2005 San Leonardo
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Tasting notes
The 2005 San Leonardo is remarkably pretty in the glass, displaying bright cherries mixed with peppery herbs, sweet pipe tobacco and hints of floral undergrowth. Silky textures are framed by bright, zesty acids and minerals, with confectioner’s spice. Beautiful inner rose and earth notes form toward the close. Long and gently structured, the 2005 tugs at the senses with sour red fruits and sweet tannins, perfectly seated in it's drinking window. It may not have decades of evolution ahead of it, but there’s no fear of decline either. What a gorgeous wine.
Critic scores
Average Score
Jancis Robinson MW
Antonio Galloni, Vinous
More reviews and scores
I liked the 2005 San Leonardo, but I was not completely won over. I had issues with some of the burnt spice and toasted nut aromas that seem detached from the greater base of black fruit that forms the base of this wine. The personality on display is bold and big thanks to the higher temperatures that characterized the summer months in 2005. Black cherry and jammy blackberry are backed by chewing tobacco and spice. The mouthfeel denotes a touch of grittiness with thick tannins that still need time to unwind. The wine's textural identity will soften with time but that rawness to the tannins may never go away. Try aging this San Leonardo for another ten years.
Very dark, blackish ruby. Warm and open and more diffuse on the nose than the more focused 2004. Polished tannins and with the acidity a little more obvious and less integrated. A flattering wine but just a little awkward and jagged at the moment. A bit of alcohol on the finish. Not much development on the nose yet. A hint of char. (JR)
The 2005 San Leonardo is a big, strapping wine bursting with dark fruit, cassis, black cherries, leather and licorice. The wine possesses tons of fruit, but the tannins, though polished, will require some time to soften. This is a commendable effort that should improve with further bottle age. San Leonardo is 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Cabernet Franc and 10% Merlot that was aged first in large casks and then smaller French oak barrels for roughly 30 months.