By Neil Duarte

A friend in Italy recently sent us a range of red wines produced by Azienda Agricola Innocenti, located near the hill fort town of Montalcino in Tuscany. If you are even vaguely familiar with Italian wines, the name Montalcino brings to mind one of the most famous Italian wines, Brunello di Montalcino. Luckily for us, Innocenti produces only red wines, and their Brunello is their flagship wine. 

The family Innocenti purchased Azienda Agricola Innocenti in 1961 and has been producing their red wines on 7 hectares since then. Today, Innocenti is run by brothers Gianni and Massimo Innocenti. Situated on a southwest facing hill at an altitude of 350 meters ASL, the winery produces Rosso di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino, Brunello di Montalcino Reserva and Vignalsole. The latter is a blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot grapes where all of the others are 100% Sangiovese.

As I prefer, we chose to taste these wines with normal meals on separate days. We began with a 2021 Toscana IGT Rosso Vignalsole, a 14.5% alcohol blend of Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot (I could not find the percentages). This Viganlsole had an alcoholic fermentation with maceration for 8-10 days with frequent pumping over at controlled temperature of 29-30°C. Aging was in 225 liter French oak barrels for 12 months followed by an additional 12 months in the bottle. The result was a wine ruby in color with a light fruit nose. My wife served it with New York cut beefsteaks accompanied by fresh cut French fries and broccoli au gratin. The Vignalsole finished medium long and very smooth. I liked this really nice wine and rated it a 92.

The second wine we tasted was a 2022 Rosso di Montalcino DOC, a 100% Sangiovese, 13.5% alcohol wine. The Rosso di Montalcino had the same fermentation as the Vignalsole. It was aged for 6 months in 30 Hl Slavonian oak barrels and had an additional aging of 6 months in the bottle. The Rosso di Montalcino was ruby in color with a complex nose. My wife served it with pork tenderloin stuffed with Italian cheese and herbs accompanied by spaghetti in a cream and tomato sauce and a green salad. The wine finished medium long and very smooth. I rated it a 91/92. 

Our final wine was a 2019 Brunello di Montalcino DOCG, another 100% Sangiovese offering that was 15% alcohol content. The Brunello had an alcoholic fermentation with long maceration and frequent pumping over at controlled temperature no higher than 29-30°C. Malolactic fermentation concluded after racking. The wine was aged for 24 months in 30 Hl Slavonian barrels followed by 12 additional months in the bottle. The Brunello was ruby in color with a very complex nose. My wife served it with T-bone steaks accompanied by oven roasted potatoes and fresh maque choux (a Louisiana dish with fresh corn, green peppers and onions). This wine finished long and very smooth and I rated it a 93. This was an elegant but not overpowering Brunello which I liked very much.

The Innocenti family should be very proud of their wines, which I recommend highly.