Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Toscana IGT - Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, Tuscany, Italy 2020 1.5L

Gianfranco Soldera is an icon—often mentioned in the same breath with the likes of Romano Dal Forno, Giovanni Conterno and Bruno Giacosa.

He helped pioneer Brunello’s “new wave,” founding his Case Basse estate in 1972. By the early 1980’s his intensely concentrated, yet highly aromatic, Brunellos were already turning heads; yet, production of just a few hundred bottles kept the lid on his reputation until the stakes were raised with his 1990’s.

Case Basse is an estate covering over 23 hectares, in southwestern Montalcino, the vine-growing area par excellence for the Sangiovese variety. The history of the Soldera Case Basse winery began in the early 1970s. Natural wine growing at Case Basse is carried out within a varied and complex ecosystem, where the work is done completely by hand, from the vineyard to the cellar. The result is a very high-quality wine.

Due to the small production of all of these wines, combined with their devoted following, Soldera Brunello’s are among the most sought-after, and difficult-to-find, wines of Italy.

" Tasted from a 65-hectoliter cask, the 2020 Sangiovese is plush and fruity at this stage, although it’s starting to reveal its mineral underpinnings, with dark blackberry notes, graphite, and violets. Medium to full-bodied, it offers a velvety texture, with ripe and refined tannins, a good deal of meaty richness through the mid-palate, and a seamless structure. There’s both purity and refinement across each of the samples tasted. The 2020 showed a good deal of completeness already prior to bottling and I expect it will have a good deal of cellaring potential." Jeb Dunnuck 96-99