Az. Agr. Case basse di Gianfranco Soldera
Montalcino, Tuscany, Italy
Gianfranco Soldera is a legend. Perhaps this is a statement meant to be whispered and not boldly, explicitly stated. But it is a true statement nonetheless.
In 1972, Gianfranco and Graziella Soldera embarked on a project to materialize their strong winemaking convictions. First that high quality wines must come from an a natural ecosystem, an ideal habitat for plant cultivation. Second, that experience must be balanced with innovation that ultimately arises from research - that one should understand why certain traditions are in place. The resulting philosophy is that Nature’s laws, in fact allow wine to express their full potential without exploiting the soil and crops.
The ecosystem of Case Basse is in perpetual movement. Buildings are always being restored, a diverse population of animals, small and large, reside in their natural habitats, in and around the property. There are beehives, fruit trees, bodies of water; it is Tuscan Eden. Graziella, an avid botanist and landscape artist tends over 1200 varieties of antique roses that grow amongst Mediterranean scrub.
Needless to say, Soldera’s vines are managed with strict respect to traditional rules. Small vineyards permit 100% manual cultivation and a fast harvest. Grapes are thinned and leaf canopies are organized to allow optimum ripening. Only organic substances are used fro fertilization and no herbicides are used at all. In the cellar, the wine is made in the most simple manner. No temperature controls and no commercial yeasts are used. There is no filtration at any stage in the vinification process. The wine is tasted and tested as it matures by the Soldera and Univeristy of Florence performs regular tests fro microbes, assuring a clean product.
The Brunello rests for 5 years in large Slavonian oak casks, deep underground, away from noise and temperature variation. The wine then matures in bottle from 6-12 months, dependant on the vintage. It is a controlled and accurate process, from beginning to end. At the end, the Brunellos of Gianfranco Soldera uphold his ideals - what he believes all great wines to possess:
Harmony, complexity, typicity (that one can recognize in a wine, the vineyard from where it came) and uniqueness - that it is irreplaceable, rare and long-lived.