2016 Brunello di Montalcino Sassetti Livio Pertimali

Blackberries, black walnuts and black cherries, as well as loads of chewy tannins. Some smoked wood, wood tannins and even black truffles. It’s full-bodied and powerful with loads going on. It just keeps growing on the palate. So much wet earth and black olive at the finish with porcini mushrooms, too. Needs time to soften. Crazy finish. Try after 2025.

If checking in early, make sure to give the towering 2016 Brunello di Montalcino from Pertimali plenty of time to stretch its legs. It’s incredibly shy and backward upon first pulling the cork, coming to life nearly an hour later and never taking a step back from there on out. A beguiling display of spiced orange peels, sour cherry and mint pull you closer to the glass, where notes of cardamom, cinnamon, clove and sage reside. It’s dangerously soft and supple at first sip with fleshy red fruits and sweet spices blanketing the palate; yet beneath this soothing mix, a complex web of minerals and fine tannin slowly saturate. That said, there’s a lively bolt of acidity which maintains freshness in spite of the 2016’s heroic structure. Inner florals resonate along with a hint of white pepper, as it tapers off with classic austerity. This is a gorgeous vintage for Pertimali.

Red berry, violet and menthol aromas fill the glass alongside a whiff of underbrush in this full-bodied red. The tightly wound palate offers Marasca cherry, licorice, tobacco and a hint of game set against a backbone of assertive, fine-grained tannins. Flashes of bright acidity keep it balanced. Drink 2024–2036

From vines in the historic Montosoli area, in the north, the 2016 exhibits some rusticity with saddle leather, cherry pit, licorice and celery seed. There is concentration on the midpalate with drying tannins, and notes of amaro, and dried orange peel. Classic and savory, the 2016 has a long finish. Drink 2024-2034.

Muddled plum and cherry flavors are enhanced by leather, black tea and iron notes in this sleek yet beefy red. Chewy tannins line the finish, yet this remains lively and finds a nice equilibrium in the end. Best from 2024 through 2047.