Toscana Sangiovese Soldera 2019

The wine in this vintage

A classic, highly regarded vintage in Montalcino, 2019 combined a warm but breezy summer with cool nights, bringing steady ripening and grapes of great balance. It was also the first harvest after Gianfranco Soldera's death, carried out by the family in keeping with his philosophy. The 2019 Soldera Toscana Sangiovese shows a clear nose of cherry, raspberry, rose, orange and herbs, a taut, deep palate, silky tannins and a long, savoury finish. A wine of great purity and energy, already captivating but still young, it will show its best with further time in bottle.

The producer · Case Basse Soldera

Case Basse is the estate that Gianfranco Soldera, a Milanese insurance broker, bought in 1972 south-west of Montalcino and turned into one of the world's cult addresses for Sangiovese. A few hectares of vines, including the celebrated Intistieti, are surrounded by woods, hedgerows and a garden designed to foster biodiversity: for Soldera, wine was born of a healthy ecosystem before it ever reached the cellar. The winemaking is equally radical: Sangiovese only, spontaneous fermentations, no corrective interventions and long ageing in large Slavonian oak casks, with bottling only when the wine is ready. For decades Case Basse produced a legendary Brunello and Riserva; after the 2012 act of vandalism that destroyed several vintages in cask, Soldera left the Consorzio and later wines have been labelled Toscana IGT Sangiovese. Since Gianfranco's death in 2019, his wife Graziella and their children have continued the work with the same uncompromising spirit. The result is rare, deeply individual wines of extraordinary transparency and longevity.

Critics' scores

• 98+ Robert Parker

Technical details

Producer

Case Basse Soldera

Region

Toscana

Country

Italia

Type

Rosso

Vintage

2019

When to drink

Hold, still evolving

Critics' average

98/100

Sizes

75 cl, Magnum 150 cl, Case of 6 × 75 cl

eWibe code

0570119