Calligraphy

This warm wine comes to life when paired with Seared Beef Brisket in Bourguignon sauce and the crackling of a cozy fire in the distance.

Great wine is made in the vineyard’, this being ever-true in the case of Bordeaux varietals such as Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Malbec and Petit Verdot. Meticulous leaf removal around the bunch zone allowed for improved sunlight penetration, thus ensuring optimal ripening and colour and flavour development. The Cape’s many winds served to further reduce our yields ensuring optimal fruit concentration.

The wine is then matured in 100% French oak (43% new oak) for fourteen months followed by light filtration prior bottling.

After selective hand-harvesting, the grapes are de-stemmed and individual berries are sorted across a vibrating table ensuring only the best grapes make their way to fermentation tanks. Fermentation takes place in open-top fermenters with punch-downs every four hours ensuring optimal colour, tannin and flavour extraction.

Although not intentionally award driven, there is no denying the status of this tiny family-owned Durbanville cellar. Strategically we are following a very traditional but personalised approach to making wine. In line with our brand honesty, we don’t try to be clever or practice contrived marketing jargon. We pick by hand, allowing us to leave the less perfect bunches for the soil to enrich itself – and before pressing, we again sort the individual grapes by hand. “We completely believe that beautiful wines come from day to day thoughtful management in the vineyards.” Our bottom line is that to be part of the Nitida family requires commitment, passion, and a desire to be involved. Our punch through system, while automated, was designed by the engineer in Bernhard to closely emulate a traditional hand-punch method. Of course, we do use modern technology for pressing and pumping, but always seek out the gentlest methods.