Soldera Case Basse 100% Sangiovese 2019

98+ points - Robert Parker's Wine Advocate, November 2024

This is the first vintage produced after the death of vintner Gianfranco Soldera at 82 years old on February 16, 2019. His family took over farming and winemaking, and the Soldera Case Basse 2019 100% Sangiovese is an enduring symbol of that painful transition. This is an extremely elegant wine that defies the simplicity of the process used to make it. Grapes are destemmed and fermented as whole berries in oversize truncated cone-shaped Slavonian oak vats with native yeasts. The wine ages slowly and uninterrupted, depending on the vintage, for four years in large oak botte. It is bottled without filtering, and this vintage rested in glass for six months before its commercial release in 2024. Natural and straightforward winemaking results in delicate and ethereal notes of redcurrant, iris root and fragrant tea leaf. The power of the fruit, especially those tart cherry nuances, is more prominent in the 2019 vintage that also succeeds in providing more textural heft and importance to the mid-palate. The 2019 vintage should prove especially well-suited to prolonged cellar aging.

On a chilly day in early November, I drove to Montalcino to visit Soldera Case Basse. I was met by Monica Soldera, her husband Gianpaolo Franco and her younger brother Mauro Soldera (a well-known lawyer who splits his time between Montalcino and Milan). Together, they run the estate and continue the legacy of one of Italy’s most influential and visionary winemakers.

Monica and Mauro’s father, Gianfranco Soldera, came to Montalcino in June 1972. Born in Treviso in 1937 and later relocated to Milan with his family, he grew up with wine because his cousin made a modest production. Gianfranco Soldera would enjoy a successful career as an insurance broker, but wine pulled hard on his heartstrings. He looked for vineyards to purchase in Barolo but could not find a suitable investment. A family friend recommended that he look at Montalcino instead, where land was more affordable.

He acquired the 23-hectare Case Basse estate located southwest of Montalcino village. The first vintages he produced were labeled "Vino da Tavola Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello: (“red from Brunello vineyards”), and by the 1977 vintage, the wine was labeled Brunello di Montalcino. The only vintage not produced was 1989.

In December 2013, Gianfranco Soldera declassified his wine to IGT status, starting with the 2006 vintage, and renamed the wine “100% Sangiovese.” However, before that decision was made, part of that vintage had already been bottled as Brunello di Montalcino Riserva. The wine is the same, but because of the different bottling dates, you can find the 2006 vintage on the market today as both Brunello di Montalcino Riserva and as 100% Sangiovese.

Gianfranco Soldera passed away at 82 years old on February 16, 2019. The current vintage is 2019, and it represents the first wine made by his children.

I asked Monica Soldera what important lessons she learned from her father. “Good wine and food were always part of my childhood,” she says. “He stressed all the beautiful things in life.”

Monica Soldera and her husband, Gianpaolo Franco, joined the winery in 2003. They have four children, all girls. Brother Mauro Soldera joined later and has one daughter.

The Vineyards
The Case Basse estate has 10 hectares of vines and two hectares of botanical gardens, with heritage roses and ancient cultivars planted by Gianfranco Soldera’s wife, Graziella. The remaining land is forest.

The vineyards are planted with a very low spurred cordon and high canopy, and there are two separate plots. Four hectares are lateral to the winery at 320 meters above sea level and six hectares are at a slightly lower elevation just south of the winery. Both plots enjoy southwest-facing exposures and an open panorama that extends to the Tuscan coast.

“Light and air circulation are what make our site special,” says Monica Soldera.

South of Case Basse, the Ombrone and Orcia Rivers intersect, creating two corridors of air that are channeled through the respective river valleys. These currents serve to draw away bad weather and hailstorms, leaving this microclimate relatively free of violent weather.

The oldest vines date back to 1972 and 1973, but replanting efforts continue to this day to replace unproductive vines. High canopy trellising was started in 2002–2003, and the tops of the vines are never trimmed. A thicker canopy is left to provide shade for the grapes. Vineyard spacing is loose in order to avoid soil compaction with tractors. Hand-hoeing is implemented when possible. A winter cover crop is planted, and the general idea is to avoid excessive tilling. Spraying is limited to sulfur and copper when necessary. The soggy 2024 vintage, for example, was very challenging and required careful attention.

“We work with old vines, deep root systems, low yields and healthy plants,” says Monica Soldera. Average annual production is between 15,000 and 20,000 bottles for the IGT 100% Sangiovese (the only wine made by the estate today). These figures can vary due to the unpredictable yields of old vines. She is not afraid of throwing out the bulk of vineyard yields if the fruit does not meet her quality standards. All fruit from new vines (under seven or eight years old) is automatically discarded.

The soils are characterized as poor in nutrients, well-draining and excellent for fostering deep roots. Schistic galestro clay is dominate, and marine fossils are often discovered. This area was once under an ancient sea, and geologists believe that a nearby hill (located just past the estate entrance) collapsed under water, giving this area a thicker layer of topsoil.

The Winery
Gianfranco Soldera started making wine inside the "case basse" (“low farmhouses”), after which the property is named. In 2001, he inaugurated a new winery, which is 14 meters underground and made without cement in order to allow for better air circulation. The winery walls are built with rocks encased inside metal cages.

The fruit is destemmed, and whole berries are fermented with autochthonous yeasts (which the Soldera family studies and counts the population of every year in order to publishing the results in an annual newsletter for their clients). Fermentation takes place in giant 138-hectoliter Slavonian oak casks that are never filled beyond 60% or 70% capacity. Fermentation lasts between two to three weeks and pump-overs are limited to a few per day.

“Each fermentation is a closed circle,” says Gianpaolo Franco.

Temperatures are not artificially forced, but they are monitored by a measuring prob to insure a healthy environment for the yeasts. Frequent tasting with chemical and microbiological tests are essential.

Aging takes place in Garbellotto Slavonian oak casks of various sizes (depending on their placement in the winery). There are 19 botti in total, with the oldest being 40 years old. The botte numbered 10 and 11 are the oldest, dating back to the early 1980s, and botte number eight is just one year old. Maintaining hygiene is essential. The wine ages up to four years, depending on the vintage. A final blend is created, it goes back into oak and the wine is then bottled. It stays in bottle between six to eight months before a release date is set.

Soldera Case Basse does not have fixed release dates for the IGT 100% Sangiovese.

Barrel Tasting
The Soldera family does not provide bottled samples for review, but they do generously open the winery for barrel tastings. I purchased the bottle of 2019 IGT 100% Sangiovese reviewed in this report. That wine was released in spring 2024 and is on the market now.

The 2020 vintage is in bottle at the winery. A release date has not been set, but a decision when to go to market will be made in spring 2025.

I sampled the gorgeous 2021 vintage from botte number 10 at the winery and have included my impressions in this report. That year saw a strong frost event on the nights of April 6 and 7, and the summer was hot. Harvest started on September 6. The Soldera family will decide when to bottle in spring 2025.

I also tasted the 2022 vintage from barrel. Harvest that year started on August 26th, making it one of the earliest in the estate’s history, along with 2017 and 2003, also scorching hot years. This wine is very generous and fruit forward with an intense ruby color.

I tasted the infant 2023 vintage from botte number nine. “The difficult vintages are the most satisfying to make,” says Gianpaolo Franco of a growing season that saw challenging rain and mildew. Similar conditions also made 2024 difficult to navigate.

It is too early to assess 2022 and 2023, but the 2019 and the upcoming 2021 vintages are simply outstanding.

- Monica Larner