This wine was a game-changer, one of the best wines I have tasted. After learning more about the Soldera Case Basse Winery, I now understand why.
First things first: The wine review. This 23-year-old Brunello still had plenty of primary aromas and flavors, including black cherry, crushed black plum, blood orange, and dusty rose. Secondary notes included hints of clove and cedar. Tertiary notes unfolded and dominated, including roasted figs and fig preserves, bruised leaves, Florentine leather, and a touch of Fino Sherry. This wine was dry, with medium (+) acidity, high alcohol, pronounced aroma and flavor intensity, and medium tannins that softened to silk over the years. The finish was long and divine.
Blessings in the vineyard and winery. It all began with Gianfranco and Graziella Soldera who first planted Sangiovese vines on the uncultivated Case Basse estate back in 1972 and 1973. This husband and wife team started from humble beginnings and took a completely natural approach to grapegrowing and winemaking from the start. Still to this day, vines are tended by hand, and weed killers and any other chemical products are not used. Berries are also harvested by hand with careful berry selection to ensure only the finest fruit is used for wine production. In the winery, only wild yeasts carry out fermentations, and wines undergo maturation in large Slavonian oak barrels before bottling. On average, only 15,000 bottles (1,250 cases) are produced each year.
Technology plus. Most interestingly is Soldera’s use of technology and contribution to scientific research. The winery has an integrated monitoring system in place which uses smart technology (like IoT and Big Data) to follow the entire grapegrowing and winemaking process—from the soil, weather conditions, and the state of the vines and grapes to the fermenting must and wine maturation up to the point of bottling. Sensors are placed just about everywhere that transmit data to the Soldera Intelligent System (SIS), a server that collects and makes sense of all data for the winery’s use. Data are also made available to researchers all over the world. So, in short, Soldera uses technology to make the highest quality wines possible in a totally natural way by making data-based decisions.
Soldera’s logo. Designed by Piero Leddi, an Italian artist, the symbol of Soldera is an ancient Greek dolphin in the shape of an “S” that symbolizes the brand. In ancient Greek culture, the dolphin was a sacred animal of Dionysus, the god of the grape harvest, winemaking, and wine, also known as Bacchus to the Romans. The dolphin is also a Christian symbol that represents Christ as the Savior of men.
In memory. Gianfranco Soldera, the founding father of this winery, unfortunately passed away on February 16, 2019. He is survived by his wife Graziella and their two children, Monica and Mauro. Cheers to Gianfranco! His passion and personality shine through his wines and will forevermore. Heaven bound and heavenly.
