2001 Pertimali (Sassetti Livio ) Rosso di Montalcino

Pertimali has been owned by the Sassetti family for more than a century. The 40-acre estate is in one of the prime locations of the Montalcino appellation. Since 1999 the family has also owned vineyards in the Maremma, in southwestern Tuscany. From the Montalcino vineyards the estate makes Brunello di Montalcino and Rosso di Montalcino. From the Maremma vineyards it makes Sangiovese blends. Robert M. Parker Jr. has written that “if I only had one Brunello to drink, it would be Pertimali.”

Rosso di Montalcino is a DOC than encompasses the exact same area as the Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, the difference being that Rosso de Montalcinos require only one year of aging. Located in south central Tuscany below Chianti, the wines of Montalcino, both the DOC and the DOCG, are made of a Sangiovese clone called “brunello,” which means “little dark one,” a reference to the brown tones in the skin of the grape. Unlike some Tuscan appellations that allow other grapes to be blended with Sangiovese, appellation status Montalcinos are entirely Sangiovese. Montalcino itself is a picturesque, hill-top town not especially well known for wine production until the mid-19th century, when a local vineyard owner isolated the brunello clone and planted it. Other growers followed suit. Nevertheless it wasn’t until 1970s that wine enthusiasts started paying attention to Brunello di Montalcino, which by then was becoming an outstanding wine. Today there are 120 estates in the DOCG, up from about 25 estates in 1975.

This red grape is largely grown in central Italy. As the sole component or in a blend, it gives us Chianti, Brunello di Montalcino, Vino Nobile di Montepulciano, Morellino and Super Tuscans, among other favorites wines. The name is derived from the Latin for “blood of Jove.”