Tenuta San Leonardo San Leonardo Trentino-Alto Adige 2017

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Double 95 points and a wine that Jancis Robinson declares to be "surely the most successful Bordeaux blend of northern Italy..." – well, that should be enough to grab anyone's attention! You’ve heard of top-notch Bordeaux blends from Tuscany, Napa, Australia, and beyond...but Trentino in northern Italy? Indeed. And it is epic...

Tenuta San Leonardo is among the most historically relevant estates in all of Italy and without question the most important in all of Trentino. From ancient royal weddings to a hospice servicing returning crusaders, to hosting numerous popes, and even holding a summit for a major cease-fire treaty of the World War I – there’s a lot to digest here – even without the wine! But luckily, we just get to focus on the wine – double 95 points, over $25 below retail, and screamingly delicious...this is the rare northern Italian Bordeaux blend that sets the bar for the best of the best.

Set amongst the dramatic backdrop of the Lessini Mountains mountains, in the Adige River valley, San Leonardo has been producing wines since 1724. The vineyards are deep in the valley, planted at 150 meters in elevation, under the spectacular shadow of Monte Baldo (seriously, Google it!) in a cool region that often ensures the vineyards are buried in snow for the winter. Wine would scarcely be possible here were it not for the Ora del Garda wind – a warm and dry breeze that flows in throughout the growing season, passing over the idyllic Lake Garda.

The blend is a stable 60% cabernet sauvignon, 30% carmenère, and 10% merlot virtually every year, with a native yeast fermentation in small concrete tank, followed by a full two years in a mixture of 1-3 year-old French oak barrels. The wine demonstrates a remarkable intensity – with many critics comparing it favorably to a high-end Medoc Bordeaux in a cool vintage. I’m on board with that, as the elegant aromatics reveal cherry and wild berry sensations, punctuated with green tobacco leaf, and earthy duff and mineral elements. Tart currants, green olive, and myriad bramble berries are expressed on the palate, with notes of licorice, baking spice, and dark chocolate shavings completing the picture. It is a nuanced, highly-polished, and stunningly complex bottle – and one that will show superbly for 20 years, easy. 2017 was a warm vintage for the region, and given this extreme climate, I feel it only helped this wine. A cellar accident that caused a vat to crack and spill (due to a sudden drop in temperature) severely limited the bottle yield, about 1,200 cases less than usual.

So...this is exceptionally delicious and exceptionally rare too! Grab a couple for the cellar – pedigree, history, and a certain humble-brag capability are all to be found in this one spectacular bottling – all at over $25 below retail!

PAIRING IDEAS: When the time comes, treat this as you would a fine Bordeaux – with a meal that is robust, yet not overly complex...we want the wine to shine here! My vote is a simply seasoned, perfectly cooked, New York strip – with some wilted spinach and some sauteed and glazed chanterelle mushrooms.