21 Apr A Legacy in Every Glass: Dinner with Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga of San Leonardo

Behind every great wine is a great story. And some stories stretch back centuries.

I recently had the extraordinary pleasure of dining with Marchese Anselmo Guerrieri Gonzaga, the current steward of his family’s Trentino-based estate, San Leonardo, a winery just named Gambero Rosso’s 2025 Winery of the Year. It was a night filled with warmth, history, and wines that truly reflect their place.

San Leonardo is unlike any other. Tucked away in a narrow valley where the Alpine and Mediterranean climates converge, the organically farmed estate is a study in balance. The diurnal shifts are dramatic, the winds consistent, and the sun gentler than in many other growing regions. Grapes here ripen “low and slow,” leading to wines with freshness, restraint, and elegance—always under 13% alcohol, always full of character.

The estate’s roots go deep. A monastery was first built on the property more than 1000 years ago, becoming a stopover for Crusaders. When the Church eventually closed the monastery, it began leasing out its land. Anselmo’s family started renting the property in the 18th century, and by the late 1700s had purchased it outright. In many ways, this land has been in the service of purpose and pilgrimage for over 800 years.

Anselmo shared how his great-great-grandfather, once a diplomat, brought back vine cuttings from his travels. His father, deeply passionate about wine, returned to the estate in the 1970s with a clear vision: to make world-class wines from Bordeaux varieties in Trentino. He began with Merlot and Cabernet Franc (later discovered to be Carmenère) and added Cabernet Sauvignon. In 1982, they created the San Leonardo blend, which remains the estate’s flagship.

Today, the blend is consistently: 60% Cabernet Sauvignon, 30% Carmenère, 10% Merlot.
The wine, which is made only from vines that are at least 25 years old, is fermented with indigenous yeasts.

The farming is organic—though not certified—and deeply rooted in tradition and observation. Anselmo told us they’ve started returning to the traditional pergola training system for Carmenère, which shows more personality in that form. Cabernet remains on modern trellising.

The wines are soulful. They age beautifully. And they carry a distinct sense of place that few producers can replicate.

San Leonardo also experiments with indigenous Italian grapes like Teroldego and Marzemino, but Anselmo is focused on preserving what his father envisioned: a wine that expresses the identity of this singular place. “My job is to preserve the idea of my father,” he told us. “To preserve the identity of San Leonardo.”

In a world where trends come and go, there’s something profoundly moving about a wine estate that has been quietly perfecting its expression of terroir for centuries. San Leonardo isn’t chasing anything. It knows exactly who it is.

And after one evening in Anselmo’s company, I can say this: you can taste that legacy in every glass.