Brunello di Montalcino Riserva

Stunning. Blind, I'd have guessed Barbaresco from the '80s - that kind of transparency, that kind of lift. But no, this is Soldera, and it's simply an extraordinary wine. Impossibly complex and delicious. The fruit is breathtaking - luminous, vivid, as if twenty-six years hadn't passed. Great concentration - pure bliss. Springy, with sunflower seed husks - or rather their shells - adding a dry, savoury counterpoint. Multilayered, tender, perfectly balanced, and so juicy. Case Basse at its most casually transcendent.