Tenuta San Leonardo

There is a magic to Tenuta San Leonardo. The farm is nestled into a little pocket alongside the Adige River, against near vertical walls of the Dolomite Mountains. Though some of the buildings date back to the 11th century and the path just to the right of this vineyard was the ancient Roman road through the valley, San Leonardo only started producing wine in 1982. They produce singular blends of Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot and Carmenere. In a recent article by Jancis Robinson, she discusses how very little at this estate has changed over the nearly 40 years of winemaking.

What I love about San Leonardo is their quality level as a whole is unbelievable. Their “Terre” bottling is an outstanding value and still represents at their core what the estate is all about - purity and elegance of fruit, channeling this patch of gravelly soil that is so well suited to the Bordelaise varieties into a bottle. The area also reminds me of the Rocky Mountains as you enter from Calgary. It’s like if you had a winery in Canmore (though of course, this isn’t possible due to Alberta’s severe winters).