Soldera Case Basse Tour and Tasting and Il Leccio Lunch

We spent the better part of a day touring Soldera in Santa Restituta Montalcino with Paola Banchi followed by three solid hours of insights and entertainment brought to us by Gianfranco Soldera on August 4, 2016. We even got a glimpse of Graziella Soldera in her white flower garden. After our tour (much of which could not be recorded due to new rules at the winery following the loss of five vintages), we had lunch with Gianfranco Soldera and Paola Banchi at Il Leccio Cafe just down the road from the winery. After generously serving a Casa Coste Piane Valdobbiadene Prosecco and a 2007 Gravner Ribolla Gialla, Gianfranco poured two bottles of 2009 Case Basse side-by-side.
My guests included Alexandra Keightley, Barbara Gordon, Tony Prioletti and Vince Lombardi.
Some random data: Gianfranco believes there are only a handful of truly talented winemakers on the planet in addition to himself, including Josko Gravner and Mauro Mascarello. He also thinks his olive oil can age six years while others can not, there is only one type of rice suitable for Risotto (Carnaroli -- the rest are terrible) and the only decent Bartolo Mascarello is the '55. In fact, because he is a control freak extraordinaire, not only did Gianfranco bring the wine to the restaurant, he also brought the rice and olive oil, and he reminded the staff not to overcook the Risotto.
1975 was his first vintage; he produces fewer than 25,000 bottles per year (including the Pegasus) with yields of about 1,500 bottles per hectare. The Pegasus is aged for three years while he ages the Case Basse for five years. He designed the Soldera wine bottles himself so as to be the perfect vessels for shipping and storing his wine: They weigh 750 grams and have a slightly inward curve on the inside of the neck to better hold his corks, which are more substantial than most and which he weighs to ensure proper density. He does not ship in wood because of risk of mold, and he believes that his wine should be stored standing up so that it does not come in contact with the cork. When I asked him why virtually every other producer, distributor and merchant on the planet recommends storing wine so that it has contact with the cork, he simply said, "The whole world is wrong."
As I mentioned, and as anyone who has had the privilege of meeting him will confirm, he is a control freak extraordinaire, going so far as to scold Alexandra, my married daughter, for cutting her chicken the wrong way (against 'the grain' as opposed to with 'the grain'). There is no doubt that his obsessive compulsive personality impacts everything around him, particularly his incomparable wines.
Closing note: According to Gianfranco Soldera, his 2014 will be an elegant wine full of floral notes when it is released in 2019, while his 2015 will be nothing short of spectacular. In fact, he believes his 2015 vintage will be legendary.