Azienda Agricola Pertimali Sassetti Livio Pertimali Sassetti Livio Brunello di Montalcino Riserva 2012 750ml

Firm and dense, this red sports cherry, leather, cigar box and sweet spice flavors. A juiciness midpalate adds depth. Finishes with tannins and a combination of earth, mineral and tobacco notes. Best from 2022 through 2038. 1,000 cases made, 400 cases imported. (Bruce Sanderson)

An extremely dense and complex red with dried berry, cherry, floral and spice. Full body, powerful with a wealth of fruit and chewy tannins. This really is intense and beautiful. Goes on for minutes. Big wine. Drink in 2021.

Blood and iron mark the aromas of this powerful red, with ripe flavors of plum, black cherry and fruitcake. Very long, fresh and balanced, with the dense, dusty tannins softening and integrating with a few hours aeration. Best from 2025 through 2047. 1,250 cases made, 325 cases imported.

The 2015 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva struts its old-school stylings with a beguiling display of musky cherry and strawberry offset by damp earth tones, hints of cedar and mint. It’s unbelievably soft and silky in texture, ushering in ripe red berry fruits laced in saline-minerals and savory spice, with building inner florals toward the close. Formidable structure awaits on the finish, yet the 2015 Riserva manages to maintain freshness, coming across as both structured for the long haul but also with enough primary appeal to warrant checking in on today. It’s gorgeous. Tasted over the course of two days with consistent results.

Showing a dark color and appearance, the 2012 Brunello di Montalcino Riserva is a beautiful wine. The 2012 vintages deliver some great surprises, like the ones you get here. The wine is dark and powerful with full throttle aromas of black cherry and blackberry. Spice, leather and balsam herb appear at the back. It sports firm tannins and a robust structure that will carry it forward over its aging years.

Tobacco, baked plum, dark spice and new leather aromas mingle with a truffle note on this earthy savory red. The aromas follow over to the taut medium-bodied palate along with fleshy black cherry and star anise. Chewy tannins provide the framework. Drink 2019–2027. (Kerin O’Keefe)

Bright red. Spicy red berries, camphor, black pepper and balsamic oils on the enticing nose. Clean, fresh and very flinty, offering red and black fruit flavors that are nicely supported by youthfully chewy rising tannins. The finish is long, clean, fresh and nervous, but this Brunello’s oaky backbone currently overwhelms its fruit. Which one of the two contestants (oak vs. fruit) will win the battle? I am not sure I have the answer. Pertimali only makes the Brunello Riserva when they are convinced the wine might become exceptional (the 1999, 2006, 2007, and 2010 were the most recent vintages of the Riserva prior to this one) and is made with a super-selection of grapes picked directly in the vineyard to make the Riserva (the grapes tend to be harvested as late as possible but without risking overripeness). The wine is aged in large oak barrels for at least four or four-and-a-half years, then lies another year or 18 months in bottle.