Today’s Story: Soldera Case Basse
Soldera Case Basse (known broadly just as Soldera) was established by Gianfranco and Graziella Soldera in 1972. Soldera was born out of a desire to craft high-quality natural wine, and Gianfranco and Graziella settled on an uncultivated and abandoned estate in the southwestern area of Montalcino. Between 1972 and 1973, they planted the first vines and selected only the parcels most suitable for the Sangiovese variety. A staunch traditionalist, Gianfranco made his wines adhering to a very strict natural and hand-crafted process from vine to bottle. Gianfranco was even strict about who could visit to taste his wines, requiring they share a similar philosophy and appreciation for great wines and he did not allow anyone to spit his wines during tastings. Though Gianfranco passed away in February 2019, Soldera remains under the watchful eyes of Graziella and their children adhering to the same strict and time-tested principles.
Covering roughly 23 hectares at an elevation of 320m, the Soldera estate is as devoted to nature as it is to winemaking. In addition to the rich botanical garden on the property, the vines grow in a complex ecosystem with varying animal and insect life which allow the family to farm without the use of any weedkillers or other chemical products. In fact, only organic substances are used in the vineyards and all vine rows are worked only by hand. To allow for manual labor, the vineyards are kept to a maximum of 10 hectares and very low yields with the balance dedicated to the winery, eight hectares of woodlands, refurbished old buildings, fruit trees, berry bushes, pomegranates, and olive trees.
Winemaking at Soldera is very traditional, beginning with harvest of the grapes by hand. Once the grapes reach the winery, they are sorted berry by berry to ensure only the best fruit goes into their wines. Fermentation occurs in large vertical Slavonian oak vats and is entirely natural and spontaneous. Afterwards, the wines transfer to large Slavonian oak barrels without filtering and racking occurs only when necessary based on barrel sampling of the wines. Soldera only adds minimal SO2, and after four years of aging the wines are bottled in the cellar directly from barrel without filtration. After a few months in bottles, the wines are labelled, packed, and shipped but only if they are of a quality that meets the strict requirements of the winery’s expectations. Total production averages around 1,250 cases per vintage, though this output is drastically reduced in lesser quality vintages.
I highly recommend visiting the Soldera website here to view incredible pictures of the vineyards, gardens, and winery.
Today’s Wine: 2009 Soldera Toscana IGT
100% Sangiovese; 14% ABV
The 2009 Soldera is translucent medium garnet in color and absolutely beautiful in the glass. I gave this about 4 hours of air and tasted it along the way, which helped the nose add complexities and depth though the palate needs more coaxing. The nose blossoms into aromas of vibrant red cherry, wild strawberry, raspberry, red rose, anise, tomato paste, leather, scorched earth, truffle, savory green herbs, faint cinnamon, and crushed rock mineral. Meanwhile the perfectly balanced palate shows notes of bright cherry, strawberry, orange rind, mild sweet tobacco, roasted tomato, charred herbs, smoke, rocky earth, and oregano. This is medium- to full-bodied with medium (+) acidity, beautifully integrated medium tannins, and a long finish. Will only get better over the next 5+ years.
Price: $600 (paid $460 two years ago). I think the value conversation goes out the window at this price-point, however this is an absolutely magical wine and far and away the best Sangiovese I’ve ever tasted. I’m excited to taste the remaining bottles over the years to come, and I’m glad we snagged these before the prices rise even further.
JB's Wine Talk 