2007 Frank Cornelissen, Magma Rosso 6 VA, Sicily
Attention, no boring wine here! Fascinating wine which put a spell on me. 2007 Magma Rosso 6 VA is based on the grape Nerello Mascalese from pre-phyloxera vines and at 650-980 metres altitude in the North Valley of Mount Etna, Sicily.
The colour is granat and translucent burgundy like. Mystic spicy&earthy bouquet. On the palate a dense, ripe flavor profile of dried fruits, plum, raisin, sous-bois and some sweet port-like flavors. Of course at this young stage very vibrant tannis with a long finish.
No doubt a unique stilisitc which should be encountered with open-mindedness and curiousity. BTW, I also would like to recommend MUNJEBEL Rosso 5 (vintage2007&2008) which was a fine food-wine. Finally, be careful with transportation&storage, as the wine should not exceed 16 C , as the wine contains no sulphur.
āOur products are the result of this philosophy and our hands, with team. Wines which reflect ultimate territorial identity and mineral depth carry the name MagmaĀ®. These are single cru and vintage wines from various superb terroirs at 650-980 metres altitude in the North Valley of Mount Etna, Sicily. MagmaĀ® Rosso is fermented from our best Nerello Mascalese grapes; the golden MagmaĀ® Bianco is produced from ancient white varietals.
The surface area of our estate is 12 hectares, of which 8.5 are vines in the classic free standing alberello training system (aka Gobelet, or bush-vine). The remainder is olive, fruit and nut trees, and brush. In abandonning monoculture to avoid classic diseases we have interplanted various local fruit varieties and keep bees to regain a complex ecosystem. The new vineyard (2003-4) was planted without grafts, using the cuttings of our existing pre-phylloxera vines. The training system used is the alberello, at a lower density of vines per hectare than is traditional. This greatly improves ventilation, as well as facilitating cultivation of other plants and species inbetween the vines, such as buckwheat, rebalancing soils low on organic material without recourse to compost. We avoid soil-moving, and all treatments whatsoever in the vineyard, orchard and surroundings, in which we succeeded even in difficult vintages such as 2004 and 2005.
Our grape yields are low, around 300g per vine, realised by pruning very short in the dormant season. Every bunch is then tailored, with tails cut away, and unripe or damaged berries delicately picked out. We harvest quite late, from the end of October to mid November, effected in multiple passes, obtaining perfectly ripe and healthy grapes. We refuse to add any product in every aspect of our (non)winemaking and bottling, thus also avoiding the use of sulphur dioxide. The grapes are transformed in a delicate way, fermented and aged according to ancient traditions in terracotta giarre of 400 litres, buried up to the neck in the cellar in ground volcanic rock. Maceration periods are long, until after malolactic fermentation (up to 7 months and in a vintage like 2003, 14 months), in order not to disturb the complex natural processes of fermentation. The skins, seeds and nascent wine remain unseparated during the entire transformation, maintaining a cosmic link, and enabling extraction of all possible aromas of soil and territory. After basket-pressing maturation continues in terracotta until several full cosmic cycles have passed (e.g. 18 months) before the wine is ready for gentle, slow bottling.
Our products are made without the use of preservatives (i.e. no added sulphur) in order to be able to develop freely to their full potential. This requires transportation and storage below 16Ā°C. When you open a bottle, we suggest not to decant. Rather, take the wine at cellar temperature (12-16Ā°C), pour into Burgundy balloons, nose immediately, and follow its full aromatic progression as it expands, warms up. If a little frizzante upon opening, keep the bottle cool at 14-16Ā°C, and allow to settle for circa 15 minutes. Our wines have only natural - no added - protection against colour degradation, so if left open a few hours, you will see the colour evolve from granite red to volcanic black ash!!! Donāt worry - the flavours become more complex with time, as the colour turns.ā (Source: Frank Cornelissen)