🏰 Soldera Case Basse

Soldera Case Basse is a wine estate in the south-west of the commune of Montalcino, in the province of Siena; the company is Società Agricola Case Basse di Gianfranco Soldera. According to the estate, Gianfranco Soldera, born in Treviso in 1937, and his wife Graziella found the abandoned 23-hectare property in June 1972 and bought it two months later. That autumn they planted about 2 hectares of Sangiovese, and a second vineyard of about 4.5 hectares in 1973; the first harvest was in 1975.

According to the estate, the first Brunello went on sale in 1982. The vineyards, at about 320 metres, are worked by hand without herbicides, and the wine ages for a long time in large Slavonian oak casks. Today the estate sells one wine, Toscana IGP Soldera Case Basse, made from 100% Sangiovese from its own vineyards; the 2021 vintage amounts to about 19,000 bottles. Since Gianfranco Soldera's death in February 2019, his family has run the estate.

According to the estate, the land is hilly, of volcanic origin, well drained and rich in minerals but not very fertile; alongside the vines the estate keeps a botanical garden and bees, with the aim of preserving plant and animal biodiversity.

Toscana is a protected geographical indication (PGI) listed in the EU register eAmbrosia. Under EU law at least 85% of the grapes for a PGI wine must come from the area; a PDO such as Brunello di Montalcino requires all of them, and has its own production rules.

Why it matters to you. A wine from Montalcino is not automatically Brunello: here the label says Toscana IGP, and that designation sets the rules. The WHO reminds: there is no safe level of alcohol.