The Grande Matriarch

Open a bottle and pair with fresh baked butter croissants filled with smoked salmon & cream cheese..

The Grande Matriarch is our first attempt at making a 100% Pinot Noir, serious style Method Cap Classique. The grapes were sourced in Durbanville, hand-picked at low sugar levels of 18.5 – 19°B and whole bunch pressed.

The wine is then left on the lees for 30 months before disgorgement. The dosage used (filling up the bottles before corking) was also Pinot Noir, which makes this a truly 100% Pinot.

The extracted juice is low in phenols, high in natural acidity and has a delicate blush colour. The juices are fermented with a strong yeast strain to form the base wine and once the base wine is stabilised the wine is bottled for the second fermentation under a crown cap.

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.