2024 Frank Cornelissen Susucaru Rosso

Brambly, vibrant, and alive — pomegranate, cranberry, wild herbs, and a smoky volcanic minerality with fine-grained tannins, bright acidity, and a clean, energetic finish that begs a slight chill and a full table. The 2024 Frank Cornelissen "Susucaru Rosso" is organically and biodynamically farmed 85% Nerello Mascalese blended with Nerello Cappuccio, Alicante Bouschet, Minnella, and Uva Francesa — a traditional field blend from multiple contradas on the northern slopes of Etna, destemmed, 60 days on skins, indigenous yeast, aged in neutral epoxy tanks, zero sulfur, unfined, unfiltered. "Susucaru" means "they stole it all" in Sicilian dialect — which is exactly what used to happen every time this wine was released. Frank Cornelissen arrived from Belgium in 2001, bought 0.40 hectares on a volcano that nobody was paying attention to, and proceeded to build one of the most talked-about natural wine estates on earth. The entry point to that story, at a price that makes no argument against buying a case.