Vigneti delle Dolomiti IGT Carmenere 2018 (750 ml.) Tenuta San Leonardo

THE WINE

The Carmenère from Tenuta San Leonardo, produced under the IGT Vigneti delle Dolomiti, originates from a careful manual selection of grapes cultivated in the estate vineyards, situated between 150 and 200 meters above sea level. The gravelly and well-drained soil, combined with the temperate alpine microclimate, promotes a slow and complete maturation, enhancing the grape variety's typicality. The vinification in unglazed concrete tanks, with maceration lasting about 15 days, allows for a gentle extraction of aromas and structure. This is followed by a long aging of 18 months in French oak barriques and an additional resting period in the bottle for at least 12 months, which harmonizes and enriches the sensory profile. The result is a red wine of great personality and finesse, with notes of black pepper, berries, cocoa, and subtle balsamic hints, silky tannins, and a long and enveloping finish.

THE ESTATE

Few other Italian wineries have managed to protect and enhance their territory in the style of great French châteaux, as Tenuta San Leonardo has done in Trentino. A magical place, in the heart of Vallagarina, where traces of vine cultivation date back to a thousand years ago. A model winery, composed of hundreds of hectares of land, hosting about thirty hectares cultivated with varieties that have now become traditional: cabernet sauvignon, cabernet franc, carmenère, petit verdot, and merlot, as well as riesling and sauvignon blanc. Owned by the Guerrieri Gonzaga family, Tenuta San Leonardo has over the years produced some of the most iconic wines not only in Trentino but in all of Italy. The namesake label, “San Leonardo”, is indeed one of the most famous and awarded Bordeaux blends in the Peninsula: a wine of incredible elegance and longevity, born in 1982 and produced only in the most important vintages since then. In addition to the owned vineyards, today there are another ten hectares of rented vines, and among the rows, there is a constant pursuit of maximum respect for the environment and the ecosystem. In the winery, in an ideal continuity with Giacomo Tachis, since 1999, the winemaking signature belongs to the renowned oenologist Carlo Ferrini, who supervises all production steps with care and rigor. Coordinating everything and everyone is the insatiable and tireless passion of Marquis Carlo Guerrieri Gonzaga, who, assisted by his son Anselmo and the historic and irreplaceable right-hand man Luigi Tinelli, meticulously follows every single detail. The result of the sum of all this is wines that stand out for their finesse and elegance, vibrant and decisive reds and whites, capable of truly moving. From the “San Leonardo” to the sister labels, every bottle that leaves the estate of Borghetto all’Adige encapsulates the truest and best essence of a territory capable of providing enormous enological satisfaction.