From the Case Basse estate in southwest Montalcino, Tuscany, SOLDERA is an exclusive, very limited production Brunello di Montalcino designed to represent the pinnacle of a winemaker’s craft.

Owner Gianfranco Soldera, a retired businessman, and his wife Graziella, an avid botanist, discovered the formerly abandoned Case Basse property in the early ‘70s and were immediately enchanted by the beauty and potential of its land. They set about restoring the estate in accordance with a strict regimen of “enlightened agriculture” to create a peerless Brunello of utmost quality. Today, Soldera Brunello di Montalcino is sought-after by wine connoisseurs worldwide – and with a production of only 15,000 bottles, it is a rare treasure indeed.

Gianfranco and Graziella Soldera firmly believe that high-quality production requires a complex ecosystem, providing an ideal environment for natural cultivation. At Case Basse fertilization is organic and herbicides are not permitted. Vineyards are small, to enable manual cultivation at all stages. The Solderas also hold true that past experience must be compared with the innovation arising from proven research. The culture of the past, born of intuition and evolving from rural experience, must be respected, but also rationally understood and verified using the most modern techniques of experimentation.

Maintenance of the ecosystem at Case Basse is a continuously evolving project. While renovating the property’s buildings, the Solderas went to great lengths to ensure the preservation of original stone walls where birds, small mammals and insects nest and reproduce. For the same purpose, they have created special sanctuaries to attract animals in the hope that they become permanent residents. Beehives are another feature at the Case Basse property. Further initiatives include the preservation of ancient olive groves, plants and fruit trees.

Soldera Brunello di Montalcino sports a distinctive label that reinforces the Solderas’ commitment to wildlife and nature: a stylized rendering of a dolphin – an animal sacred to the Dionysius, ancient god of wine and revelry – expressly created by the well-known contemporary Italian painter Piero Leddi.