Our team

Richard Parsons : the owner
Richard is an eminent New Yorker who consolidated a life-long passion for wine in 2000 when he purchased the Palazzone property. In spite of his important professional commitments he finds time to be present at the estate in the significant moments of the “wine year.” He is here to harvest in person and also to decide the wood aging and blending for each vintage.

Paolo Vagaggini : the winemaker
Paolo is considered to be one of the world experts on Sangiovese and has been named as one of the top ten enologists in Italy. He was born in Siena in 1955 and has a thirty year career behind him. A consultant for estates in all of Italy, and also with close contacts in Bordeaux, he has chosen to focus on the production areas for Tuscany’s great red wines: Montalcino, Montepulciano and Chianti Classico. He actually works with a third of Montalcino’s wineries but still manages to be very close to us throughout the year.

Massimo Achilli : the agronomer
Massimo graduated in Scienze e Tecnologie Agrarie and is a qualified taster for regional olive oil panels. He has spent the last 20 years protecting and nourishing olive trees and vines. He has been projecting, creating and consulting for over a decade for Italy’s great red wines; Montalcino, Chianti Classico, Chianti Rufina, Umbria and Bolgheri. He visits Il Palazzone on Tuesdays.

Mandy Presser: US Sales

Mandy is a New Yorker who has spent the past eight years in the food and beverage industry. She graduated from Emory University and has spent time living in and exploring different parts of Italy. She followed her passion for wine by travelling around the world, visiting wineries everywhere from France to Argentina to Australia.  She is responsible for the distribution, sales and marketing of Il Palazzone in the US.

The Bakers : internet experts
Husband and wife team, Mike and Erica Baker, run Bakermedia in Connecticut. They designed the first version of the web site in 2005 and stayed onsite at Il Palazzone in 2007. Over the years they have become great friends of the estate. The new web site was developed together with the Bakers and their coding wizard Jake Clark. This is the fruit of a close long-distance collaboration.

Meet the Team

We are an international team and a tightly knit family. We eat and laugh together every day of the working week.

Marco Sassetti
Marco was born in S.Angelo in Colle, just minutes from Montalcino.  He is the general manager of the property and is responsible for the vineyard and olive grove management, the cellar construction and the logistics of the property. He created and ran a cult restaurant, La Fortezza del Brunello (6 tables and 600 wines….) and has years of tasting under his belt.

Laura Gray
Laura is a trained sommelier and has a degree in English Literature from the University of Oxford. She has lived in Montalcino since 1995 and has always worked with wine. She has been at Il Palazzone since 2003 and is the estate manager, responsible for sales, marketing, finances and administration. Marco and Laura married in 2000 and have three children. The family live on the property.

Gianni Petricci
Osso has fifteen years of experience working in Montalcino vineyards. He’s a local man and a great asset to the estate, thanks to his abilities as a mechanic and laconic good humour.

Jacopo Ferretti

A graduate of the Istituto Agrario in Siena, Jacopo has been working for estates in Montalcino and Tuscany since 2003. Cellar management is in his genes; his father is the cantiniere at Poggio Antico and he grew up amongst the vineyards there. We are thrilled to have him with us as we embark on the adventure of the new cellar.