Soldera: Brunello
di Montalcino 1977-2000 

<table>
 <tbody><tr>
 <td>
 1977
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1979
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1981
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1982
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1983
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1984
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 91
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1985
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1985
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Intistieti
 </td>
 <td>
 87
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1986
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino 
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1988
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 94
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1990
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1990
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 98
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1991
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Intistieti
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1991
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 89
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1992 
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Intistieti
 </td>
 <td>
 88
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1993
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1993
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1994
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino
 </td>
 <td>
 89
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Intistieti
 </td>
 <td>
 90
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1995
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Case
 Basse
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1996
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 
 </td>
 <td>
 ?
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1997
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 95
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1999
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino 
 </td>
 <td>
 93
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 1999
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 96
 </td>
 </tr>
 <tr>
 <td>
 2000
 </td>
 <td>
 Soldera Brunello di Montalcino Riserva
 </td>
 <td>
 92
 </td>
 </tr>
</tbody></table>

Gianfranco Soldera is without question
Montalcino’s most iconic producer. At their best, Soldera’s Brunellos are
monumental examples of the heights Sangiovese can reach in Montalcino. Soldera
is a man with an incredible culture of wine. He is one of the most
knowledgeable people I have ever met when it comes to the great traditionally
made Barolos and Barbarescos of Piedmont. Those wines are among his deepest
passions and clearly his own wines share many attributes with them.&nbsp;Like many producers in town, Soldera is
not originally from Montalcino. After a successful career as an insurance
broker in Milan, he and his wife Graziella bought the Case Basse property in
the early 1970s. The Solderas planted vineyards and re-created a complete and
self-sustaining ecosystem. The property is home to a vast array of exotic
flowers and plants, among which there over two hundred varieties of roses
alone. Needless to say, a walk through the spectacular grounds is worth a visit
by itself. Soldera’s meticulous attention to detail in the vineyard is
legendary. His are some of the most well maintained, manicured vines I have
ever seen. No pesticides or herbicides are employed and only organic
fertilizers are used. The wines are made using natural yeasts and see extended
periods of aging in large Slavonian oak casks.







Soldera’s Case Basse vineyard measures
roughly two hectares and was planted in 1972. The Intistieti vineyard is
larger, and covers about four and a half hectares. It was planted in 1973. Case
Basse is the more fertile of the sites. Beginning with the 1975 vintage fruit from
Case Basse was used to make the <a target="_blank" href="http://vinous.com/wines/soldera-case-basse-1975-rosso-dai-vigneti-di-brunello">Rosso
dai Vigneti di Brunello</a> (that era’s equivalent of Rosso di Montalcino)
until 1990, when Soldera deemed the vines to be of sufficient age to make
Brunello. Intistieti is a much poorer soil, and therefore yields wines of
greater complexity, structure and aging potential. Soldera made his first
Brunello from the Intistieti vineyard in 1977. When Soldera felt a wine didn’t merit the Brunello designation he
declassified the wine and bottled it as Vino da Tavola Intistieti. It would be
logical to assume that Intistieti (the wine) is made from Intistieti (the
vineyard) but as we shall see, that was not always the case.&nbsp;In 2000, Soldera began releasing all of his
Brunello as Riserva. With the 2006 vintage, Soldera left the formal Brunello di
Montalcino appellation and transitioned to labeling all of his wines Toscana
Sangiovese.

Soldera’s first Brunello,
the 1977 Brunello di Montalcino is
still in fine shape. It opens with promising, ethereal aromas of worn-in
leather, spices and dark fruits, but ultimately comes across as less exciting
on the palate. The 1979 Brunello di
Montalcino is noticeably sweeter and riper than the 1977, with generous
notes of tar, licorice, dark cherries and spices. The 1981 Brunello di Montalcino is not quite as opulent as the 1979 but
it offers notable harmony and elegance in a very refined, complete package. The
Soldera style as we know it today is crystallized in the 1982 Brunello di Montalcino, the wine which can be called his first
truly great effort. This superb Brunello is on a totally different level from
the preceding wines. Still quite fresh, vibrant and layered, it is a
masterfully sculpted, pure Sangiovese with at least another decade of prime
drinking ahead of it. Stylistically, it reminds me of the great Barolos and
Barbarescos of that vintage, which is hardly surprising given Soldera’s passion
for those wines. Things get even better with the 1983 Brunello di Montalcino, which is drop-dead gorgeous. It possesses superb inner perfume and a
full-bodied, ripe and opulent expression of fruit. The contrast between structured
and fruit-driven vintages is one of the themes that begins to emerge from this
comprehensive tasting. Overall, these early wines are notable. They have remained
perfectly intact, which is quite an accomplishment for a producer who was very
young at the time the wines were made.

