Soldera Brunello di Montalcino 2019

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.

The 2019 Sangiovese captivates with an array of exotic spices, dried orange peels, incense, hints of worn leather and radiant black cherries. Lifted, precise, ethereal and weightless yet impactful, it sweeps across the palate, lifted and refined. It features aromas of mineral-laced wild berry fruits, taking on a beguiling savoriness toward the close. Nuances of sour citrus combine with sage and cedar dust over a web of fine-grained tannins. It comes across as a classic, finishing with a pleasantly bitter tinge of clove and a bite of sour citrus. This is pure magic. The 2019 embodies all the best attributes of this fantastic vintage.