Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Toscana Sangiovese 2019

Reviews

AG

"Gianfranco Soldera is without question Montalcino's most iconic producer. At their best, his Brunellos are monumental examples of the heights Sangiovese can reach in Montalcino …. Soldera's meticulous attention to detail in the vineyard is legendary. His are some of the most well maintained, manicured vines I have ever seen. No pesticides or herbicides are employed and only organic fertilizers are used. The wines are made using natural yeasts and see extended periods of aging in large Slavonian oak barrels. Soldera's Case Basse vineyard measures roughly two hectares and was planted in 1972. The Intistieti vineyard is larger and covers about four and a half hectares. It was planted in 1973. Case Basse is the more fertile of the plots. Beginning with the 1973 vintage fruit from this vineyard was used to make Vino da Tavola Rosso (that era's rough equivalent to Rosso di Montalcino) until 1990, when Soldera deemed the vines to be of sufficient age to make Brunello. Intistieti is a much poorer soil, and therefore yields wines of greater complexity, structure and aging potential. The estate's early Brunellos were all made from the Intistieti vineyard. In 1990 Soldera released his first Brunello from the Case Basse vineyard (a normal bottling) and a Riserva from Intistieti. When Soldera felt a wine didn't merit the Brunello designation he declassified the wine and bottled it as Vino da Tavola Intistieti. It would be logical to assume that Intistieti (the wine) is made from Intistieti (the vineyard) but as we shall see, that hasn't always been the case …. Readers should note that following his most recent disagreement with the Consorzio del Vino Brunello di Montalcino, which included, among other things, being kicked out of the Consorzio, Soldera has decided to release all of his new wines as 'Toscana Sangiovese.' These are the same wines that would have previously been released as Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. As always, these remain some of the most compelling and transcendental wines being made anywhere in the world.”