The 2018 vintage is a blend of 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère (a high percentage for any grower) and 10% Merlot. The wine opens with aromas of ripe plum mixed with tart blueberries, worn leather, sweet spices and dried flowers. The palate is expansive and rich, showing the 24 months of aging in French barriques, both new and used. Firm yet opulent, the wine will continue to develop and retain its mark as one of the best Bordeaux-style blends from Italy. Drink 2025–2040. — Jeff Porter

ALEX HUNT MW
This wine is likely to have the broadest drinking window of any modern San Leonardo. Despite the deep purple colour, it is already open and generous on the nose, with vivid ripe morello cherry fruit. The gentle extraction has imbued the wine with a cashmere texture even at this young stage, while the palate is lifted by the leafy, currant-bud notes that are San Leonardo’s signature, reflecting as they do the influence of cool air flowing down from the Dolomites. Balance, charm, and great ageing potential – this San Leonardo has it all.