San Leonardo, Tenuta San Leonardo 2016

60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère, 10% Merlot. Spontaneous 15- to 18-day fermentation in small concrete vats with periodic pumpovers and délestage. Aged for 24 months in new, once-, and twice-used French oak barrels.

Magnum. Shaded garnet with some evolution at the rim. Really quite bordelais on the nose and palate. The opposite of showy! A light suggestion of dried herbs on the nose. Very good balance. This has come on since I tasted it in January 2021. It's broader and more charming, albeit in a fairly low-key way. But it builds towards a peppery finish. I still wonder whether I wouldn't prefer it with a little less Carmenère. This really unfurls on the palate to build beautifully on the end. It should go beautifully with tonight's shoulder of lamb. Drink 20202-2030.