This is a pre-arrival offering that is expected fall 2026. Please order these Innocenti wines separately from the wines of other producers. The minimum order is 3 bottles - mix or match.
Our tasting impressions
Bottled just weeks before we tasted and already apparent that this is a great vintage of Vittorio's favorite wine. Acerone is one for laying down, and the 2018 is not exception given its significant tannic structure. But, we wouldn't blame you if drank it young. The fruit is vivid and pure and the overall impression of this wine is freshness. Already, it's astoundingly complex.
Let your trophy-hunting friends chase labels. With this in your cellar, you will know that you have one of the great Tuscan treasures that few people even know about. Lucky you!
About this wine
IGT stands for Indicazione Geografica Tipica. Technically, it is the humblest designation for Italian wines. In Tuscany, IGT was in the spotlight when producers, who were railing against the constraints of the DOC system, introduced Super Tuscans.
Named for an eastern-facing single vineyard in Montefollonico, this Rosso Toscano is made only in the best vintages and uses Innocenti's best hand-harvested Sangiovese grapes from a single vineyard (named Acerone) planted in the 1940's directly behind the farmhouse in which Vittorio grew up. The elevation is about 350 meters and the soil is clay. It is the only wine they make entirely from Sangiovese and only in the best vintages.
The grapes are de-stemmed (Innocenti considers Sangiovese tannins too green to do whole cluster) and gently crushed. Fermentation is with natural yeasts and maceration on the skins lasts 15 days. They perform délestage (draining the wine off the must and then gently pumping it back over. The caps are punched down.
Aged in old oak barrels for 5 years. It is bottled with a wide-grain filter and left to rest in the cellar a few more years prior to release. It is Vittorio's favorite among his wines.
About the grape
Sangiovese is the most planted grape in Italy and is the dominant grape throughout the central part of the country. There are many variants and even different names like Prugnolo Gentile, Brunello, Sangioveto and Morellino.
The grapes are dark and thick-skinned, slow-ripening, acidic and tannic. Like Pinot Noir, Sangiovese is heavily influenced by its terroir and similarly can be quite transparent in its differences from place to place.
Traditionally, Sangiovese-based wines (except in Montalcino) have other grapes mixed in, but in recent history there have been many successful wines produced from 100% Sangiovese. So, today, they are quite common.
Innocenti's vintage report
2018 was a season of balance from start to finish. A wet winter and spring replenished the soil after the previous year's drought, and mild conditions through spring kept the vines growing steadily. Then came a warm, dry summer, tempered by cool September nights, exactly the kind of slow, even ripening we look for. Nothing in the vineyard was left to chance: every bunch was picked by hand, and only fruit that was fully healthy and perfectly ripe made it into the cellar. The result is a vintage of real finesse, fresh red fruit, floral lift, bright acidity holding it all together, and tannins that feel almost silky.
Vittorio Innocenti, a former philosophy teacher, started producing wine from his family's vineyards with the 1978 vintage from his 13th century cellar in Montefollonico. There are 32 hectares of vines in Montepulciano and Montefollonico but only 12 are planted with vineyards of up to 80 years old. The vista views from the back patio are incredible.
Today, Vittorio's son Tommaso and his partner Vincenza (aka Nancy) handle most of the work. But Vittorio is the keeper of the intellectual capital for all seven wines - in particular both versions of Vin Santo. In total, they produce about 35,000 bottles annually.
The Innocentis are a gracious, wonderful family. The Guru has known them longer than any other wine producer. He admires their intense commitment to producing the highest quality wines - taking as much pride in their most modest offering as they do in their top bottling.
VDLT is the only North American source for these extraordinary wines that are released much later than most top estates in the appellation. The Vino Nobile, Riserva and Acerone are capable of long and magnificent aging. In the photo to the right, we enjoyed a 1985, 1988 and 1993 at a recent lunch. Their freshness and vibrancy belied their age.
