2007 Frank Cornelissen Magma

JancisRobinson.com

• By Jancis Robinson, MW
  5/7/2008, (See more on JancisRobinson.com...)

  (Cornelissen, Magma 6 Vino da Tavola Red) Subscribe to see review text.

Garagiste

• By Jon Rimmerman
  12/14/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (NV MAGMA #6 Frank Cornelissen) Cornelissen Dear Friends, It is my distinct pleasure to offer one of my favorite wines, from one of my favorite producers and friends, Frank Cornelissen. I look forward to the Magma every winter and its time is upon us. It's near folly to grasp for descriptors when discussing this wine, the flagship bottling from arguable the most famous eccentric of the New Pioneer movement. Since we first offered these wines a number of years ago, Cornelissen has gone on to international acclaim/fame despite his best attempts at alienating every person that tastes his wine. Cornelissen is a true recluse, without a bloated ego, and he is happiest in snow shoes atop the bubbling cauldron of fire and ice (literally, snow and sparks) that is Mt Etna. He has become most at home tending his vines in meteorological conditions that only a Sherpa could love. When someone tells you owning a vineyard is glamorous, send them to Sloan - if you want to see reality and one of the hardest working farmers in the trade, go and visit Frank Cornelissen - a man that has literally worked his fingers to the bone producing wine - one bottle at a time - for you. The world could use a few more characters like Frank. We offer the Cornelissen wines throughout the year (as they are released) and this is the most special - saved for holiday time. I wish the wine was $100/bottle less than it is but Frank has no explaining to do - I've watched him prune a single vine for the Magma over a two hour period, at elevations that will raise the hair on the back of your neck - all to get that single bunch just right. If you measure a wine's worth in hours of labor spent on its production, then the Magma is cheap. From 100% old-vine Nerello Mascalese (an indigenous red grape to Sicily that has been called a cross between Pinot Noir and Grenache), grown on the highest elevation of the property at 3000-4000ft, this "wine" contradicts every preconception that revolves around the notion of red wine. Some of the vines here are pre-phylloxera and others were planted in 1910 (ungrafted) and 1930. It is almost translucent, with no real color. There are whiffs of so many elements - where do I begin? As an exercise, the Magma must be opened and sampled immediately and again over a period of 8-10 hours - do not decant this wine or you will miss the first and second act. Everything from tobacco, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, pine resin, tree bark, volcanic rock/ash, cement, red fruit, schist and swirling soil make an appearance all within a textural package that strides next to Vosne-Romanee but falls off an icy cliff somewhere atop Etna. I once read that the human brain can only discern four specific scents at once (and therefore wine descriptors are, in many ways, bogus) - the author of that study obviously never smelled the Magma. The flavors and character of this wine stay with you for a very long time - long after the bottle has been consumed. How long will it age? Frank seems to believe up to 20 years or more - I have no idea, but my instinct tells me at least a decade. A singular beverage - there is nothing else like it. A recent article by Matt Kramer on Cornelissen: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/41298 ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the source with perfect provenance. Frank's portfolio is the single most expensive to transport that we offer - due to the delicate/unstabilized nature of all the wines, they must be moved in a painstaking manner to insure the utmost freshness. First, with pharmaceutical trucks on Sicily to the mainland (not kidding, they are the only transport available on the island at the exact right temperature), then refrigerated container and then refer to us - the additional expense of moving the wine from the island to the mainland is enormous (you do not pay the added cost - we eat it). Provenance is not negotiable - whether we source the wine from Walla Walla or Swaziland - you should expect (demand) the same level of perfect transport. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEDED as a one of a kind experiment from one of the icons of the New Pioneers (what Matt Kramer calls the "Crazy Club"): Frank Cornelissen Etna Magma (Rosso 6 - AV) 750ml (only 840 bottles were produced of the Magma Rosso 6, there is no other Magma designation in 2009) Frank Cornelissen Etna Magma (Rosso 6 - AV) 1.5lt (only 6 were produced - all by hand) ...we also have a few bottles of Italy's most limited (and expensive) volcanic olive oil, the MunJebel, and the sister oil, the Contadino - both just picked and pressed from the 2009 vintage (the Magma oil is even more costly but none was produced in 2009 due to freeze during flowering). Wine aside, Frank is known just as much for his cult-level extra virgin olive oil and, while I'm not sure he ever intended that to happen, it has. The allocation of his olive oil every year is even more frenetic than the wine - he only has 400-500 half-bottles of the MunJebel and maybe 1000 of Contadino and the best restaurants in Sicily will take all of them sight unseen. Add in restaurants from all over Europe (and beyond) and you have a quagmire that causes a lot of grumbling among the top chefs (not brought to you by the Glad Family of Products) who are denied simply due to production levels that are miniscule - he does not play favorites. In addition, these are among the most natural oils we carry with a sense of volcanic place that is unmistakable. If you are an olive oil fan (fanatic), both the MunJebel and Contadino are among the highest quality and rarest oils available in Europe - neither are available in the US. I asked Frank a few days ago about the 2009 oils and his reply is below. The harvest was especially emotional for him as he also welcomed the birth of his first child, Clara, into his crazy (or not so?) world... Frank Cornelissen Extra Virgin Olive Oil "MunJebel" 09 (375ml) EXTREMELY LIMITED Frank's note to me on 12/10/09: "First off, there is hardly any oil, much less than the typical 500/bt year but the quality is very strong. The 2009 MunJebel olive oil was produced from selected, higher elevation olive orchards (3000ft or higher, near the limit) and is produced only from the smallest olives which produce the finest, elegant and also most "saline" oil. Grinded under stones and pressed with vertical presses on our own matts/discs. Bottled unfiltered and unfined only in bottles of 0,375l. Precious as we produce annually only about 500 half bottles, maybe 30-40 cases but 2009 was even less - A blend of different contradas and local olives like Brandolfina, Noccellara dell'Etna, Pendolino, Frantoiana, Coratina and of course our precious little San Benedetto - the Magma olive. This oil is now only handpicked." Frank Cornelissen Extra Virgin Olive Oil "Contadino" 09 (750ml) EXTREMLEY LIMITED Frank, 12/10/09: "The Contadino olive oil is produced from the bigger olives, still at high elevation, and picked slightly earlier than the MunJebel olives - it is more "fat" so to say (very relative as we are always talking olive growths in altitude on lavasoil...). It is nice for grilled steak and vegetable, cooking generally. Produced partly with the modern 2-cycle separation but with a low temperature setting (max. 28íC) in order not to damage the fragrance. Bottled unfiltered and unfined in 0,75l. Bottles - A blend of different contradas and the local olives Brandolfina and Noccellara dell'Etna. Mostly handpicked, some machine harvesting, crushed and pressed as per MunJebel. Our house olive oil - serious quality here." Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy8781 Italy8782 Olive9380 Olive9390

