Tenuta San Leonardo

San Leonardo was in the hands of the noble Gresti family until 1894, when Marchesi Guerreri Gonzaga married into the family and took over the estate. His son Anselmo renovated the estate and began to make serious wine and he was followed in 1974 by his son, the current owner, Carlo Guerri Gonzaga. Carlo had studied oenology and worked with his relative, Mario Incisa, at Tenuta San Guido. Cabernet Sauvignon cuttings were bought from France on Piero Antinori’s advice, Giacomo Tachis was hired as a consultant and thus the style of San Leonardo today was born. There are currently 25 hectares of vineyards and the estate has been organic since 2015. There is a very distinct microclimate here in southern Trentino, with the alpine influence giving distinctly cool nights and nearby Lake Garda providing a warm breeze in the afternoons. This gives fruit with fine ripeness, but also great acidity. The small vineyards further north provide Sauvignon Blanc and Riesling. San Leonardo is ever present in the Gambero Rosso with tre bicchieri and regularly garners high point scores from the world’s critics, yet remains something of a secret.