The 1984 Brunello di Montalcino is one of the smaller-scaled wines of
the night, but it shows terrific balance and harmony in a fully mature style.
Unfortunately, we don’t have great luck with our 1985s. The 1985 Brunello di Montalcino is corked,
while the 1985 Intistieti is
volatile and oxidized. In 1985 both of these wines were made from the
Intistieti vineyard, but Soldera found that one cask was aging at faster clip,
so that wine was bottled separately and released as Intistieti. The
consistently disappointing performance of the Intistieti bottlings is a rather
heated point of discussion during the evening. Soldera’s 1986 Brunello di Montalcino is another of the positive surprises in
this tasting. It is similar in style to the 1982 in its full-bodied, structured
expression of Sangiovese. This is an undeniably great bottle. The 1988 Brunello di Montalcino shows the finessed
side of this producer’s wines. A delicate, elegant Brunello, it reveals layers
of fruit that open in the glass with remarkable purity. The wine remains fresh
and vibrant from start to finish, in an utterly irresistible style.

As mentioned above, prior to
1990 Soldera made one Brunello, and it was always made from the Intistieti
vineyard. In 1990, he made a regular bottling and Riserva, from the Case Basse
and Intistieti vineyards respectively. Both are modern-day legends. The 1990 Brunello di Montalcino presents an
opulent, seamless expression of ripe fruit with compelling balance and superb
drinkability. It is awesome. But the 1990
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is even better. Simply put, this wine
has it all. Sensual, inviting aromatics meld into a sweet, expansive palate as
the wine opens to reveal the breadth of its profoundness. Despite its
fruit-driven style, there is plenty of structure underneath to provide balance.
This is very nearly a perfect wine, and easily the finest Brunello I have ever
had the pleasure of drinking.

In 1991, things get a little
more confusing. As it turns out the 1991
Intistieti, was in fact made from the Case Basse vineyard, but Soldera says
he liked the Intistieti name from previous vintages, so he kept it.
Unfortunately the wine is deeply flawed and impossible to evaluate with any
accuracy. The 1991 Brunello di
Montalcino Riserva (from Intistieti fruit) is better. This is a pretty
wine, but it reveals some hard edges and an advanced, forward expression in its
fruit. According to Soldera, 1992 was not a vintage important enough to make
Brunello, so he declassified his entire production and released it as
Intistieti. Despite the weak vintage, Soldera still gave his wine 4 full years
of oak, so this wine is effectively a Brunello for all practical reasons,
except name. The 1992 Intistieti is
still fresh and intact, but it offers very little fruit, which leaves the wine with
an angular, hard-edged personality.

The estate’s 1993 Brunello di Montalcino is one of
the more forward wines of the night. Made in a feminine style for this
producer, it comes across as a fairly advanced wine to drink sooner rather than
later. The 1993 Brunello di Montalcino
Riserva is better than the regular bottling, with riper fruit and a more
intense, vibrant expression of Sangiovese. Soldera’s 1994 Brunello di Montalcino lacks the stuffing to stand up to its
structural components. It comes across as angular and lean, with drying tannins
on the finish. The 1995 Intistieti was
the finest of the Intistietis in this tasting. Full-bodied, ripe and sweet, it
reveals outstanding persistence and plenty of style. The 1995 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Case Basse takes things to
another level entirely. It is a big, massive Brunello loaded with dark
cherries, smoke, licorice and tar. There is a purity and sheer beauty to this
wine that is absolutely irresistible. In 1995 the Brunello di Montalcino
Riserva is made from Case Basse fruit, while the Intistieti and normal bottling
of Brunello are made from Intistieti fruit.

