Variety: Nerello Mascalese

Like many before him, Frank Cornelissen fell in love with wine in a romantic fashion. After getting his hands on the coveted DRC, he was naturally committed. After tasting and talking with others in the industry for about 20 years, he began to question the side of wine in a philosophical way. His quest led him to Sicily, where he began to farm in the northern slopes of Mt. Etna, the active volcano. He began to make wine of culture with an approach natural in character. His vines are unlike others in the area as they aren’t planted to high density; instead he has interplanted several forms of vegetation, including fruit trees and buckwheat, allowing the vines to thrive in a polycultural way. The expanse of his love for Etna is reflected in his estate wines, the single vineyard wines, and olive oils. The wines are extremely difficult to come by as they’re allocated; everyone wants these!

A blend of Nerello Mascalese grapes coming from 3 of Frank’s highest altitude vineyards: Tartaric (1000m. asl), Rampant Soprana (910m. asl), and Barbebecchi (870m. asl). The vines are 90 years old and entirely ungrafted. The wine is hand harvested and destemmed before seeing a 60 day spontaneous fermentation in epoxy tanks. The wine is then aged for 18 months followed by another 18 months in bottle. This bottling is considered one of Conelissen's 'Grand Cru' wines and only 2,500 bottles are produced annually.