2013 Frank Cornelissen MunJebel CS

Community Tasting Notes (4) Avg Score: 92.7 points

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  8/29/2023 - forceberry wrote: 95 Points

  100% organically farmed Nerello Mascalese sourced from the ungrafted parcel Chiusa Spagnolo of Contrada Zottorinoto, a vineyard located at the altitude of 620 m asl; the vineyard was planted on its own roots in 1925. The grapes are destemmed, lightly crushed and fermented with indigenous yeasts using pied de cuve. Fermented and macerated for 50 days, aged for 18 months in neutral epoxy tanks ranging from 1500 to 2500 liters. Bottled unfined and lightly filtered. 15% alcohol. 2013 was the sophomore vintage of this Cru.
  
  Evolved, quite pale and moderately translucent brick-red color. The nose feels ripe, somewhat evolved and quite sweet-toned with layered aromas of cherry marmalade and strawberry jam, some darker-fruited tones, a little bit of developed meaty beef stew character, light licorice root tones, a hint of bilberry, a touch of balsamic VA and a faint whiff of green-toned, slightly herby garrigue. The wine comes across as dry, moderately evolved and quite umami-driven on the palate with a medium body and complex, somewhat concentrated flavors of wizened cherries, some savory notes of meaty umami, a little bit of salty beef jerky character, light sweeter notes of prunes, a hint of licorice root and a touch of juicy yet pretty crunchy dark fruit. The rather high acidity and still moderately assertive and grippy tannins make the wine feel pretty muscular and structure-driven. The finish is long, enjoyably developed and pretty grippy with a complex, dry aftertaste of prunes and bilberries, some savory notes of meat stew, a little bit of balsamic VA, light black cherry tones, a hint of earthy garrigue and a salty touch of beef jerky.
  
  A fine, stern and quite structure-driven single-vineyard Cornelissen that is slowly approaching its apogee. The fruit department is starting to feel quite evolved, tertiary and rather meaty, but the wine is noticeably more structure-driven than probably any other Cornelissen Contrada wine we tasted in our tasting of sixteen Cornelissen wines. I don't expect the wine to evolve aromatically much further from here, seeing how developed the flavor profile here is, but I really don't mind - the wine is in an excellent phase right now, showing so much depth, complexity and sense of finesse. Structurally the wine could age for decades more - and the stern tannins really could use some more age - but it's hard to assess how much longer will the fruit hold. I guess this wine is best served with food that can tame those burly tannins. This is very impressive stuff by any accounts, probably the best Cornelissen wine we tasted, just beautiful. Very highly recommended.

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  12/25/2022 - gordoyflaca Likes this wine: 95 Points

  Beautiful!!!

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  12/4/2014 - kevinacohn wrote:

  Dinner with Frank Cornelissen (Sofia's of Little Italy, New York, NY): From 1.5L. At first, the bouquet was quite restrained, but the palate offered an immediate explosion of flavors. Wild red and black fruits, brush, and rocky minerality, with a slightly syrupy consistency. Super concentrated. After time in the glass, the bouquet opened to show the familiar melange of fruits and herbs. Of all the wines served as this dinner, Frank felt this would age the best. It could certainly benefit from three years of bottle age. Rated 2 on a scale of -1 to 3.

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  9/25/2014 - elvinet Likes this wine: 92 Points

  Color rojo-rubí bien brillante, ribete rojo-violáceo, capa media tirando a baja y gruesa lágrima que fluye rápida y suavemente tintada. Buena intensidad en nariz con una fresca fruta roja algo dulzona, notable matiz de tomillo bien fresco y ligeras notas de romero, regaliz rojo y especias rojas, suave nota licorosa bien refrescante y toque de turba fresca de fondo. Notable entrada en boca con una suave astringencia bien agradable, notable finura en su recorrido, muy buena acidez, fruta roja bien fresca y de cuerpo medio y excelente estructura, fino y elegante, discurre de manera intensa sin molestar, magnífica persistencia. Final largo, postgusto de fruta roja madura y retronasal volcánico.
  Con un notable potencial de evolución.
  
  More information: www.elvi.net/2014/09/25/frank-cornelissen-munjebel-cs-2013/

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