On may the 14th Frank Cornelissen hosted a tasting of his wines in Oslo. He first told us that his main goal in wine-making was making
the best wine possible - not the most natural wine possible. The way to get to this result is according to Frank Cornelissen to use as
little additives as possible to interact with what the soil gives to the grapes. So no additives in the vineyards and no sulphure, oak
or yeast added in the cellar. The wines are aged in either plastic or amphora with long maceration before being bottled. As Frank
Cornelissen says "the flavours of the grape are on the skin". So both whites and reds gets several months of maceration.
Bianco del Mongibello 3 (2006)
This was a sample as the wine is not yet bottled. The name might be changed here to bianco del munjebel (an older local name for the mountain) before being
released. Blend of carricante, coda di volpe, grecanico dorato and cataratto. 3,5 months of maceration. Orange colour. Very fine nose.
Intense with great depth. Ashy with hints of fine floral high notes and lots of sweet fruits. With air it shows more minerality.
Fullbodied wine in the mouth. Concentrated. Shows more wax, minerals and ash. Fine acidity and good length. Some tannins in the finish.
A bit warm finish. The alcohol being 14%. Really lovely wine and I am looking forward to tasting this again on release.
Rosso del Contadino 3 (2005)
This wine was originally made as a sipping-wine for the co-workers. But as an importer really wanted to buy the 2004, Cornelissen
started to sell the wine commercially. It is made with whatever grapes is available in the vineyard. The main grape is nerello
mascalese at around 70%. The rest is a mix of many varieties which includes both red and white grapes. Transparent clean red colour.
Refreshing nose. Hints of currants, ash, lemon. Some spritz in the mouth. Light and refreshing style. Young and fruity. Still there is
some fine depth here with hints od wet stones and ash. Fine acidic structure and not much tannins in the back, but yet a firm finish.
Great food-wine. A joy to drink.
Magma 2T (2002)
The T stands for Contrada Trefiletti which is the name of the vineyard behind this wine. 100% nerello mascalese. This wine has a light
transparent red colour. Brown hues. With time in the glass it turns more transparent black. The nose shows better depth and intensity.
More ash and minerality. Hints of sweet liquorice, cherries, smoke and light VA. Fullbodied in the mouth. More mineral. Hints of ash
and smoke. Good concentration. Fine acidic structure with some tannins showing in the finish. Still a bit on the young side. Great
wine.
Magma 2C (2002)
The C stands for Contrada Calderara which is the name of the vineyard behind this wine. 100% nerello mascalese. Colour quite equal to
the 2T and again the colour change to transparent black after 15 minutes in the glass. The nose is very different though. This shows a
lot more florality. Finer and more elegant aromas with lots of floral high notes and a lemony element. Definitely the burgundian among
these wines. It is fullbodied in the mouth and has a good concentration. It shows more fruit and perhaps a little cleaner than the 2T.
Some hints of cherries and ash. More elegant, but perhaps not the same depth as the 2T. Bright acidity and also a little tight finish.
Still young, but drinking fine now. Great wine.
Magma 2M (2002)
The M stands for Contrada Marchesa which is the name of the vineyard behind this wine. 100% nerello mascalese. Colour quite equal to
the 2T/C and the colour change to transparent black after 15 minutes in the glass. The nose here is a bit more muted and more masculine.
Hints of ash, tar, asphalt. Some smoke and cherries. Fuller wine in the mouth with a sturdier structure. More nebbiolo-like wine
here and the most unapproachable of these three Magmas. Great concentration. Fruit closed, but shows a lot of interesting things.
Tannic end. Needs more time, but this seems to have lots of potensial. I like what I find and this might turn in to the best of these
three Magmas from 2002.
Magma 6R (2006)
Another sample. The wine will be released in 2009/10. The M stands for Contrada Rampante which is the name of the vineyard behind this
wine. 100% nerello mascalese. Light red colour. The nose shows an intense hint of soy-beans. Some oriental spice, slight earth. Very
peculiar. Great depth, but to me a little off-putting. Fullbodied and concentrated wine in the mouth. Shows some sweetness and Frank
Cornelissen says it has some residual sugar. Which will be a challange when bottling this. In the mouth it has again this hint of
soy-beans that I don't like too much. Still it has a great depth and already complex. The alcohol here is close to 16%. Still it shows
some refreshing character with fine acidity. Raw on the finish. Young tannins. Alcohol showing a little. Needs time. Hard to judge, but
Frank Cornelissen has a lot of confidence in this wine.
Arnt Egil Nordlien
notes: May-07