2016 Livio Sassetti Pertimali Brunello di Montalcino 750 ml

There are some wines that are so good—and so widely praised—we don’t have to add much to the conversation.

Livio Sasseti’s 100-point 2016 Pertimali Brunello is one of them.

James Suckling’s #1 Italian wine of 2020—and #3 on his overall Top 100—is made in a resolutely traditional style which, coupled with a purity of fruit and silky elegance, will leave even the most discerning palates enraptured.

Years ago, Robert Parker declared, “If I had only one Brunello to drink, it would be Pertimali,” and the estate has turned out stunning, old-school Brunellos with unbelievable consistency ever since.

In the nearly perfect, can’t-miss 2016 vintage, Sasseti produced what Vinous declared “the best young wine I can remember ever tasting from this estate”—an absolute icon of a Brunello that belongs in the cellar of anyone who loves powerful red wine. It’s remarkable now, but destined to become a legend over the next few decades.

The Sassetti family has farmed some of Montalcino’s finest vineyards for more than a century, a longevity that’s given them an intimacy with the land few of their peers can match. This wine was grown on the hill of Montosoli, which Forbes called Montalcino’s “Grand Cru,” and it shows why Vinous said Sassetti’s wines are “some of the sleekest and purest of Montalcino.” 

Over the years, Pertimali’s complexity and intensity have enthralled Wine Access members to no end. One called a past vintage “honestly the best Brunello I have ever had.” Others hailed it as “awesome” and “absolutely stunning.” Yet none of those raves were for a bottle as viscerally thrilling as the 2016: Stock up accordingly.