Frank Cornelissen Munjebel 2018 - IGP Terre Siciliane; 100% Nerello mascalese; 12,5% abv; c.55€
Am I just too used to “natural” wine since I found this particular Cornelissen to be pretty tame? 
The lightness and tameness might also be from the relatively cool and rainy vintage. But the coolness and rain didn’t mean a weak or dilute wine. The aromas are pretty lovely and open, quite floral and refreshingly red fruited, but with some “mineral” and earthy notes so that it isn’t just boring fruit (who needs fruit in their wine, eurgh! /s). Lovely bright, refreshing fruit rather than power. There is structure there, too - both acidity and tannin - so it isn’t just boring fruit. Comparing to my memory of previous Cornelissens, this comes across as delicate, charming and pretty. And that’s not a bad thing IMO. Tough vintage but lovely wine. Buy again? Lol not at this price despite how enjoyable it was.
i believe in the last vintage or two he started adding sulphur and filtering. all for the better it seems.
Yes, most definitely. 55 Euro seems a bit higher than what we pay for it in the US, though. For that price I probably would pass too. Love that glowy color he gets in his reds.
i believe the lion’s share of production has been swooped up by the american importer for many years, which accounts for the favorable pricing stateside. i have long noticed the prices for cornelissen seem less kind to the consumer in its homeland.
Nah, it’s just the combination of a pricey importer and state monopoly. Normally Munjebels hover around 40€ in Europe.
yeah I wouldn’t pay 55euro for a munjabel either, unless it was one of the single vineyard ones. but I do find these wines to be much more consistent now and I definitely applaud him for realizing he needed to make a change to help with end customer enjoyment over dogma.
Anyone have perspective on how these are evolving with bottle age now that Frank’s changed the regime? I’m doing a little experimenting myself but starting with the 18s…
I think these wines will age well. especially the munjabel and the munjabel single vineyards. they’re all packed with acid and have plenty of tannin. they also are still really alive even with the little bit of SO2