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Piedmont Italy
The Coppo family vineyard is one of the jewels of the region. The great wines of the Piedmont region from Barolo, Barbaresco and the Barbera from Coppo are feted by wine lovers from New York to Tokyo. The Coppo family history intertwines with the development of the city of Canelli, which in the early nineteenth century had already established itself as the capital of Italy’s famous sweet sparkling wine - Moscato (Muscat). In the early 1980’s, the Coppo family embraced the cultivation of the Barbera, the other native grape of the region. Today the vineyard is run by the four brothers - Gianni, Roberto, Piero and Paulo, who split their efforts between the viticulture, the wine-making, the national market and the export market. I first met the Coppo brothers at Vinitaly in Verona in 1998. I fell in love with the maturity, the ripeness and the velvety palate of their Barbera and decided to import it to the French Market for the company for which I worked as a wine-buyer at that time. The quality of the wines impressed the difficult and nationalistic French palate and the wines made their entrance in famous Michelin starred restaurants’ wine lists, such as Alain Ducasse.
The 56 hectares of the vineyard are pruned by the Guyot method and the vines are planted in terraces at 250 metres altitude in chalky soil. Riccardo Cotarella, the famous Italian flying wine-maker, is the vineyard consultant and his personal touches include constant research into the optimum maturity of the fruit, combined with the well balanced aging in wood barrels. Today Wine Story is very proud to be the official UK importer of the Coppo wines who, like our French vineyards, are sensitive to the preservation of their environment. What I particularly like about the Barbera from Coppo, in addition to their quality, is their variety. For example, the Avvocata can be appreciated as an everyday light easy drinking-wine and the well-structured great cuvée Pomorosso can be kept for special occasions.
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Gavi “La Rocca” 2018 75 cl 100% Cortese, Monterotondo di Gavi area in chalky soils, 13% abv Soft pressing and fermentation in stainless steel tanks at controlled temperature, fresh and fruity with evident mineral notes. The ideal wine with spaghetti vongole or fried fishes. |
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Piemonte Chardonnay "Monteriolo" 2010 75 cl Colour: straw yellow with greenish reflections Nose: wild flowers, mango, citric fruits, the freshness of the sea spray Taste: savory and freshly balanced Pairings: oysters, roasted fowl, goat cheeses |
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Moscato d'Asti Canelli “Moncalvina” 2018 75 cl 100% Muscat di Canelli (Residual sugar - 135 g/l) Medium sweet frizzante wine with very low alcohol (5% abv). Traditional as dessert wine and at tea time with Italian biscotti such as Pasticcini but also ideal with Charentais melon and prosciutto. |
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Barbera d'Asti “L'Avvocata” 2018 75 cl 100% Barbera d'Asti. 14.5% abv. Medium light bodied and smooth palate with ripe red and black fruit scents. This wine is named after the vineyard owner, a lawyer. Strict, stern, and commanding, she has always been known as simply “the lawyer”. The young, vivacious wine is almost comically at odds with its serious namesake. |
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Pomorosso 2016 Nizza DOCG (Barbera D’Asti) 75 cl 100% Barbera d'Asti – 30hl/ha - 14 months in new French oak barrels. 14.5% abv. The Nizza Barbera is the new promoted DOCG sub-zone of Barbera d’Asti in 2014 for villages around Nizza Monferrato. The Pomorosso is the symbol of the Coppo winery. It’s a warm, vigorous and structured Barbera, of rare elegance and expressiveness. Typical hints of fruit and spices are combined with nuances of earth and toasted nuances due to aging of 14 months in barrel. The taste is full, intense, persistent, soft and generous. |
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Barbera d'Asti “Pomorosso” 2009/2011 75 cl GAMBERO ROSSO - 3 Bicchieri 100% Barbera d'Asti – 30hl/ha - 14 months in new French oak barrels The color is dark deep and dense red with flashes of purple. On the nose is powerful: cherries and finally mushrooms, very intense and evolving. Cherry jam, sweet plums, then the meaty flavour comes, like raw ham and finally a hint of dark chocolate. This wine is exceptional, has an incredible persistence, the tannis are round and integrate perfectly with the overall bouquet, giving a silky feeling to the palate. Can age, but right now is gorgeous. |
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Barolo 2015 75 cl 100% Nebbiolo on chalky and clay soils. Aging: 30 months in large French oak casks and 6/12 months in the bottle. 14% abv. Because of its historical significance, Coppo is among the few wineries allowed to vinify Nebbiolo to become Barolo outside of the wine’s strict production zone. Only few thousand bottles produced per year. |