2018 Vigne Marina Coppi "Marine" Favorita, Colli Tortonesi DOC, Piedmont, Italy
ABOUT THIS WINE
100% Favorita (Vermentino); alcohol: 13.5%; soils: calcareous and agrillous; vineyards vines planted in 1947, 2003; named for Francesco Bellocchio’s mother and daughter; harvested slightly overripe; whole cluster pressed; no malolactic fermentation; aged in stainless steel tanks on lees for 6 months; aged in bottle at least 3 months before release. This wine is dedicated to the two Marinas in the family: Marina Coppi, mother of Francesco, and her grandaughter (Francesco’s daughter), Marina Bellocchio, who was born on the eve of the first harvest.
ABOUT THIS PRODUCER
With such a small vineyard, Francesco and Anna are able to have total control of the land and the wine-making process. They do it all themselves. They produce a mere 2,083 cases per year and they want each wine to be the top of its class.
From 2005 to 2009, Francesco and Anna developed their line of wines, reds from their vineyards and two white wines from vineyards nearby. From their vineyard comes three Barberi – Sant’Andrea, a bright, fragrant, young wine, Castellania, a classic styled wine of the region named after the town, and I GROP, a barrel aged wine of more depth and longevity. From vineyards nearby come the whites of Marine, made from Favorita, known as Vermentino elsewhere, and Fausto, a beguiling Timorasso.
The soils here are known as “Marne di Sant’Agata.” On this site it is a mixture of 55% blueish clay, 30% sand and 15% limestone. Grapes here benefit from a continental climate with marked temperature differences throughout the season, the lowest rainfall in Piedmont, and cooling sea breezes. The vineyards are situated mid-slope in a sheltered position, which is protected from the cold northerly winds, making this an ideal micro-climate.
The vineyards were planted with Barbera, Nebbiolo, Crotina, Timorasso and Favorita. Vines were planted 2,000 vines per acre with the soil type and exposure in mind, and trained using the Guyot method. Selected grasses grow between the vines for nutrients. Only natural products are used to fight disease and neither weed-killers nor chemical fertilizers are employed. Hand harvesting of only the optimal grapes insures that what enters the winery is the very best.