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Soldera possesses a preternatural knowledge of his wine. Some years he opts against bottling all of his wines as Brunellos, as he did when he made his epic '79 Rosso, a wine that has reached mythic proportions in the minds of Italian wine cognoscenti. The '79 Rosso is one of the greatest, most sought-after and mystical Italian wines, and in 2005, Soldera once more chose to make a wine that wasn't a Brunello. It's called Pegasos, and it is eerily reminiscent of the '79 Rosso. As with all of his wines, Soldera’s Pegasos is organically grown, meticulously crafted and imbued with Soldera magic. No matter what he calls them, there’s no going wrong with Soldera’s wines.
Gianfranco Soldera is regarded by many as the most accomplished craftsman of Brunello—a fanatical, uncompromising perfectionist who operates something of a viticultural wonderland, presenting nature in an idealized context. Terroir is the word at Soldera’s Case Basse estate. He set out to find a great piece of land—scouring Piemonte, the Veneto, and Toscana—and settled at an abandoned, decrepit Montalcino farmhouse in 1972, planting his minute plots, Case Basse (approximately 2 hectares) and Intistieti (approximately 4.5), over a two-year period (1972 and ’73, respectively). He chose to plant Sangiovese exclusively, believing it to be the only grape that possessed a genuine synergy with the land.
What he’s done with that Sangiovese has become Montalcino’s most captivating modern legend, a tale that is set in a magical kingdom of sorts.The Case Basse estate effectually constitutes an idyllic habitat, one which has been designed to operate in a state of continuous balance, honored through a complex yet wholly organic operation. It is here that the animal kingdom reflects its most perfect self, as every contributor is there for a reason. The wife of Soldera, Graziella, nurtures her own domain in this resplendent world—a rose garden featuring over 1,500 species.
As is to be expected, Soldera exercises a precise and meticulous regimen in the vineyard, privileging a painstaking by hand approach to several procedures. Brunellos issuing from this realm constitute their own category, being unrivaled by any other expression that bears the Montalcino designation.
Ironically, Soldera’s labeling methodology doesn’t reflect the meticulous precision defining his viticultural operations; in fact, it’s the only element of his world that’s rather undisciplined. Soldera drew upon Intistieti exclusively in his early years of Brunello production, as its soils were poorer than those of Case Basse, rendering it the more suited of the two to delivering wines of structure. As the estate’s eponymous cru was growing into its future role as a source of profound Brunellos, Soldera put it to use in a Vino da Tavola Rosso bottling that is effectually the equivalent of a present-day Rosso di Montalcino. However, it wasn’t the only one that was being used in the Vino da Tavola role: When a wine failed to merit Soldera’s exacting qualitative specifications for the Brunello di Montalcino designation, it was classified as Vino da Tavola Intistieti. The first of these was made in 1985 and while its early successors did indeed represent their source, Soldera changed things up—to great confusion—in the 1987 vintage, as the wine released under the Intistieti label was sourced from Case Basse. The rationale behind the somewhat misleading label? Nothing more profound than the fact that Soldera liked the Intistieti name, a personal preference that he chose to exercise again in both 1988 and 1991. But this somewhat irrational modus operandi doesn’t end there. In the 1990 vintage, Case Basse made its debut Brunello showing, while Intistieti served as the source of Soldera’s Riserva. In some years, though, the normale Brunello is wholly a Case Basse production, while in others, like 1996, it is a blend of the best from both crus. Also, in 1995, Soldera produced the first riserva from Casse Basse; in 2001, both crus delivered riservas.
A Soldera wine can be difficult to translate in words, being prone to dramatic changes in intervals of mere seconds. Perhaps Soldera captured it best when he asked Sergio Esposito, Can' you taste the Case Basse in my wines? But that taste, as indicated above, is elicited and carefully transmitted through an organic methodology and precise viticultural and vinification techniques.
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