FRANK CORNELISSEN

Frank Cornelissen is without a doubt one of biggest stars of the natural wine scene. A former mountain climber from Belgium, he established his estate on the Northern valley of the active volcano Mount Etna in 2001 at a time when Etna was still undiscovered as a wine region. He uses the cleanest, purest grapes he can to produce his distinctly individual wines, adding no sulfites and uses no oak barrels or stainless steel. His wines are full of volcanic minerality that express a strong sense of place and are some of the most exciting wines coming out of Italy today. 

frankcornelissen.it

Munjebel Rosso
Frank Cornelissen

Munjebel Rosso

$72.99 x 6

$387.56 PER CASE
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
SIZE
6 PACK, 750ml BOTTLES, $72.99 EACH
PRODUCER
Frank Cornelissen
VINTAGE
2021
COLOUR
Red
SUB-REGION, REGION, COUNTRY
Etna, Sicily, Italy
GRAPE
Nerello Mascalese
 


Winemaker Notes

A rich and fragrant wine of pure Nerello Mascalese from different vineyards, partly from our best parcels where we produce our crus (Zottorinoto-Chiusa Spagnolo, Feudo di Mezzo-Porcaria, Pontale Palino) as well as designated vineyards for this specific wine (Rampante, Piano Daini and Crasà). A classic, traditional Nerello Mascalese with tannins and sweetness of ripe fruit. My vision of a traditional, balanced and rich Northern Valley Etna wine.

The grapes are destemmed and lighted crushed. Fermentation begins with a "pied-de-cuve” using only indigenous yeasts and skin contact for about 60 days. The wine is aged in neutral epoxy tanks (from 2500-7000 liters in size). The wine is not fined but it is filtered before bottling with PP cartridges of 5 micron (& sulphur values can vary from 5 to 30 mg/l., added or not, depending on the quality of grapes and stability of the wine). 12,000 bottes are made per year. 

Munjebel Bianco Classico
Frank Cornelissen

Munjebel Bianco Classico

$74.99 x 6

$398.18 PER CASE
/
Shipping calculated at checkout.
SIZE
6 PACK, 750ml BOTTLES, $74.99 EACH
PRODUCER
Frank Cornelissen
VINTAGE
2020
COLOUR
White / ORANGE
SUB-REGION, REGION, COUNTRY
Etna, Sicily, Italy
GRAPE
Grecanico Dorato, Carricante
 


Winemaker Notes

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.