With a Tuscan-centric wine list in our old restaurant and a wine store traditionally loaded with Brunello di Montalcino and the like, you could say a lot of Sangiovese Grosso has flowed under the bridge here at PRIMA over our 48 years in the biz. Over the decades, though, there have been only a handful of Brunello producers whose wines we’d call true significant mainstays, producers whose wines we look forward to every year regardless of the quality of the harvest, the scandal du jour in Montalcino or what the press has to say. 

One of those is, of course, Livio Sassetti. We got our start with Livio Sassetti’s Brunellos back around 1990 or 1991 when they first appeared on the West Coast in the Marc de Grazia portfolio. I remember unpacking the amazing, ageless 1990 vintage 5-star Brunello during my first or second week at PRIMA in the spring of 1994 and having to allocate our meager few cases to a lot of very thirsty people! 

Not much has changed at Sassetti over the past thirty years- Livio has retired and his two sons now do most of the work, and there was an important renovation of the cellars not too long ago, but that’s about it. The Livio Sassetti-Pertimali Brunello di Montalcino is still one of the purest reflections of its northern Montalcino Montosoli Hill terroir and the old-fashioned but nonetheless inspired ministrations of the Sassettis themselves. 

Sandwiched between the outrageous and perfectly scored 2016 and the arch, tannic, age-worthy 2021s that will appear next year, the 2019 is, perhaps, the perfect amalgam of those two harvests. It was a warm but perfectly ripened vintage that made wines with a lovely, open-knit, easy-to-love personalities that are only now starting to round into form. They have a unique inner energy that quite distinguishes them. The best have fallen behind the 2018s in terms of near-term accessibility but still show their stuff when properly aired and will be great drinks rather sooner than later but with all the staying power of the very best vintages. 

A Sassetti Brunello is always aromatically complex, and the 2019 shows the slower ripening side of northern Montalcino. Its flavors are nicely developed with sweet plum, black cherry, hoisin, skinned hazelnut and warm camphor on the nose and a generous but always elegant palate that effortlessly straddles richness and polish. Here is Montosoli’s beauty in fine, fine display. Ready to go now, it will also improve for many years to come. Thanks to some recent importer roulette, it’s a particularly great price too! 

Wine Spectator: Ripe, sweet cherry and strawberry flavors are offset with savory elements of mushroom, woodsy underbrush and leather. This intense red is well integrated and supple in texture, with a terrific, succulent aftertaste. Drink now through 2040. 95 points

James Suckling: Expressive, crunchy dark fruit, such as black cherry and blue plum, as well as violets and peppery undertones. Medium-bodied, creamy palate with a wonderful backbone of acidity. Subtly toasty finish. Complex, yet well rounded and balanced. Better after 2027. 95 points

Vinous: The 2019 Brunello di Montalcino is a spice box of a wine, opening with a burst of camphor and dried flowers, giving way to crushed blackberries, sage and cloves. This is surprisingly energetic and racy in style. Vibrant acidity propels depths of dark red fruits and inner floral as salty minerals saturate. The 2019 finishes structured and long yet still lively, leaving violet inner florals and hints of currant to taper off slowly. The combination of power, depth and energy makes this impossible to ignore. 95 points