You Loved ’em, We Listened – MORE Newly Arrived Wines from Legendary Frank Cornelissen

94 points “Expressive and decidedly gentle and harmonious in the main profile, it shows notes of black plums, marjoram, lavender, hibiscus, black olives, strawberries, geraniums and white pepper. Medium body, creamy tannins of splendid elegant shape, perfectly polymerized and a finish of commendable beauty. Drink now.”

Wine Critic.com

“Rich, powerful and driven by a core of minerality, it’s very hard to quantify what the experience of drinking Etna Rosso for the first time is. There is truly nothing like it in new-world wine, the tastes and aromas are so entwined with the soils and grapes indigenous to Etna, and so specific to the place.

Wild spices, complex fruit notes, the depth and singularity of this wine, makes the first experience, an epiphanic moment in a wine lover’s life.”

Different Drop

A bright salmon pink. Intense perfumes of young fruits introduce sapidity and minerality. Drinking Window: 2023 – 2030
Frank Cornelissen Winery

“I was privileged to taste the wine – Susucaru… bottom line is I taste this natural stuff and my eyes just lit up, some lightbulb went off and I feel like this is where the journey of life has taken me, and where I need to continue to explore.”

Action Bronson for Vice’s Munchies Series

97+ points “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.” Drinking Window: 2023-30

Eric Guido, Vinous
(This one gets our D&N Fine Wines recommendation stamp to it 100%!)

96 points “This is the icon wine that Cornelissen has made since his first vintage from vines planted in 1910, now more than a century old. Lean, restrained, and transparent but dense, with a firm, structured character, and taut tannins. Tensile and throbbing with pent-up energy, like scooped-up dewdrops from cherry skins served over black lava rock, like something there and not there, this is a wine you can never quite pin down. More of an experience than just a wine.” Drink 2022-2030

Robin Lee, The World of Fine Wine

92 points “Seduces with a rich and sweetly scented bouquet of crushed black cherries, dried roses, and cloves. It’s silky in texture, enveloping all that it touches with ripe red fruits and spices, nicely framed by saturating minerality, as inner violet florals form toward the close. There are tannins here, but they don’t get in the way; instead, they create a perfectly dry platform where notes of lavender, plum and allspice hover above.” Drinking Window: 2021 – 2027
EricGuido, Vinous

95 points “The entrancing 2019 Munjebel Rosso FM 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. This is pure class.” Drinking Window: 2023 – 2028
Eric Guido, Vinous

94 points “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.” Drinking Window: 2023 – 2028
Eric Guido, Vinous

93+ points “Woodsy herbs and wet stone take on an air of white smoke and peppery florals as the 2019 Munjebel Rosso CR (Campo Re) unfolds in the glass. This takes its time, slowly opening, as wild strawberries, stems, and all, lazily come to the fore. It’s seamlessly silky and pliant upon entry, cool-toned as well, with a mounting saturation of red berries toward the close, adding an almost-chewy sensation. While structured with angular tannins, there’s a burst of inner sweetness that adds balance, as notes of fresh tobacco mix with licorice and hard red candies to create a finish that seems to linger on and on. The CR may be the longest lived of Cornelissen’s 2019 Rossos, but also the one that will take the most time to come around.”  Drinking Window: 2024 – 2032
Eric Guido, Vinous

97 points “Here we are with ungrafted 90-year-old vines at altitudes of between 870–1,000m. Complex and multi-layered, with pistachio notes overlaying pristine damson and juicy pomegranate, with dark notes of savoury bitter greens, black garlic, dandelion leaves, and nettles. Wild and elemental in character, with long and intense flavours, this is a fine example of Cornelissen’s signature style.”
Robin Lee, The World of Fine Wine

16.5 /20 “A blend of ungrafted Nerello Mascalese from Cornelissen’s three highest vineyards (hence vigne alte): Tartaraci at 1,000m at Bronte, Barbabecchi at 910m and Rampante Soprana at 870m at Solicchiata. First made in 2010. Bright crimson with a restrained nose. Backward and very tannic. Not to my taste – too introvert and tough at the moment – but it may get there in the end. Certainly ambitious!” Drink 2025 – 2035
16.5/20 Jancis Robinson

“A veiled yellow colour. Complex aromas of pineapple, mango, and peach. Orange zest, honey, and sweet spices. Fascinatingly rich and salty. An oily, gingery, herbal flavour with a stonefruit body.” 
Frank Cornelissen Winery