Magma:
taking
natural wine to the limit
The remarkable wines of Frank Cornelissen
‘It’s
a bit wanky, isn’t it?’ That was the verdict offered by a
newspaper wine correspondent who’d caught the tail end of a
presentation by Frank Cornelissen (right), who was presenting
his wines in the UK for the first time. Just 515 bottles of the
inagural Magma, his top wine, will be released. The UK allocation is
one case of 9, and each bottle will cost more than £100. Is it wanky,
or is Frank doing something significant and interesting? Read on and
judge for yourself.
Frank Cornelissen is a Belgian who has begun a new
winery on the slopes of Mount Etna in Sicily that is one of the most
unique and unusual projects I’ve yet encountered in the world of
wine. He began collecting wines with his father, and the first wines
he bought were a mixed case of 1972 Domaine de la Romanée Conti.
Despite the cost, he was hooked. Since then ‘wine has never left
me’, he says. Later, he became a wine agent, and talking regularly
with winemakers he became interested by the rather philosophical
question of what wine actually is. Over 20 years of tasting, he found
that he liked wines that were an expression of culture, that are more
evolved, and which express the soil more than the fruit. He decided
that he wanted wines with a more natural approach and that he’d like
to make wines without any treatments in the vineyard, winemaking or
bottling.
One day at a restaurant in Sicily someone bought out
a sample of a wine from Etna. He
immediately got in his car and drove round to the winery. Liking what
he saw, he rented some vineyards on Etna, and made a wine in some
abandoned sheds. This led to Frank buying an old ungrafted vineyard in
2001, which led to the creation of Magma.
Cornelissen’s estate consists of 5.5 hectares on
the north slopes of Mount Etna. Of this, 2.5 hectares are ungrafted
vines grown in the classic free-standing alberello (gobelet) system.
The rest is given over to olive trees, fruit trees and bush. ‘I
strive to abbandon monoculture in order to avoid the classic diseases,
and have already intermixed the existing vineyards with various trees
and plants,’ says Frank. ‘The newly replanted alberello vineyard
was planted directly, with original branches of the pre-phyloxera
vines, thus without the grafted genetically engineered rootstock. I
decided for a low density for the areas standard (approximately 4000
plants/hectare) to give a better ventilation and the ability to
cultivate other plants and vegetables in between the vines.’
The top wine is Magma, wine made from old Nerello
Mascalese vines (50–80 years), from the highest parts of the
vineyard. I’ll let Frank describe the vinification. ‘The wine is
produced in a non-interventionalist way, fermented and aged according
to ancient traditions in terracotta vases of approximately 400 litres
each, buried in the ground in the cellar and fixed with ground
volcanic rock. My aim is to avoid all treatments whatsoever in
vineyard, orchard and surroundings, in which I succeeded in 2001.
Unfortunately I had to treat with Bordelaise mix in 2002 one time on
June 20th which was, given the wet conditions an unbelievable
achievement. [In 2003 another treatment was necessary.] I harvest
relatively late between end of October and early November to obtain
beautifully healthy and ripe grapes, but avoiding overripe grapes. The
yields are about 300 grams per vine, realised early in the growing
season by pruning very short. Every grape bunch is tailored and tails
are cut away as well as unripe berries are delicately picked out of
the bunches... a monk's job! I refuse to add any sulphur dioxide (SO2)
in any aspect of winemaking. I use very long masceration periods until
after the malolactic fermentation, in order not to disturb the
delicate and complex natural fermentation processes. In this way the
grape/wine mass remains unseparated and complete during the entire
transformation process which is important to maintain a cosmic link in
order to extract all possible aromas of soil and area. The separation
of the skins from the wine is done around April, after the wine has
finished the malolactic fermentation.’
The
use of amphorae is a fascinating practice. Frank says that he traveled
half the world to find the right density of clay. Amphorae allow the
wine to breathe a little, but don’t give the tannins of the wood,
nor do they alter the wines colour. Frank likes this because he
doesn’t want to add anything to the vine. The evaporation rate from
a 400 litre amphora is about the same as from a 2000 or 3000 litre
vat; a 250 litre amphora resembles a 1500 litre vat and a 100 litre
amphora is close to a barrique.
