In the glass
Aroma: black cherry, volcanic smoke, incense, dried rose
Palate: dark cherry, graphite, volcanic stone, truffle
Magma is one of Italy's most sought-after cult wines: pure Nerello Mascalese from ungrafted pre-phylloxera vines above 1,000 metres, no sulphur added, aged in amphora. The wine embodies volcanic terroir at its most extreme and unfiltered.
What it pairs with
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Served alone as meditation wine
The extraordinary complexity and length of Magma rewards contemplative solo drinking. -
White truffle pasta
The wine's volcanic earthiness and incense complexity create a transcendent dialogue with truffle. -
Aged Comté at 36 months
The wine's mineral depth and long finish need the crystalline complexity of extreme aged cheese.
History
Belgian wine merchant Frank Cornelissen came to Etna in 2001 driven by a vision of extreme natural wine from extreme terroir. Magma, from ungrafted Nerello Mascalese vines above 1,000 metres in the Solicchiata zone, is fermented without sulphur in amphora and has become one of the most coveted and discussed natural wines in the world. Production is extremely limited.
- 2001 — Frank Cornelissen arrives on Etna and plants the philosophy for Magma
- 2006 — Magma achieves cult status in natural wine circles; demand far exceeds supply
Facts
- Producer
- Frank Cornelissen
- Grapes
- Nerello Mascalese
- Classification
- IGP Terre Siciliane
- Oak
- No oak; aged in amphora and large neutral vessels
- ABV
- 14.0%
- Price
- €200-400 at retail
- Drinking window
- 10-30 from vintage
- First vintage
- 2001
- Biodynamic
- Biodynamic Practicing
- Organic
- ORGANIC CERTIFIED