SommSelect Editorial Director David Lynch weighs in on just how “big” Brunello di Montalcino is meant to be.
One of the things I appreciate about Livio Sassetti’s Brunello di Montalcino is that it continues to hew to the “classical” proportions of the Sangiovese grape—or, at least, what I consider those proportions to be: namely, bright, high-acid, and medium-bodied. Sangiovese isn’t naturally inky, or heavy, but if you plant it someplace warm enough (and/or blend it with Cabernet or Merlot on the sly), it can get there. I still remember a tasting I attended in Montalcino many years ago, seated next to an accomplished winemaker of the region, at which I sampled more than 60 Brunello wines from the 2003 vintage. Yes, ‘03 was a heatwave year, with many overripe, chunky wines, but still: Considering that these were (ostensibly) 100% Sangiovese wines from the same small appellation in Tuscany, the style spectrum seemed impossibly broad to me. Even in a warmer climate like Montalcino, it’s been proved time and again that Sangiovese is at its best when it expresses its perfumed aromatics and its lively energy. So many Brunellos I taste these days come across syrupy, even ‘cooked,’ which is one of the reasons I appreciate Livio Sassetti: Whenever I put my nose in a glass of Sassetti Brunello, I get classic Sangiovese through and through. This 2011 is not only a great buy, it’s a wine that is true to its variety and its place in a way many are not. It is woodsy, smoky, and tangy, driven by acidity that gives it focused power. It enlivens the palate as opposed to coating/blunting it with excess oak and extract. This is evocative, real Brunello that deserves a place in your cellar.
No wine region in Italy has seen the kind of growth in recognition/prestige/price that Montalcino has. In the late-1960s, when the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG was first being codified, there were but a handful of established commercial producers. Now there are well over 200, working in the same relatively small, confined area—overall there are about 3,500 hectares of vines in Montalcino, with about 2,100 designated for the production of Brunello di Montalcino. Land values here are some of the highest in the wine world, and of course wine prices have generally followed suit.
Livio Sassetti was one of the founding members of the Brunello di Montalcino producers’ consortium, which was created back in 1967—the same year Italy’s DOC(G) system was written into law. His property is one of two which bear the name ‘Sassetti’ (the other is Angelo Sassetti) on the “north slope” of the Montalcino hill. The two Sassettis own pieces of the farm historically known as “Podere Pertimali,” which occupies part of Montalcino’s famed “Montosoli” vineyard. Although Montalcino isn’t known for having much of the vineyard-designate culture that defines Barolo, or Burgundy, Montosoli’s cru status was given voice by the Altesino winery, which has bottled a vineyard-designate wine from the site since the late seventies. Montosoli is a rounded outcropping with 360-degree exposures, and Livio Sassetti’s parcel faces southeast.
A lot has been written about how “north slope” Brunellos differ from their counterparts grown on the south-facing slopes of the appellation—the village of Montalcino itself is like the cherry on top of a sundae, a classic fortified village with vineyards spilling down on all sides. When you pass through Montalcino proper and head down the “back side” of the hill towards Grosseto to the south, you’ve effectively crossed over into “Mediterranean” Tuscany—something that becomes immediately evident as the landscape completely opens up and flattens. Vineyards on the south slope tend to be harvested earlier than those on the north face, and are said to produce richer wines as a result. But the conventional wisdom isn’t always evident in the glass—with Sassetti, it is. This 2011 was aged for 36 months in large, used oak botti (the traditional vessel in these parts, more recently replaced by some with newer, smaller barriques) and then spent another 6 months in bottle before release.
This is bright, balanced, spicy Sangiovese with plenty of savor to complement its deep black cherry fruit. In the glass it is a deep crimson moving to slight orange reflections at the rim (Sangiovese, like Nebbiolo, isn’t supposed to be inky). By Brunello di Montalcino standards, this is a ‘young’ wine, but you’ll notice some mature notes beginning to add complexity to the nose and palate: dried red and black cherry, plum, and black raspberry mix with more savory notes of leather, tobacco, fennel seed, orange peel, and forest floor. The tannins still have grip but it’s the acid that lifts this wine up and gives it energy and focus all the way through the cedary, woodsy finish. I would characterize 2011 as a ‘younger-drinking’ vintage, and found this wine quite accessible after an hour in a decanter. Poured in large Bordeaux stems with lots of room for swirling, it is a heady, room-filling glass of wine that just gets better and better. It should continue to drink beautifully for years to come, likely peaking around its tenth birthday. The go-to food companion here is a Tuscan-style steak, well-charred on the grill and cooked as rare as you can handle (sorry, Trump). Attached is a serious deep dive on the art of steak grilling by the professorial Kenji López-Alt of The Food Lab. Master some of his techniques and you’ll do proper justice to this textbook Tuscan classic.