Frank continues, ‘Total production was just 1000
bottles in 2001 over one Magma® Rosso and Rosso del Mongibello. There
will be approx. 2000 bt. in 2002 over 3 Magma® Rosso wines from
different vineyards and one Rosso del Contadino (available march
2005). The goal is to arrive at a total of approx. 6000 to 8000
bottles annualy divided over 4 wines: Magma® Rosso as a monovarietal,
single vineyard wine, the Magma® Bianco as a "Jura-style"
oxidized wine, Rosso del Mongibello as a monovarietal, multi-vineyard
wine which depending on our decision may also be a blend of vintages
like the traditional reserva wines of old days and our new Rosso del
Contadino, a multi varietal, multi vineyard wine, made with a lesser
masceration, bottled with the fine lees, a more simple wine with less
territory precision but high drinkability, made with our grapes.’
‘Maybe you might find my pricing a little awkward
as the difference between the Magma® and Rosso del Mongibello is
enormous. Let me explain to you why. When I calculated the Magma, the
price was really high because of the enormous costs in the vineyard
selecting and reselecting bunches, grapes, cutting the tails, and so
on. I knew that there is always a selection of grapes that isn't the
"ne plus ultra" and so I wanted to make also an assembled
wine with the same philosophy, the Rosso del Mongibello. Magma as top
wine was expensive and thus destined for wealthy people and I felt the
Rosso was also too expensive to be tasted by average people. I didn't
want to make wine only for the economically rich people and so I
lowered the price on the Rosso and raised the price on the Magma to
cover the loss and get the balance. I have now a high-end wine that
reflects territory and I have a wine that remains accessible for
virtually every wine-lover, which is "co-sponsored" by the
Magma lovers. A social price-setting.’
Frank also makes a high-end olive oil and grows two
varieties of wheat, together with other crops in smaller quantities.
‘Wine has become the Hollywood of agriculture’, he says. He uses
the money from his wine to subsidise his cereals.
These are my tasting notes from the two wines I
tasted. More details about what goes into them and how they are made
can be found below these notes. ‘Wanky’ or not? To some, this
level of attention to detail may seem utterly self-indulgent and
divorced from the real world. I was expecting the wines to be weird
and oxidized. But they were actually fantastic. Unusual, but
compelling. And I think that the wine world needs people like Frank
Cornelissen to push at the boundaries of what is possible. No, I
don’t expect other producers necessarily to give up using sulphur
dioxide and vineyard treatments. Nonetheless, what he’s doing with
Magma will help others ask deeper questions about what they are doing
with their wines, which can only be a good thing.
Rosso del Mongibello
This is a sample drawn from the amphora (not a cask sample, and
amphora sample!). It’s a slightly faded red colour with browning
edges. The nose shows lovely sweet, grapey fruit with a complex herby,
tobbacoey edge. The palate is savoury with earthy definition; it’s
full and shows a slightly animally, chocolatey edge. Very complex with
a delicious sweetness to the fruit. It opens out to become more earthy
and spicy, with forest floor notes too. Stunning stuff. Very
good/excellent 93/100
Magma Rosso 1
Palish red with subtle browning at the rim. The nose is open,
displaying pure ripe, sweet fruit. Rounded, clean and ripe with subtle
herby influence. The palate is concentrated, tannic, earthy and spicy
showing lots of structure. Yet the overriding impression is of pure,
sweet intense red fruits. Delicate but powerful at the same time. The
tannic structure is smooth and fine-grained. Striking stuff with lots
of minerality and earthiness; this will need time to show its best.
Serious. Excellent 95/100
UPDATE
(August 2009) - for a more recent write up on Frank's wines, see this
piece.
The different wines (these are the descriptions
provided by Frank):
Magma® rosso
100% nerello mascalese from single vineyards in various communes,
only produced if the vineyards have produced great grapes. We bottle
all vineyards separately. Selection of "grape per grape" is
done to have perfectly sane and ripe (not overripe!) grapes. The grape
bunches are destemmed, pressed with the feet in a wooden container
before going into the terracotta containers for fermentation. After
alcoholic fermentation, the terracotta containers are sealed with the
integral grape mass inside until after malolactic fermentation.
Hereafter the mass is pressed and the wine goes back into the
terracotta containers for approx. 15 months before bottling. Obviously
the wine is unfiltered, unfined and bottled without SO2
as during the whole winemaking process NO product (chemical, refined
or other) is added to the wine. It is important to store these wines
in a cool cellar (approx. 16 °C, max. 18 °C). We suggest tasting
these wines in declining moon position which reflects the aromas in a
more harmonious way, without decanting, in a fine tasting glass. The
wine will perfectly develop in the glass. First production: vintage
2001 in one vineyard (Muganazze): 515 bottles of 0,75 l. Next
releases: vintage 2002 in
3 vineyards (Trefiletti, Marchesa, Calderara): 1.100 bottles.
