Brunello Di Montalcino, Valdicava 2013 vs Tenuta San Leonardo, San Leonardo 2008
Compare current tracked prices, stockists and core specifications. Tenuta San Leonardo, San Leonardo 2008 currently starts £3.50 lower.
| Availability | In stock | In stock |
|---|---|---|
| Best current price | £120.00 | £116.50 |
| Current stockists | 1 merchant | 1 merchant |
| Producer | Valdicava | Tenuta San Leonardo |
| Style | Red | Red |
| Grape | Sangiovese | Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon |
| Size | 750ml | 750ml |
| Where to buy |
Brunello Di Montalcino, Valdicava 2013
Valdicava is firmly in the top echelon of Montalcino growers with more 100-point (JS) scores than any other. The Abruzzese family were one of the twenty-five founder members of the Consorzio Brunello di Montalcino in 1967 and now third and fourth generations Vincenzo and his son Pierfilippo, are ensuring that the reputation of the estate remains second to none. Robert Parker said there is " ... a strong argument can be made that Valdicava is among the top three or four Brunello di Montalcino producers " and there is no denying the cult status the winery enjoys today. 2013, from a cooler, damper year, flies under the radar but is a personal favourite for its finesse and aromatic complexity, and the fact it is only 13.5% ABV. With 98 points (JS), the vintage represents exceptional value in the range and large formats are drinking perfectly now, with their freshness preserved.
Tenuta San Leonardo, San Leonardo 2008
After banging the drum for the Guerrieri Gonzaga family’s remarkable (and remarkably consistent) Cabernet Sauvignon-based blend for the last fifteen years, we relish each new endorsement and instance of critical appreciation and Jancis’ is the just the latest in a long line of articles from major critics. As a reminder... The wines of San Leonardo are more akin to Bordeaux than Bolgheri with their balance and purity and (said the late and greatly respected Italian specialist Nicolas Belfrage) " can have an elegance-cum-depth capable of taking on the best clarets of the world ". Jancis clearly agrees, noting latterly the wine’s “ astoundingly consistent quality ” and how each vintage is “ beautifully low-key and like the most refined red bordeaux imaginable ”, determining it is " Surely the most successful Bordeaux blend of Northern Italy ”. The Wine Advocate’s Monica Larner calls it “ … one of the great wines of Italy… Sassicaia and San Leonardo seem like brothers separated in childhood ” after James Suckling had previously made the comparison referring to San Leonardo as “ The Sassicaia of the North ”. The comparison is more than skin deep as San Leonardo’s owner Marchese Carlo Guerrieri Gonzaga, a rare example (at the time) of a professionally-trained aristocrat-oenologist, spent time at Tenuta San Guido back in the 1960s helping create Sassicaia with legendary consultant, Giacomo Tachis, whom he subsequently employed at his own estate. The estate has received the top ‘Tre Bicchiere’ rating from Gambero Rosso for an unprecedented seventeen vintages, and has twice been voted by aggregate Italy’s top wine release of the year (jointly with Sassicaia, to continue the comparison). Antonio Galloni weighs in saying “ The Guerrieri Gonzaga’s are one of the great families of Italian wine. Over the years, the Guerrieri Gonzaga’s have produced a number of stellar Bordeaux-influenced reds at San Leonardo, many of which I have had the privilege to taste. ” Meanwhile his collea
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