2019 Livio Sassetti Pertimali Brunello di Montalcino 750 ml

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 that few of their peers can match. It’s a resolutely traditional estate, and it possesses a unique clone of Brunello planted nowhere else, as the family has selected their most treasured vines of it for their vineyard.

That site is 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.” 

R obert Parker declared, “If I had only one Brunello to drink, it would be Pertimali.” And over the years, Pertimali’s complexity and intensity have enthralled Wine Access members to no end. One called it “honestly the best Brunello I have ever had.” Others hailed it as “awesome” and “absolutely stunning.” 

In 2019, a rainy spring teed up the vines for the summer, which turned out hot and dry, but without any vine-stressing heat spikes. Compared to recent years past—when temps topped 104 degrees—July was relatively mild, with some mid-month showers (and a few in August) providing some relief. A warm September put the grapes on a glide path to harvest, and by the time the call came to pick, vintners were dancing the Tarantella.

With 5/5 stars from Decanter, 98 points from Wine Spectator, and praise from every corner of the wine world, the 2019 vintage is being feted as a modern classic. Vinous hailed it as “the vintage we’ve all been waiting for.” In fact, Kerin O’Keefe, who wrote THE book on Brunello, said “I’ve never tasted so many drop-dead-gorgeous young Brunellos from a single vintage.”