"I like it so much," said winemaker Gianfranco Soldera recently told IWM when asked about his 2004 vintage."It is a great Brunello Riserva Soldera. Anyone will have their own perception and sensitivity in terms of nose and palate. Overall, it is a pleasure, and everybody can share their own description of it." Rightfully so, Soldera's Riserva comes around rarely—and only in an exceptional vintage. We can’t think of a stronger recommendation for a wine than for Sergio Esposito to say it makes him think of heaven. You can drink it now, but you’d be better off to let it sit for a decade or two.
- Country: Italy
- Region: Toscana
- Subregion/Classification: Brunello di Montalcino
- Commune/Village: Montalcino : Tavernelle
Gianfranco Soldera, who passed away in February 2019 at the age of 82, earned the reputation of being Brunello’s most accomplished craftsman. A fanatical, uncompromising perfectionist, Soldera made his Case Basse di Soldera estate to be something of a viticultural wonderland that he mindfully created to encourage biodiversity. “Terroir” is the word at Soldera’s Case Basse estate, whose vineyards are wholly devoted to growing Sangiovese Grosso in its two historic plots, the five-acre Case Basse and the 11-acre Intistieti. As a winemaker, Soldera was as precise and meticulous regimen in the vineyard, where he used a painstaking manual approach for many procedures, as he was in the cantina, which he designed and built from free-sitting stone blocks for perfect airflow; created in this Utopian environment, the otherworldly wines of Case Basse are unlike any others. In 2012, Soldera was hit by an act of vandalism that caused him to lose most of his estate’s production for the vintages of 2007-2012, causing his wines to become yet more sought-after and collectable. A year later, Soldera left the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, parting ways with the ruling body of the Brunello DOCG over a dispute that led to a law suit. While no longer called Brunello, Soldera’s wines sit in their own category, nearly unrivaled by any others. The Case Basse di Soldera estate continues in the hands of Gianfranco’s wife, Graziella, and his children, Monica and Mauro.
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