#1: 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello Di Montalcino - 100 Points And Take-Off Ahead

2016 In Brunello di Montalcino: The Greatest Ever

The arms of the producers stretched upwards when they reflected on how great the wines of the 2016 vintage of Brunello di Montalcino were. The critics' enthusiasm was the same. It is therefore no wonder that the 2016 Brunello di Montalcino vintage is considered the greatest ever.

It is rated more brilliant than both the 2015 and 2010 vintages, both of which have also produced very good wine results. The 2016 vintage in Brunello di Montalcino is equivalent to the 2008 vintage in Champagne, and extremely high levels of wines with massive development potential offer interesting opportunities for the wine investor. Especially since the price does not yet reflect the quality.

Now you have the opportunity to invest in 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino, which, in addition to belonging to the most highly regarded Brunello vintage, can also brag about triple-digit points from James Suckling.

Livio Sassetti - Sangiovese In Ultimate Perfection

Brunello di Montalcino received its official designation of origin in 1967. But before that, Livio Sassetti had begun to produce very high-quality Sangiovese wines. Sassetti is one of the founders of the Brunello consortium, and it is for this very reason that they have faithfully put their faith in the potential of Sangiovese.

Livio Sassetti and his family have been producing Brunello di Montalcino for three generations on the Podere Pertimali estate, which Livio acquired in 1960. And today the family owns 16 hectares on and around the Montosoli hillside north of the town of Montalcino. This is one of the best areas for Sangiovese. Livio Sassetti's son Lorenzo and his wife Sabina cultivate these challenging and stunning vineyards with expert guidance from Livio - and Lorenzo succeeds in perfecting his father's vision and tradition.

Livio Sassetti creates great wines from a vineyard that is among the best in the region. However, there are two vintages that leave the others markedly behind.

100 points is a fantastic achievement, which in itself attracts massive attention and demand. However, it is even more interesting to look at the distribution of points in a slightly wider perspective.

#1 And € Favorable

Vinous is the expert when it comes to Italian wines. They have tasted and evaluated 323 Brunello di Montalcino wines from the 2016 vintage, none of which scored 100 points. Vinous is extremely critical. Out of these 323 rated wines, only 28 received between 97-99 points, which puts Livio Sassetti in the top 8.7 % of Vinous rated wines for the vintage.

And while 100 points in itself is perfect, it only becomes even more extraordinary when we consider the 2016-point distribution of the Brunello di Montalcino's James Suckling rated. He tasted and assessed 394 Brunello di Montalcino from the 2016 vintage, of which only five (!) received 100 points. This means that the 2016 Livio Sassetti is among the 1.3 % best rated by James Suckling in the vintage.

Add to this the fact that in 2020 James Suckling presented his top 100 wines of that year - here the 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino was ranked third. Likewise, Suckling gave it the #1 Italy Wine of 2020.

It is almost pointless to point it out again: But the 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino is the best in its ranks - and at the top of a quite legendary vintage in Brunello di Montalcino. Add to this that Biondi-Santi's Brunello di Montalcino, which may be the most sought-after Brunello, also received 97 points from Vinous for its 2016 vintage. By James Suckling it scored 96 points, and Wine Advocate awarded it 97+ points. However, it costs € 155 unlike Livio Sassetti's Brunello which costs only € 60.

Why Invest Now?

Two years ago, you had the opportunity to invest in 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino for the first and so far, only time through RareWine Invest. If you invested back then, you would have made a 9 % return today.

In two years, 9 % return is quite normal compared to the expected evolution curve. 2016 is still relatively new on the market, so it will often have a very flat curve in the first years of its life. Now it is approaching the launch pad. This 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello (still) offers an attractive investment opportunity. The € 60 price speaks directly to the narrative that Italian top wines are (still) priced extremely low compared to their French counterparts.

And while no one can predict the future, perhaps the past can give an indication of where 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino is heading. According to price trends on wine-searcher.com, the 2010 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino cost € 67 around the time of its release in 2015. Today, according to trends on wine-searcher.com, the price on 2010 Sassetti is € 125, which means it has grown 86.6 % since release.

The 2010 vintage is directly comparable to the 2016 vintage in terms of quality. However, the 2016 vintage also has the intrinsic bonus of a status as the best Brunello di Montalcino vintage ever - the equivalent of Champagne's 2008 vintage. The price right now is still extremely favorable, and if it develops as 2010 has, the investor wins.

'Affordable Luxury': The Future Of Italian Wine?

At RareWine Invest we have made a new analysis of the future of the best Italian wines from an investment perspective. Dive into the analysis here.

The analysis also highlights that in 2001, during the recession, Leonard Lauder (heir to cosmetics giant Estée Lauder) noticed that prices of luxury cosmetics were rising. This was directly linked to a corresponding fall in sales of very expensive luxury products. The index has since become a respected indicator that consumers tend to indulge in a little luxury - even in hard times^*. Consumers are looking for so-called 'affordable luxury'.

Great wines from Burgundy and Bourdeaux, for example, are described as luxury products, whereas Italian wines can be described as 'affordable luxury' without being downplayed. If the most expensive wines become unattainable, some buyers will look for cheaper alternatives.

100 points for €60 is affordable luxury - crisis time or not.

*https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-63047913

RareWine Invest's Opinion

100 points are always coveted, and this 2016 Livio Sassetti Brunello di Montalcino has not even entered its drinking window yet, according to Vinous. So now is the time to invest in this while the price curve is still flat. € 60 for perfect wine is extraordinarily low, and low pricing and high scores are the primary catalyst for investing in Italian wine in particular.

Exactly how many bottles were released in the 2016 vintage is unknown, but in the 2017 vintage 38,000 bottles were released, while in the 2014 vintage only 15,000 bottles were released. Regardless of where the 2016 vintage places itself in this field, the conclusion is that a cheap 100-point wine in these quantities will quickly disappear from the market.

And, as we know, the biggest price increases tend to come as volumes decline. This is your chance to add 100 points to your portfolio. If the price rises by 10 or 20%, few end users will notice. Invest now, before the launch pad is fully ready.