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Sunday, April 25, 2021

What a difference the years make: Marina Coppi 2011 and 2015 Fausto Timorassi

The latest wine I that I have tasted in my Timorasso exploration is the Fausto from Vigne Marina Coppi. The winery is shown in the map below as being located in the town of Castellania. Climate in this area is continental, with significant diurnal temperature variation (positive for acidity retention) and very low precipitation.


The vineyards are located in a natural amphitheater halfway up the hillside, protecting the vines from the harsh north winds. The soils underlying the vineyards are lime-rich sedimentary marls with strata of grey-blue Sant'Agata marls that are 30% sand, 50% clay, and 15% lime.

Fruit for this particular wine are drawn from the Gabetto and Montagnina vineyards. These vineyards are trained Guyot at 5000 vines/ha density. The estate is farmed organically and follows integrated pest management principles.

As regards winemaking, the grapes are soft-pressed and then partially cold-strained off the must. After alcoholic fermentation the wine is transferred to steel tanks for 10 months of maturation inclusive of manual battonage. The wine is aged in-cellar for an additional 6 months after bottling.

I tasted both the 2011 and 2015 versions of this wine. 



The 2011 was an exceedingly complex wine, showing different facets based on temperature and residence in the glass. I poured a little into the glass before the wine got to optimal drinking temperature and was assailed with notes of turpentine, pine, sweet white fruit, and minerality, all coming at me in waves. On the palate, salinity, hint of rubber, a piney-mentholated character, and a late-arriving hot-pepper/blackpepper finish. A weighty wine.

After further chilling, sweet pine, honey dew melon, and white flowers on the nose. A palate-coating character which yields to a mineral blackpepper finish. Lime skin acidity, with acidity intensifying with residence in glass. I paired the wine with a hard cheese and it was a good coupling.

Overall, a sweet floral nose wrapped in a herb overcoat. With passage of time, a metallic, cupric note appears on the palate. Settles in as a weighty Carricante. Closest wine that I have had to this character is an aged Benanti Pietra Marina.

The 2015 was not as captivating, or as complex, as the 2011, confirming the oft-made assertion that time is Timorasso's best friend. 


Pale gold color.  Honeysuckle, sage, mint, shoe polish, fig, and talcum powder on the nose. The plethora of aromas do not transit to the palate indicating that they are currently masked by either the bright acidity or minerality in the wine. Round mouthfeel, but lacking in volume, with acidity and pepper spice dominant initially. Dried stones, iron and tree bark.

Tasted on the following day; no eye openers here. The future may be brighter for this wine though as, according to Wine Spectator, "This wine is just beginning to put on some of the extra volume and texture it gains with age; however, it still shows bright primary fruit and a crisp, tonic personality."

Growing season notes for the 2011 showed early bud break, rain through the heart of the season, and acidty preservation due to low temperatures in July and the beginning of August. According to the winery's notes on that season, "The vintage has produced fresh and aromatic wines of good complexity." No such notes are available from the winery for the 2015 vintage.


©Wine -- Mise en abyme

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