Frank Cornelissen

Mount Etna, Sicily

“Capturing a snapshot of Mount Etna within each bottle” - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

“Imagine pouring in a decanter half a bottle of a Côtes-de-Nuits Villages and half a bottle of Barbaresco of a good vintage and tasting this ‘cocktail’ after half an hour. This will give you a good idea of an Etna Rosso wine: fragrant, light color, fine tannins, structure and elegance. Obviously missing the distinct touch of sunshine and Mediterranean generosity of a real Etna Rosso!” - Frank Cornelissen

(Picture from 2022 by a Grand Vin customer)

You can’t overestimate the impact that winemakers like Frank Cornelissen, and many others, have made in the last 20 years to bring the wines of Mt. Etna to the world. His dedication to making wines in the natural way with minimal intervention to allow him to capture the place that is Etna and share it with the world is what makes these wines so vibrant and special. His old, ungrafted, bush-trained vines of Nerello Mascalese, Nerello Capuccio, Alicante Boushet, and other local grapes grow in biodiverse vineyards in the high elevations of the volcano, with local fruits, lots of bees, buckwheat and other plants to support the entire ecosystem. Wines ferment with wild yeasts and are aged int epoxy-coated terra cotta amphorae buried in the volcanic soil.

“Most fans of wines from Etna have all heard this story, but if they never experienced the results, then it’s impossible to truly understand what Frank Cornelissen has accomplished. Throughout the area, there are many producers that are now turning out world-class wines, but finding one that obtains such depth of texture, the unique character of fruit aromas and flavors, and with the potential to mature evenly in a cellar, without the use of any winemaking wizardry, is not easy to do...the purity of Mount Etna...that’s what Frank Cornelissen is bottling.” - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

$299.00 (750ml) In Stock – Buy Now

Lowest Price Online - 13% Below Market

97+ VM / 18 JR

It’s almost impossible to pull away from the 2019 Nerello Mascalese Magma Rosso, with its beguiling bouquet of white pepper-tinged dusty rose offset by nuances of tangerine, pomegranate and the slightest hint of animal musk. This is a seriously textural expression, with smooth contours and admirable weight that’s perfectly balanced by stimulating acidity. Its fruit is decidedly red and sapid, yet with violet-tinged inner florals and sweet minerality. While structured, the 2019 maintains fantastic energy throughout the long yet remarkably fresh finale, as licorice and hints of hard candies slowly taper off into oblivion. While a year of cellaring is recommended here, I can’t help but suggest that readers check in on at least one bottle sooner than later to enjoy its primary power. The fruit for Magma hails from the Barbabecchi cru in the North valley between 870-910 meters, with its ungrafted vines that are over 100 years old. After a sixty-day maceration, the wine is vinified completely in neutral epoxy tanks. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

2019 Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso FM

$74.89 (750ml) In Stock – Buy Now

Lowest Price Online

95 VM / 17 JR

The entrancing 2019 Munjebel Rosso FM (Feudo di Mezzo Sottana) blossoms in the glass, with a dusty mix of sweet minty herbs and bright cherry complemented by a hint of cinnamon sugar. Its textures are like pure silk slowly draped across the palate, creamy, smooth, yet lifted and refined, delivering ripe red and hints of blue fruit under an air of lavender and violets. A pleasant inner sweet lingers on, along with a coating of fine tannins, as residual acids and hints of sour citrus maintain a lovely balance. The word “radiant” comes to mind and stays with me throughout the entire experience. Bravo. The Munjebel FM is a 100% Nerello Mascalese produced from the lower elevations of the Feudo di Mezzo cru. This is pure class. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

2019 Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Rosso MC

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Lowest Price Online

94 VM / 17 JR

The 2019 Munjebel Rosso MC (Monte Colla) is deep and inward in character, but also remarkably pretty. This dark beauty wafts up with dried cherries and crushed rocks complemented by nuances of rosemary and balsam. It greets the palate with the silkiest of textures and ripe wild berry fruits, yet with a core of nervous acidity that builds an energetic tension. This is like the proverbial iron fist in the velvet glove, tapering off long with talcum-like tannins, as sweet tobacco and lavender tones fade over a contrasting savory bitter twang of balsamic spice. It’s an utter beauty, and it’s already showing so well. The Rosso MC is from the steeply-terraced Monte Colla vineyard, with its seventy-five-year-old Nerello Mascalese vines planted in sandy clay soils. - Eric Guido, Vinous Media

2022 Frank Cornelissen Susucaru Rosso

$34.89 (750ml) In Stock – Buy Now

91 DE

Susucaru Rosso is a field-blend of Nerello Mascalese with Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante Bouschet, Minnella and Uva Francesa, from the contradas of Picciolo, Malpasso, Campo Re, Crasà, Piano Daini and Feudo di Mezzo. Vinified with natural yeasts and macerated for 30 days, the wine is then aged in neutral epoxy tanks. This tank sample shows juicy red and black fruits on a textured palate, with a hint of spice, and is sure to offer more if tasted again in 12 months. - James Button, Decanter

2021 Frank Cornelissen Munjebel Bianco

$59.89 (750ml) In Stock – Buy Now

Winery Note: Our first white wine started out as an orange wine, fermented with the skins for an extended period. I liked the tactile feeling and density, but missed the finesse and precision of the classic French white wines from for example the Loire. With the vintage 2015 I changed our technique to search for the purity and flavors of Etna which evolved in maintaining a short period of skin contact and aging our white wines for an extended period in the coldest part of our cellar before bottling. The obtained elegance, purity and density makes this wine very suited to accompany a wide variety of dishes and cuisine, from fish to white meat.