ac Coronata 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 Kathy 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
Dusty, fresh haystacks and mushy peas combine with light toastiness and caramel pith, asparagus, pasley and coriander dawdle.
Winemaker Comments
44% semillon from 100% new Fr oak (fermented and aged for 8 weeks) with 56% tank fermented sauvignon blanc. Grapes were from specially earmarked blocks. This is the 5th year of blending these 2 cultivars. 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. As it ages, the tight sauvignon blanc acids will remain firm but grow gentler and that dash of greenpepper freshness will always speak of its Nitida origins, while the semillon character deepens into a warm honey and becomes more dominant on the palate. Nitida Coronata is the culmination of many years of working with and observing the characteristics of sauvignon blanc and semillon from our area. Ultimately the best barrel of semillon and the best small tank of sauv blanc were blended until we found what we considered to be the optimum mix for drinkability now and into the future.
