Description
Gianfranco Soldera’s natural vinegrowing and winemaking project at Società Agricola Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera Srl is based on a fundamental principle: to produce a fine wine it is necessary to look after not only the vines, but also the surrounding environment.
The best contribution man can make to vinegrowing and winemaking is to heed farming culture and knowledge and to solve problems through the study and application of techniques that scientific and technological innovation have put at his disposal.
The size of the vineyards is limited (a total of 10 hectares), so that the plants can be worked by hand and the harvest, which is also manual, can be done in a short time.
Tasting Notes
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. [98+ points, Monica Larner, November 2024 – robertparker.com]
