Marco Tinessa

Campania region was the land of milk and honey even before the ancient Greeks. The Romans named the region Campania Felix, or Happy Campania. Nature has always been plentiful.

Aglianico is one of the great red grapes of Italy. It is lesser known than other important grape varieties, being far south from the center of Europe, and with growing areas and cellars in seismic zones, which contributes to the destruction of bottle collections on a regular basis.

Aglianico has strong grape character, with a monumental tannic structure and high acidity, requiring more time than most red wines to reach the height of its expression. When confronted with overwhelming character, it is a natural human reaction to be taken aback and to try to tame this force for nature. Such attempts produce less than excellent wines, rounding off edges and unifying. As a result, Aglianico is not well represented. This is a great shame which we wish to help remedy.

Great wine requires great terroir. Aglianico probably reaches its peak in Campania with the subzone of Taurasi with its vineyard slopes along the Calore river as its pinnacle.

Marco Tinessa has been planning his second life as a full-time vigneron for close to two decades. This has given him time to study and experiment in different areas.

In Taurasi, Marco is fortunate to have vineyards in Castelfranci and Montemarano.

Next to Marco’s birth town, Montesarchio, lies the Taburno mountain. Its awe-inspiring southern face is the shared cultural symbol for its inhabitants. And as Messner conquered the Alps, so Marco took on the steep southern slopes, clearing, terracing and planting his vineyards.

Marco’s first bottling of Ognostro was 2007. Three years ago, he finally gave up his banking job in Milan and transitioned to full-time agriculturalist. As of 2020, he is vinifying in Campania. 2021 was the first vintage from his very own cellar.

Throughout the years, Marco has been mentored by several greats, such as Frank Cornelissen, with whom he vinified Ognostro on Etna until 2017, and with Mario Fontana of Cascina Fontana in Barolo. Marco has been honing his palate with great and emotional wines from around the world, which has contributed to his personal interpretation of his own wines.

I consider Marco one of the most important wine producers in Campania, and I look forward to following his meteoric rise in the coming years.