• By Jon Rimmerman
  12/14/2009, (See more on Garagiste...)

  (#6 Frank Cornelissen MAGMA) Cornelissen Dear Friends, It is my distinct pleasure to offer one of my favorite wines, from one of my favorite producers and friends, Frank Cornelissen. I look forward to the Magma every winter and its time is upon us. It's near folly to grasp for descriptors when discussing this wine, the flagship bottling from arguable the most famous eccentric of the New Pioneer movement. Since we first offered these wines a number of years ago, Cornelissen has gone on to international acclaim/fame despite his best attempts at alienating every person that tastes his wine. Cornelissen is a true recluse, without a bloated ego, and he is happiest in snow shoes atop the bubbling cauldron of fire and ice (literally, snow and sparks) that is Mt Etna. He has become most at home tending his vines in meteorological conditions that only a Sherpa could love. When someone tells you owning a vineyard is glamorous, send them to Sloan - if you want to see reality and one of the hardest working farmers in the trade, go and visit Frank Cornelissen - a man that has literally worked his fingers to the bone producing wine - one bottle at a time - for you. The world could use a few more characters like Frank. We offer the Cornelissen wines throughout the year (as they are released) and this is the most special - saved for holiday time. I wish the wine was $100/bottle less than it is but Frank has no explaining to do - I've watched him prune a single vine for the Magma over a two hour period, at elevations that will raise the hair on the back of your neck - all to get that single bunch just right. If you measure a wine's worth in hours of labor spent on its production, then the Magma is cheap. From 100% old-vine Nerello Mascalese (an indigenous red grape to Sicily that has been called a cross between Pinot Noir and Grenache), grown on the highest elevation of the property at 3000-4000ft, this "wine" contradicts every preconception that revolves around the notion of red wine. Some of the vines here are pre-phylloxera and others were planted in 1910 (ungrafted) and 1930. It is almost translucent, with no real color. There are whiffs of so many elements - where do I begin? As an exercise, the Magma must be opened and sampled immediately and again over a period of 8-10 hours - do not decant this wine or you will miss the first and second act. Everything from tobacco, cardamom, cumin, cinnamon, nutmeg, sage, pine resin, tree bark, volcanic rock/ash, cement, red fruit, schist and swirling soil make an appearance all within a textural package that strides next to Vosne-Romanee but falls off an icy cliff somewhere atop Etna. I once read that the human brain can only discern four specific scents at once (and therefore wine descriptors are, in many ways, bogus) - the author of that study obviously never smelled the Magma. The flavors and character of this wine stay with you for a very long time - long after the bottle has been consumed. How long will it age? Frank seems to believe up to 20 years or more - I have no idea, but my instinct tells me at least a decade. A singular beverage - there is nothing else like it. A recent article by Matt Kramer on Cornelissen: http://www.winespectator.com/webfeature/show/id/41298 ONE SHIPMENT ONLY directly from the source with perfect provenance. Frank's portfolio is the single most expensive to transport that we offer - due to the delicate/unstabilized nature of all the wines, they must be moved in a painstaking manner to insure the utmost freshness. First, with pharmaceutical trucks on Sicily to the mainland (not kidding, they are the only transport available on the island at the exact right temperature), then refrigerated container and then refer to us - the additional expense of moving the wine from the