San Leonardo, Tenuta San Leonardo 2016

Another year in bottle has added unexpected depths and dimension to the 2016 San Leonardo. It wafts up with an alluring bouquet of smoky black currant and plum skins, complicated by savory herbs, hints of white pepper and fresh tobacco. It's hard chiseled edges have formed into smooth contours now, velvety yet youthfully dense, washing mineral encased dark red and black berries across a core of brisk acidity as a combination of saline-minerals and grippy tannins add tension toward the close. This finishes incredibly long yet also structured, begging for time in the cellar, as hints of licorice and earth tones grumble under an air of inner violet florals. The potential within the 2016 San Leonardo is off the charts, yet it will require a good amount of time to come fully into focus. Bury your bottles deep. Drink 2026-2040.

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.