The 2006 100% Sangiovese is a bright and tonic wine that is heavily marked by aromas of bruised apple and pungent overtones that leave little room for the forest berry, cola and licorice that lurk in the distant background. The wine opens to a deep, dark color embedded with bright highlights of ruby and garnet. Its long finish feels silky and polished with a finely-tuned point of acidity that adds to the liveliness of the palate. There is the possibility that the mouthfeel will flesh out further with bottle aging, but I don’t see the volatility lifting. Drink: 2015-2025.

I have a low threshold for volatility and for this reason my relationship with Gianfranco Soldera’s wines has experienced dramatic peaks and lows over the years. A little volatile acidity in a wine “puo dare spalla,” as the Italians would say (“gives shoulders to”) the aromatic intensity of a wine. When presented in measured amounts it serves to give vertical lift or an exciting sense of buoyancy to the bouquet. But when delivered in too large a dose, it only masks the purity and integrity of the fruit. I found the latter to be true of this wine. Soldera bottled a 2006 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (previously released) and the remaining stock (following the tragic loss of much of his 2007 to 2012 vintages due to an act of vandalism) was reclassified as IGT Toscana. Oddly, Soldera writes “100% Sangiovese” in large letters across the front label. It is my understanding that IGT wines cannot list percentages. It could, however, be called Sangiovese Toscana without the percentage. For this reason and to avoid confusion, I have made “100% Sangiovese” the so-called fantasy name of the wine. I met briefly with Soldera, who told me he will no longer be bottling Brunello di Montalcino. What would have become 2007 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (only 2,000 bottles exist) and 2008 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva (counting 10,000 bottles) will both be IGTs released in tandem in September 2014. The numbers are too small to do otherwise. I hope he changes his mind and goes back to using the appellation name in the future. There is no greater paradox than to see the man who fought so vehemently and succeeded to protect the integrity of Brunello di Montalcino as 100% Sangiovese switch to an IGT labeling that has no such guarantee. The fact that he sloppily applied “100% Sangiovese” so prominently on his label must be his symbolic last word on the subject. No one would have ever doubted him.

by Monica Larner, WA