ah Semillon 2010
““Fabulous weather made up for a mechanically challenging harvest. The incredibly cool February gave us another brilliant Sauvignon Blanc. Even the slight heat wave in March was useful for ripening the reds conveniently balanced by light rains which spaced our cultivar pickings nicely. The year brings a new Chardonnay and a very exciting “white” MCC (launch 2011) into the range. Bernhard bought 3 new tanks which somewhat eased RJ’s juggling act with cellar space. Kerry joined our team in February and Version2 of our Nitida website went live.””
Tasting Notes
Woodland frangipani dripping renosterveld honey, wild gooseberries, a sense of subtle nettles or cloves. For all foods Eastern, prawns or artichokes with aioli sauce.
Winemaker Comments
The cold and wet September in 2009 made for late budding, hence cooler growing and final ripening period (from early March to late March). Particularly important for semillon with its soft skins, the dry season ensured healthy grapes (unlike 2008) and just like sauvignon blanc, some stress adds to flavour complexity. Normal levels of vegetative growth meant simple canopy management - with leaf break out on the east side & underneath the bunches on the west side to get some heat from the soil into the bunch zone. Volumes were a bit down again this year which contributed to the intensity of flavours. We have stayed with our award winning formula of fermenting 50% of the semillon in barrels (French new, 2nd and 3rd fill) in a chardonnay style (yeasts) sur lie, with weekly battonage for the 10 weeks it is in barrel. The balance is tank fermented in a sauvignon blanc style keeping it as reductive as possible (adds freshness). We picked a little bit riper this year for a fruit driven wine.
