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Frank Cornelissen

Munjebel Rosso PA 2018

Price: $89.95
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Tasting notes

The Porcaria site at 640 meters delivers some of the most site-specific Nerello Mascalese Cornelissen produces: dark currant and rose on the nose give way to a palate of volcanic mineral tension, fresh acidity, and a saline finish that lingers. Sixty days of skin contact builds structure without sacrificing the grape's natural transparency.

BodyFruitTanninAcidity
Red CurrantRoseEarthBlood Orange
  • Style: Dry, medium-bodied red; ruby with garnet hues; volcanic mineral, dark berry, and floral character; 13.5% ABV
  • Grapes & Terroir: 100% Nerello Mascalese; Porcaria cru, Feudo di Mezzo contrada; 640m elevation; volcanic basalt soils; 60+ year alberello vines
  • Winemaking: Destemmed; 60-day spontaneous skin-contact fermentation with indigenous yeasts; 18 months aging in neutral epoxy-resin tanks; unfined, no added sulfites
  • Serving: Serve at 60-64F; 20-30 minute decant recommended
  • Pairing: Roasted lamb, grilled swordfish, aged pecorino, tomato-braised pork
  • Similar To: For fans of Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo who want volcanic terroir and zero-intervention winemaking

The Munjebel Rosso PA comes from the Porcaria cru within contrada Feudo di Mezzo on the northern slopes of Mount Etna, at 640 meters elevation. The vines are over 60 years old and trained in the traditional alberello (bush vine) system on volcanic basalt soils. The designation PA stands for Porcaria, one of several single-contrada bottlings Cornelissen produces to map the distinct expressions of Etna's north face.

In the cellar, grapes are destemmed and undergo spontaneous fermentation with indigenous yeasts, with 60 days of skin contact in neutral epoxy-resin tanks. The wine then ages for 18 months in glass-resin vessels of 1,500 to 2,500 liters. No oak is used at any stage. The wine is bottled without fining or filtration and with no added sulfites.

The 2018 vintage on Etna produced lighter, more delicate wines with notably fresh acidity and moderate concentration. The PA bottling at this elevation shows dark berry fruit, ripe currants, and rose notes alongside characteristic volcanic mineral tension. Tannins are present but fine-grained, and the finish carries a saline, stony quality.

The wine is classified as Terre Siciliane IGT rather than Etna DOC because some of Cornelissen's vineyard sites sit above the DOC demarcation lines. No oak, no additives, no compromises on site specificity.

The wine's fresh acidity and fine tannins work well with tomato-based braises, roasted lamb with herbs, and aged pecorino. Its mineral and savory character also holds up to grilled swordfish or tuna prepared with capers and olives, typical of the Sicilian table.

Wine details

Dry/Sweet:, Dry
Wine Type:, Red Wine
Wine Style:, Medium Body
Grapes:, Nerello Mascalese
Farming:, Organic
Vintage:, 2018
Alcohol:, 13.5%
Country:, Italy
Region:, Sicily
Appellation:, Terre Siciliane IGT
Bottle Size:, 750ml
Sugar Level:, Zero Added Sugar

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.


Important Compliance Requirements

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If you'd like to receive a refund for a package that was returned to us after FedEx made three delivery attempts, we can do that but we must keep a $20 refund fee; FedEx charges us a lot of money for returns, unfortunately, I can't stress this enough.


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Heat/Frost damage

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Placed an order. What next?

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2. As soon as your order ships from the warehouse, usually within 2-3 business days, this applies to all shipping rates, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with your tracking information. 2DAY shipping refers to shipping time; we still need 2-3 business days to prepare an order. We need to pick and pack, QA, add printed collateral, and palletize the orders.

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Returns Policy

If you are not satisfied with your purchase, please contact us at (424) 414-2040 or via e-mail at hello@primalwine.com between 9 am and 5 pm Pacific Standard Time, Monday through Sunday, we would like to understand and try to solve your concerns. We can offer refunds only as store credit.

Producer profile

Frank Cornelissen

Frank Cornelissen is a Belgian-born former wine broker who moved to Mount Etna in 2000 after tasting a wine from the region that he initially mistook for a Piemontese Nebbiolo. He produced his first vintage in 2001, beginning with under half a hectare of vines. The estate has grown to 24 hectares spread across 18 different sites on the northern slopes of Etna, ranging from 600 to 1,000 meters in elevation.

Cornelissen farms organically with no herbicides, pesticides, or synthetic chemicals. Thirteen of the estate's hectares are planted in the traditional alberello (free-standing bush vine) system, and a significant portion of the old vines are ungrafted. He has planted fruit and nut trees among the vine rows and grows buckwheat on land being prepared for new plantings, using it to regenerate soil. The estate is certified organic, though its farming practices go beyond standard certification requirements.

Winemaking at the estate is built around non-intervention. Fermentation is spontaneous using indigenous yeasts in epoxy-resin tanks, which Cornelissen uses both for their thermal properties and because they impart no flavor to the wine. There is no oak used across the range. From 2018 onward, Cornelissen introduced a sorting table and has used minimal sulfites in some cuvees, particularly for export, though the Munjebel PA is bottled without added sulfites. Wines are not fined and undergo light filtration before bottling.

Wine region

Sicily, Italy

Mount Etna sits in the northeastern corner of Sicily, rising to 3,329 meters and constituting its own distinct viticultural zone within the island. The northern slopes, where Cornelissen and many of the region's top producers concentrate their vineyards, face toward Randazzo and the Alcantara Valley. Elevations range from roughly 400 meters up to above 1,000 meters, producing a continental-influenced climate that is cooler and wetter than the Sicilian norm, with significant diurnal temperature swings during the growing season. Soils are volcanic basalt and ash in varying compositions depending on the age and sequence of lava flows, and the sandy volcanic structure has historically kept phylloxera at bay, allowing many old ungrafted vines to survive.

The Etna DOC, established in 1968 and significantly revised in 2011 to recognize individual contrade (sub-zones), governs wines made primarily from Nerello Mascalese for reds and Carricante for whites. The north-facing contrade, including Feudo di Mezzo, Calderara, Santo Spirito, and Barbabecchi, are considered the benchmark sites for structured, age-worthy Etna Rosso. Producers whose vineyards sit above the DOC altitude limits, as is the case with some of Cornelissen's parcels, use the broader Terre Siciliane IGT classification. Nerello Mascalese is the dominant red grape and is compared frequently to Pinot Noir and Nebbiolo for its combination of translucent color, firm acidity, and aromatic complexity.

Frequently asked question

We will process and ship your order in 2-3 business days, you will receive a shipping confirmation email with tracking as soon as the Carrier scans the shipping label.

Ground shipping time depends on location, here's a breakdown:

West Coast: 1-2 business days
Midwest: 3-4 business days
East Coast: 5 business days

Process time is not shipping time. Shipping time starts from the days successive to the day of shipping, after the order has been processed.

See here our shipping policy.

Signature on delivery is mandatory for wine deliveries. Please make sure someone is at the shipping address to sign for the package.

If applicable, please consider delivering the package to a business address to ensure someone is available to sign for the package.

We also have the option of delivering the package to a Carrier's store for pickup. Please reach out to us to coordinate.

Carrier will try to delivery a package up to three times before returning the package to us.

See here our shipping policy.

If you miss a delivery and a package gets returned to us we have two options:

1) Reship the package right away: due to the very high cost of shipping and returns, we must charge a re-shipping fee to be determined based on package size and shipping destination.

2) Consolidate the returned package with your next order: this option is free of charge and it's the most popular option.

See here our shipping policy.

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