The parents and grandparents of Andrea and Marcello Mantengoli had been growers in Montalcino since 1933, but they never gave a second thought to becoming producers of Brunello. How could they? In their world, only aristocrats like the Biondi-Santis, Costantis, Barbis and the Franceschis at Il Poggione were worthy of making Brunello. Those notions vanished in the 1970s and 1980s when dozens of new Brunello estates were created, many by farmers like the Mantengolis.

By the time their sons Andrea and Marcello joined them in 1988, anything was possible. As the years passed, their one hectare of vines became nine, and gradually their "La Serena" Brunello became known outside Southern Tuscany.
 
Paolo Caciorgna is the consulting oenologist of La Serena and is emerging as one of Italy's leading winemakers. A native of the picturesque Tuscan town San Gimignano, his mission is to find the best vineyards and then create wines that express their full potential. After studying viticulture and enology in Siena, Paolo has emerged on the Italian scene as a winemaking luminary, consulting for over 25 top Italian wineries and winning numerous accolades for wines such as Cesani's Luenzo Sangiovese and 'Le Fonti' Chianti Clasico Riserva.

 Above all Paolo Caciorgna and Andrea Mantengoli who, like their wine, never stand still, always push for higher quality level with meticulous attention to detail and continue to reach for a purer expression of the noble grape of Montalcino.