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MAGMA
The “Grand Vin” from our Barbabecchi vineyard at 910m. asl. Planted around 1910 and North-North East exposed, capturing the first and cool morning sun rays. This pure Nerello Mascalese from ungrafted old vines makes a profound wine, rich as well as elegant, with character, personality and great finesse and is produced only in great vintages where we achieve phenolic ripeness.
Region: Etna, Northern valley
Location: frazione Solicchiata, comune of Castiglione di Sicilia
Vineyard: contrada Barbabecchi
Exposure: North, North-East
Elevation: 870m.-910m. asl
Varietal: Nerello Mascalese 100% (ungrafted)
Average age of vines: 100+ years
Vinification: Destemming and light crushing of the grapes
Fermentation: starting with a “pied-de-cuve” using only indigenous yeasts and skin contact for about 50 days
Aging: In neutral epoxy tanks from 1500 liters to 2500 liters for 18 months and another 18 months in bottle.
Fining: No
Filtering: Before bottling with cartridges of 5 micron
Sulphur: values can vary from 15 to 50 mg/l., added or not, depending on the quality of grapes and stability of the wine.
Annual production: approx. 2.000 bottles
First vintage: 2001
Denomination: DOP Sicilia or IGP Terre Siciliane Nerello Mascalese
2014 Vintage Report
(from the Frank Cornelissen Website)
A balanced growing season without much problems overall. More attention was payed in the vineyards with canopy management done more often and with more attention to avoid direct sunlight. Treatments in the vineyards were done spot-on and the fruit was near-to-perfect. Late summer and autumn was dry and the sugar levels end of September were very high without the balance of acidity and phenolic ripeness. We waited for the rain to come end of October and were able to pick in perfect moon cycle. The result are stunning wines with depth, body, precision. The wines are dry, complex and very balanced; we stepped into anther level of winemaking. My preferred wine of this vintage: Magma for the balance as all elements fitted perfectly.
IWR99
Rank #2 | 2016 Top 100 Wines by International Wine Report
The 'Magma' Rosso is an absolutely incredible expression of Nerello Mascalese, which comes from ungrafted old vines, over 100+ years in age and only produced in optimal vintages. The 2014 simply dazzling wine opens with an array of exotic aromatics including sweet cherries and ripe strawberries woven together with smoke, violets, wet stones, crushed volcanic rock, fresh tarragon, raspberry cordial and orange zest. On this palate this impresses with its remarkable focus and balance along with sheer silky texture and inner-core of sweet red fruits and striking minerality resonating throughout. The complex and exotic profile is intoxicating and impossible to resist as this continues to seduce all the way through the long, polished finish. The combination of elegance, finesse and concentration this displays is second to none. This is without a doubt one of the most compelling wines I have ever tasted from Etna, and although it is simply striking today, this has an extremely long, bright future ahead. With the annual production of just over 100 cases, this will not be the easiest wine to find, but if you do it is an experience that should not be missed.
Frank Cornelissen has been around wine most of his life, if you ask him, he will tell you that he "stumbled into wine because of passion." The son of a wine collector in Belgium, Frank’s passion for wine eventually drove him to Etna, where he made his first vintage in 2001. It was just 500 bottles of what he refers to as "Liquid Rock." Frank was drawn to the Northern Valley of Etna and says that he was "attracted to territory and terroir." Unlike other regions with a historical lineage, such as Piemonte or Burgundy, Frank says that Etna has a balance between environment and vineyards as well as dry and cool climate.
Etna, in a short period of 10-15 years, has gone from a region that very few outside of Sicily even acknowledged to a region that today is offering wines comparable to the quality found in "Barolo level" wines. Frank believes that in a few decades we will "see what Etna is really about." That being said, and given that his wines are already on a world-class level, we simply cannot wait to see what the future holds for the Etna region and Franks wines. Over the past 15 years his wines have come a long way. Frank is now making high-definition, Single-Vineyard wines in a precise way and his personality and attention to detail are reflected in the glass.
Across the industry Frank’s wines have been labeled as "Natural Wines." However, Frank himself takes a distant stance from that term, simply because it has never been truly defined, neither by natural producers, nor by law. According to Frank a "natural wine" is made without anything added and from grapes that are not treated at all. This being said, Frank is not always able to achieve this level in the vineyards as he sometimes needs to treat the vines with sulphur and copper due to vintages with humid weather conditions. Frank is very fond of nature and says "it is our heritage and we need to respect it if we want to leave healthy land to the next generation. If you treat nature well it rewards you with profound products." Some would say that great wine is made in the vineyard, but Frank will tell you that this is only part of the road. He states that wine is an expression of culture where man plays an important role in transforming and “educating” wines to their full expression. Therefore the cellar is an important instrument which enables man to make the wines express themselves to their best and show their territorial identity thanks to the grapes cultivated by man in harmony with Nature.
Over the past decade Frank has become a leading producer in Etna and his wines are a testament to the high quality coming from the region. The style of his wines can be compared to that of Barolo, Burgundy, or even a combination of both. (from International Wine Report)
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