The 2010 vintage sees the addition of Petit Verdot to this award winning blend of Merlot, Cabernet Sauvignon and Cabernet Franc. “Although just four rows of Petit Verdot were added to the blend, this varietal intensifies the wine’s lovely dark colour and its high tannin lends a beautiful structure,” says RJ.
The Merlot fruit is very expressive within the blend and is elegantly embraced by a shroud of cinnamon, mushrooms, peat and Christmas cake. The super spiciness of the Cabernet Franc makes it a fabulous food wine, whilst the round berry fruitiness of the Merlot and depth of the Cabernet Sauvignon and Petit Verdot make it both accessible and full-bodied at the same time. It truly is a great ambassador for the softness, drinkability and the elegance which personifies Durbanville reds.
“Nitida’s lower lying, warmer red vines have been grafted onto a special earlier ripening rootstock, so that they can produce perfectly ripe, full bodied reds from the cool Durbanville area more consistently than in the past,” adds RJ who considers this flagship Calligraphy to be a true testament to the Nitida signature of hand-made wines.
All Nitida’s grapes are hand picked with never more than 200 baskets a day. The bunches are then hand sorted at a slow tempo of one ton per hour and all unwanted berries and stems are removed, pressing only the best berries.
All the old traditional Bordeaux practises such as pigage, remontage and delastage have been employed in fashioning this signature wine. Every cultivar was separately harvested and fermented before four weeks of post fermentation maceration, pressing and a year of barrel maturation. Finally, after meticulous barrel selection, the individual components were painstakingly blended and bottled.
“Think hot cross buns and lightly roasted Arabica coffee. This wine is infused with leather, cherry and sandalwood and some dry tobacco leaf,” is how RJ describes this wine. He recommends enjoying the new 2010 Calligraphy with stewed pheasant or lamb shank.
Nitida has built up an enviable reputation for its cellar door hospitality and award winning wines. A combination of unbeatable views, imaginative food and wonderful wines awaits all visitors in a unique environment on the Durbanville Wine Route, just 20 minutes from the Cape Town city centre.
