abc Coronata Integration 2009
““Thanks to healthy vineyards and helpful weather, this harvest lives in our memories as the best and easiest harvest ever including our first Merlot and Cabernet Franc from the new plantings. Our Club and Jacus both celebrated their 10th birthdays with Nitida. Warren Swaffield took over Cassia. We won the inaugural “Best Producer” Trophy for the most awarded wines at the Michelangelo Awards. We appointed Cathy White as our new Johannesburg agent. Bernhard’s Nitida Decorus Sauvignon Blanc received the highest bid for an unwooded white at the CWG Auction. New labels for our standard range of wines.””
Tasting Notes
Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon meld as jasmine warms to honeysuckle, crisp nutty green apples meet luscious loquats and a lingering greenpepper finish goes undercover in smooth panacotta.
Winemaker Comments
This wine has been intentionally designed to evolve with both cultivars, and behaves a bit like a child - showing different aspects of its character at different times - it remains forever interesting. As it ages , the tight sauvignon blanc acids will remain firm but grow gentler while that dash of greenpepper freshness will always speak of its Nitida origins. The semillon character will deepen into a warm honey and will become more dominant on the palate. Grape blocks were specially chosen in the vineyard for their cultivar character and kept separate throughout the process and ultimately the best barrel of semillon and the best small tank of sauvignon blanc were blended until we found what we considered to be the optimum balance for drinkability now and into the future.
Named after a beautiful green and yellow protea, P. coronata, sub-group “bearded sugarbush”. The colours of the flower symbolise the blending of the culivars, while the name is descriptive of the status of the wine.
