Click image to enlarge

“This delivers an almost perfect balance between the primary and secondary characteristics of a mature, 10-year old red wine.”

(UPDATE 3/3/23: Today, I found a stash of the 2013 Copertino Riserva for $13.99 at Plum Market West Bloomfield. This is the best price I’ve found, for the better of the two vintages reviewed here. I brought three bottles home, but there is plenty more available for the intrepid wine buyer.)

The reds from Puglia, and particularly those from the Salento neighborhood, have intrigued me for decades, going back to the delicious Taurino Notarpanaro and Salice Salentino we enjoyed so much in the late ‘80s through the mid-90s. When I saw this one on the shelf at Western Market in Ferndale a few days ago, I grabbed one with barely a second look; I don’t think I even noted which vintage it was. We loved the 2008 vintage, and went through a bunch of it, so this is an automatic buy for me.

2013 Cantina Sociale Cooperativa Copertino Riserva, 13% alc., $14.99: Clean and dark in color, with a pleasant, if not effusive, bouquet of mahogany and a little aquarium. Much more expressive in the mouth, with mahogany, tobacco and saddle leather evolving and coming to the fore, as the red plum and cherry slowly recede with age. Sleek, balanced and drinking beautifully right now, this needs no air whatsoever when you pull the cork, so just pour glasses and enjoy. It has the structure to age for at least a few more years, but it’s so tasty now, it’s hard to keep hands off in the meantime.

This delivers an almost perfect balance between the primary and secondary characteristics of a mature, 10-year old red wine. As much as we enjoyed the 2008, I like this vintage even better. Predominantly Negroamaro with a small percentage of Malvasia Nera, fermented and aged in stainless steel. Find this wine
Imported by Banville Wine Merchants, North Bergen, NJ

I like this wine so much, I went back to Western Market in Ferndale the next day to get more, only to find the 2012 on the shelf instead. I started questioning whether I had misread the vintage of the bottle we had just enjoyed, but when I asked  whether the 2013 was available, there was none to be found. Knowing the ‘08 and ‘13 vintages, I reasoned that it wasn’t much of a leap to take a chance and buy some bottles of this one, so I did.

2012 Cantina Sociale Cooperativa Copertino Riserva, 13% alc., $14.99: Looks and smells much the same as the 2013, after some initial tarriness blows off, with good dark color and some mahogany and aquarium on the nose. Similar on the palate as well, with earthy red plum and dried cherry shaded with hints of mahogany and tobacco, but more tannic than the ‘13, and a little less generous and complex. Don’t get me wrong, this is a fine glass of wine, and well worth the money; I’m not at all unhappy with it. It just has a little bit less of everything when compared to the ‘13, except tannins, and I don’t think more time in the cellar will change that. Still, the unique character of the indigenous fruit and winemaking carry the day, and I wholeheartedly recommend it. Find this wine

I spoke with the head of Western’s beer and wine department a short time ago, and was assured that as the 2012 inventory dwindles, the distributor will be delivering more of the 2013, so I guess I’ll have to content myself with the earlier vintage for now.

Happily, that won’t be a problem at all.

“The Copertino Cooperative was established in 1935 when a group of visionary growers, from a tiny town in the heart of the Salento peninsula’s wine growing region, decided to produce higher quality wine from their traditional indigenous grapes. By maintaining lower yields in the vineyards and with meticulous attention to detail in the cellar, the resulting wines emphasized the terroir of the region and the DOC Copertino was ultimately established in 1976. Today the cooperative numbers 300 proud members who each manage their own harvest. The area under vine is made up of 300 hectares planted mostly to traditional varieties: Negroamaro, Malvasia Nera, and Primitivo. The DOC Copertino is located in Salento in the south of Puglia on a clay soil structure on top of hard limestone (tufa) that lies just above sea level. In the cellar, during vinification and aging, the goal is to emphasize the character of the region through distinctive wines of elegance and harmony.”

Reporting from Day-twah,
Bastardo

Home | Tasting Notes