2005 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

It remains one of the greatest tastings I have ever been a part of, either as an attendee or a host. Forty-six wines, all of them in superb shape. Even wines from smaller or less well-known vintages were sublime. Not a single bottle was corked or oxidized. The memories from this retrospective of Gianfranco Soldera’s wines will last forever. Readers will find extensive historical context in the article that accompanies these tasting notes.

Gianfranco Soldera remains one of the most controversial and influential producers in Montalcino. Although some of his peers, including Piero Palmucci and Diego Molinari, are now retired, Soldera remains quite active and just as outspoken as ever. Perhaps most importantly of all, Soldera is a significant influence for a number of younger producers including Stella di Campalto and Jan Erbach and Caroline Pobitzer at Pian dell'Orino, among others.

Gianfranco Soldera remains one of Italy’s most iconic producers. Our recent vertical tasting in London provided an extraordinary opportunity to check in on a number of Soldera Brunellos back to 1981. In particular, I was struck by how well wines from the less renowned vintages showed. The Soldera tasting was the second event in a Vinous London double-header that began with a vertical of Bartolo Mascarello Barolos held the day before. These three wines emerge from more modest vintages.

This stunning collection of Brunellos from Gianfranco Soldera spanned twenty-four vintages and three decades going all the way back to 1981, including all of the reference point Brunellos in that time frame as well as a number of wines from less heralded vintages. Many of the bottles came from my cellar. I was especially pleased to see Brunellos from long forgotten vintages such as the 1981 and 1984 show so well. Both of those wines continued to improve over the course of the many hours I followed them. With the exception of an off bottle or two, the iconic vintages were also pretty special. Some of my favorites included the 1982, 1988, 1990 Riserva, 1994 Riserva, 1997 Riserva, 2001 Riserva and 2004 Riserva. I would like to thank a small group of friends who contributed the bottles to this tasting.

Over the years I have been fortunate to taste just about every wine Gianfranco Soldera has made at his Case Basse property in Montalcino. Even the early mid-1970s Rossos, which were then called Rosso dai Vigneti di Brunello, have aged exceptionally well. This recent dinner with one of my New York tasting groups provided a great opportunity to check in on a numberof mostly more recent releases. Gianfranco Soldera’s Brunellos remain some of the most compelling, viscerally thrilling wines readers will find anywhere in the world.

As always, provenance is key. I couldn’t help notice that a number of the wines I brought showed exceptionally well. They weren’t necessarily from the best or most highly regarded years, but they were most certainly bottles that did not have a lot of miles on them. That makes a huge difference, especially with wines that are made with very little intervention in the cellar.

A visit to Case Basse is one of the great experiences in the world of wine. I spent several hours with Gianfranco Soldera in February going through every cask in the cellar. At their best, Soldera's wines have few peers anywhere in the world. I am less enamored about the cask-by- cask bottling, since the two vineyard sources (Case Basse and Intistieti) aren't clearly identified on the labels. Rather, today all of the Brunelli are simply issued as “Riserva.” Soldera claims his customers would be confused by having the vineyard names on the labels, but he is selling them short. At this level, consumers, collectors and connoisseurs want to know the details about wines. Think about Burgundy, where wine lovers want to know not just the name of the vineyards, but the exact positioning of each grower's rows/plots, etc. Over the course of a week in Montalcino I drank four bottles of Soldera's 1990 Riserva, a wine that remains epic if you get the right cask. At this level of rarity and price, consumers should not have that worry. And yes, the wines were markedly – and I do mean markedly – different.