island to the mainland is enormous (you do not pay the added cost - we eat it). Provenance is not negotiable - whether we source the wine from Walla Walla or Swaziland - you should expect (demand) the same level of perfect transport. VERY HIGHLY RECOMMEDED as a one of a kind experiment from one of the icons of the New Pioneers (what Matt Kramer calls the "Crazy Club"): Frank Cornelissen Etna Magma (Rosso 6 - AV) 750ml (only 840 bottles were produced of the Magma Rosso 6, there is no other Magma designation in 2009) Frank Cornelissen Etna Magma (Rosso 6 - AV) 1.5lt (only 6 were produced - all by hand) ...we also have a few bottles of Italy's most limited (and expensive) volcanic olive oil, the MunJebel, and the sister oil, the Contadino - both just picked and pressed from the 2009 vintage (the Magma oil is even more costly but none was produced in 2009 due to freeze during flowering). Wine aside, Frank is known just as much for his cult-level extra virgin olive oil and, while I'm not sure he ever intended that to happen, it has. The allocation of his olive oil every year is even more frenetic than the wine - he only has 400-500 half-bottles of the MunJebel and maybe 1000 of Contadino and the best restaurants in Sicily will take all of them sight unseen. Add in restaurants from all over Europe (and beyond) and you have a quagmire that causes a lot of grumbling among the top chefs (not brought to you by the Glad Family of Products) who are denied simply due to production levels that are miniscule - he does not play favorites. In addition, these are among the most natural oils we carry with a sense of volcanic place that is unmistakable. If you are an olive oil fan (fanatic), both the MunJebel and Contadino are among the highest quality and rarest oils available in Europe - neither are available in the US. I asked Frank a few days ago about the 2009 oils and his reply is below. The harvest was especially emotional for him as he also welcomed the birth of his first child, Clara, into his crazy (or not so?) world... Frank Cornelissen Extra Virgin Olive Oil "MunJebel" 09 (375ml) EXTREMELY LIMITED Frank's note to me on 12/10/09: "First off, there is hardly any oil, much less than the typical 500/bt year but the quality is very strong. The 2009 MunJebel olive oil was produced from selected, higher elevation olive orchards (3000ft or higher, near the limit) and is produced only from the smallest olives which produce the finest, elegant and also most "saline" oil. Grinded under stones and pressed with vertical presses on our own matts/discs. Bottled unfiltered and unfined only in bottles of 0,375l. Precious as we produce annually only about 500 half bottles, maybe 30-40 cases but 2009 was even less - A blend of different contradas and local olives like Brandolfina, Noccellara dell'Etna, Pendolino, Frantoiana, Coratina and of course our precious little San Benedetto - the Magma olive. This oil is now only handpicked." Frank Cornelissen Extra Virgin Olive Oil "Contadino" 09 (750ml) EXTREMLEY LIMITED Frank, 12/10/09: "The Contadino olive oil is produced from the bigger olives, still at high elevation, and picked slightly earlier than the MunJebel olives - it is more "fat" so to say (very relative as we are always talking olive growths in altitude on lavasoil...). It is nice for grilled steak and vegetable, cooking generally. Produced partly with the modern 2-cycle separation but with a low temperature setting (max. 28íC) in order not to damage the fragrance. Bottled unfiltered and unfined in 0,75l. Bottles - A blend of different contradas and the local olives Brandolfina and Noccellara dell'Etna. Mostly handpicked, some machine harvesting, crushed and pressed as per MunJebel. Our house olive oil - serious quality here." Thank you, Jon Rimmerman Garagiste Seattle, WA Italy8781 Italy8782 Olive9380 Olive9390