The 1996 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is
either cooked or very evolved. Regardless, it is impossible to assess this wine
with any degree of accuracy, so judgment is reserved. In 1996 Soldera found
himself with unusually low production, so he made only one wine, which is a
blend of Case Basse and Intistieti fruit. The 1997 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva comes across as a modern-day version
of the 1983 and 1990. It offers tons of super-ripe fruit that fill out its
structured frame with notable opulence. This is a superb Brunello made in a
generous, rewarding style. In 1997 Soldera only made one wine, which was mostly
Intistieti fruit with a little Case Basse. The 1999 Brunello di Montalcino is gorgeous, perfumed and delicate. I
have experienced significant bottle variation with this vintage, but this particular
bottle is among the finest I have ever tasted. The 1999 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is monumental. Made in a layered,
gorgeous style, it shows tons of depth in its fruit and awesome purity allied
to a powerful sense of structure. Our final wine, the 2000 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva reveals a very ripe expression
of fruit, but it lacks the elegance and complexity of the finest vintages. Still,
this wine has plenty of time to develop in the bottle.

This incredible tasting of
the wines of Gianfranco Soldera is by far the most in-depth survey of the
estate’s wines I have ever been a part of. We stopped with the 2000 Riserva
only because it seemed sacrilegious to open anything beyond that at this stage.
I am deeply indebted to collectors Tom Black, Bruce Fingeret, Eddie Milstein
and Ray Tuppatsch for supplying most of the bottles we tasted. I would also
like to thank my dear friend Rino Fontana for helping me secure pristine
examples of the late 1970s and early 1980s wines, bottles that are essentially
non-existent today. Lastly, this event would not have been possible without the
significant contribution of the staff at Alto in New York, and particular that
of Wine Director Eric Zillier, whose team did a brilliant job serving the
wines. Chef Michael White prepared a superb meal after the tasting which will
be the subject of a forthcoming Hedonist’s
Gazette.

--Antonio
Galloni 

&nbsp;

Appendix:

A Guide to
the Brunellos of Gianfranco Soldera

The following
table details the wines produced by Soldera in each vintage. The names in
parentheses correspond to the vineyard source(s) for the respective wines.

1977: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Note&nbsp;1)&nbsp;(Case Basse)

1978: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1979: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1980: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1981: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1982: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1983: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da Tavola (Case Basse)

1984: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1985: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola Intistieti(Note&nbsp;2)&nbsp;(Intistieti), Vino da Tavola (Case Basse)

1986: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola (Case Basse)

1987: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola Intistieti (Case Basse)

1988: Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Vino da
Tavola Intistieti (Case Basse)

1989: No wine bottled

1990: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Brunello di Montalcino (Case Basse)

1991: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Vino da Tavola Intistieti (Case Basse)

1992: Vino da
Tavola Intistieti (blend of the best fruit from Intistieti and Case Basse)

1993: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Brunello di Montalcino (Intistieti), Brunello di Montalcino Case Basse (Case
Basse)

1994: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Brunello di Montalcino (Case Basse)

1995: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Case Basse (Case Basse), Vino da Tavola Intisiteti
(Intistieti),

1996: Brunello
di Montalcino Riserva (blend of the best fruit from Intistieti and Case Basse)

1997: Brunello
di Montalcino Riserva (one barrel, mostly Intistieti with some Case Basse)

1998: Brunello
di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti), Brunello di Montalcino (Case Basse, spent
one more year in barrel than Riserva in this vintage.)

1999: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti),
Brunello di Montalcino (Case Basse)

2000: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (Intistieti)

2001: Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Lot F. 68
(Intistieti), Brunello di Montalcino Riserva Lot G. 69 (Case Basse)

Notes

1 The Vino da Tavola produced from vintages
1977-1988 was made from 100% young-vine Sangiovese fruit sourced from the Case
Basse vineyard, a Brunello-classified plot, similar to what a Rosso di
Montalcino might be in today’s terms.

2&nbsp;The first
Vino da Tavola Intistieti was produced in 1985. Soldera used this label for
wines that he felt weren’t up to the standards of his Brunello di Montalcino.
For example, in 1985 he had one barrel that was evolving relatively quickly, so
it was released as Vino da Tavola Intistieti. In 1992, a vintage Soldera felt
was not worthy of the Brunello di Montalcino designation, he declassified all
his wine to Vino da Tavola Intistieti. The earliest Intistietis were in fact made
from the Intistieti vineyard, but in subsequent vintages (1987, 1988, 1991) the
wine was actually made from the Case Basse vineyard. Soldera opted to keep the
Intistieti name because he liked it. Today the IGT (Indicazione
Geografica Tipica) designation is used much more widely than Vino da
Tavola

Source: Gianfranco Soldera, July 2008

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