For fifteen years, we have unapologetically beaten the drum for San Leonardo, and it’s fantastic to see its critical acclaim and global recognition growing year after year. Jancis Robinson describes it as “Surely the most successful Bordeaux blend of Northern Italy”, a wine of “astoundingly consistent quality… beautifully low-key and like the most refined red Bordeaux imaginable.”

The 2020 release continues this extraordinary lineage, following in the footsteps of the back-to-back 98-point 2018 and 2019 vintages, and has just been crowned 'Red Wine of the Year 2026' by The Essential Guide to Italian Wines (DoctorWine), with founder Daniele Cernilli praising its “unquestionable finesse and elegance” and consistency stretching back to the first vintage in 1982 (what a year to start!).

"The latest vintage is a remarkable wine, fine-boned, pure and detailed, with herbal fruit, filigree tannins and the estate’s signature vein of spicy acidity. The nose is pure and herbaceous-led, rosehips, hawthorn, and wild mountain herbs from the carménère lead the aromatics, supported by classic Cabernet lead pencil, cedar and forest berries and spicier Merlot red plums. The palate is sapid and fresh, with crystalline blue and red fruits, capturing a floral purity, that progress in a linear fashion to the savoury, saline, dry spice-inflected finish. Carrying just 12.5% alcohol, this mid-weight charmer reinforces San Leonardo’s deserved reputation for paying homage to classic Bordeaux, focussed on energy and elegance."
Tom Harrow