Frank Cornelissen
Magma - 2017
8.00 / 10

Type
Red Still, Dry
Producer
Frank Cornelissen
Vintage
2017
Location
Italy, IGP Terre Siciliane
Grapes
Nerello Mascalese
Alcohol
15
Sugar
1
Price
11000 UAH
Cellar
N/A

Ah you think magma is your ally? You merely adopted the magma. I was born in it, molded by it. I didn’t see the sun until I was already a vine, by then it was nothing to me but blinding!

Magma is molten rock that is underground, and lava is molten rock that breaks through the Earth’s surface. Wait, I took the wrong book. Turns out, Magma is 100% Nerello Mascalese from Contrada Barbabecchi. The 100-year-old vines enjoy North and Northeast exposure at 870m - 910m above sea level. The vineyard was planted in 1910.

The grapes are destemmed and crushed lightly, and then the fermentation starts with Pied de Cuve. The juice stays in contact with the skin for about 50 days. The wine ages in 1500-2500 L neutral epoxy tanks for 18 months.

Ratings

2023-09-07 - 8.00

Prejudice - this is how I felt about this wine. After all, Frank Cornelissen wines are not my cup of tea. He doesn’t even produce tea, for god’s sake!

After spending a few hours in a decanter, Magma climbed to the surface and turned into a fluffy, toothless and sweet creature. It offers a fistful of hibiscus, peonies and red fruits. Round, velvety and jammy. I had to double-check if it was dry cause it felt just like cough syrup (with some similarities in structure).

Look. It’s much better than I expected, less punchy, more flowery and perfumed. But it’s… straightforward. There is no fire. Seamlessness is its main feat and the reason behind such a high score. Maybe I am just toxic.