Marino, originally from Bergamo, settled in Tuscany in the higher altitudes in Montalcino in a farm called Podere Sante Maria. The plan wasn’t necessarily to make wine, but almost a year after moving Marino was on a walk and discovered an abandoned vineyard of Sangiovese. An inspector came out to check and sure enough, it was a vineyard made for Brunello. After several years of replanting and reviving the vines, the first vintage was in 2000. Marino is skillfully crafting some of the most powerful and elegant Sangiovese. When first opened the wines present with a big tannin, but after one hour, the wine transforms into pure aromatic bliss.