Magma® bianco
A project for the next 3 years as we will be planting the grape
variety Riesling renano (pre-phylloxera) ungrafted in our most
beautifull vineyard, in the highest positions (980-1010 metres). This
year we will be preparing the spots where we will plant the vines and
next year we will be planting around 1500 plants. Selection of
"grape per grape" is done to have perfectly sane and
slightly overripe grapes. The grape bunches are destemmed (leaving
approx. 5% stems), pressed with the feet in a wooden container before
going into the terracotta containers for fermentation. After alcoholic
fermentation, the terracotta containers are sealed with the integral
grape mass inside until after malolactic fermentation. Hereafter the
mass is pressed and the wine goes back into the terracotta containers
for approx. 27 months before bottling. Obviously the wine is
unfiltered, unfined and bottled without SO2 as during the whole
winemaking process NO product (chemical, refined or other) is added to
the wine. First production: planned for 2008... patience is needed...
Rosso del Mongibello (nb Mongibello is named
MunJebel from the 2006 vintage)
100% nerello mascalese from possibly various vintages (the first
was made from 2001 and 2002) as well as various vineyards in different
communes with different geology and exposure (Barbabecchi, Muganazze,
Marchesa, Piano dei Daini, Donna Bianca, ...). The grapebunches are
destemmed, pressed with the feet in a wooden container before going
into the terracotta containers for fermentation. After alcoholic
fermentation, the terracotta containers are sealed with the integral
grape mass inside until after malolactic fermentation. Hereafter the
mass is pressed and the wine goes back into the terracotta containers
for approx. 15 months before bottling. Obviously the wine is
unfiltered, unfined and bottled without SO2 as during the whole
winemaking process NO product (chemical, refined or other) is added to
the wine. Important to store these wines in a cool cellar (approx. 16°C,
max. 18°C). We suggest to taste these wines in declining moon
position which reflects the aromas in a more harmonious way, without
decanting, in a fine tasting glass. The wine will perfectly develop in
the glass. First production: vintage 2001 which was assembled with
2002 and resulted in 1.024 bottles, burgundy type of 0,75 liters
Rosso del Contadino
The idea to have a simple, tasty, economical wine with the same
sane agricultural and winemaking "non"-techniques has been
around for some time and the 2003 vintage has given me the grapes to
make a test. And the result is more than pleasant! We like this wine
very much. It has the high drinkability factor, made entirely without
SO2, made from sane grapes but not selected, partly stemmed and
unstemmed, crushed partly with the feet, partly with a small portable
machine, mixed all kinds of grapes together, as the vintage brought
them in from the land (Carricante, white table grapes, Inzolia,
Cattaratto, Nerello Mascalese, Alicante, Nerello Cappuccio,...) The
fermentation is done in polycarbonate containers of 700–1000 liters,
in contact with the integral mass for as long as the alcoholic
fermentation (approx. 40 days). Then the wine is being pressed and
after tasting approval by us the wine goes into the terracotta anforas
for approx. 10 months. The Rosso del Contadino is bottled after
stirring completely the "noble lees" and thus will be
completely cloudy. The reason is that the lees are the nutrition of
the wine and since this is not a high precision, terroir wine, it
needs a bit more of a help to evolve in the bottle. And it tastes
GREAT! Obviously the wine is unfiltered, unfined and bottled without
SO2 as during the whole winemaking process NO product (chemical,
refined or other) is added to the wine. Important to store these wines
in a cool cellar (approx. 16°C, max. 18°C). We suggest to taste
these wines in declining moon position which reflects the aromas in a
more harmonious way, without decanting, in a fine tasting glass. The
wine will perfectly develop in the glass. First production: 2003 with
approx. 1300 burgundy-type bottles of 0,75 liters.
Wines tasted 24 May 2004
aviailability
in the UK:
Winetraders
Michael Palij MW
3 TBAC Business Centre
Avenue Four
Station Lane
Witney
Oxon
OX28 4BN
Tel: 00 44 (0) 1993 848 777
Fax: 00 44 (0) 1993 848 778
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