Named after a beautiful green and yellow protea, P. coronata, sub-group “bearded sugarbush”. The colours of the flower symbolise the blending of our favourite cultivars (Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon), while the name Coronata alludes to this wine’s status as the crowning glory in our range.

Although not intentionally award driven, there is no denying the status of this tiny family owned Durbanville cellar.

Bernhard insists that Nitida wines are as good as they are because: “We don’t aim our skills at winning awards but rather at producing real, honest, beautiful wines that highlight our special Durbanville terroir”.

The Coronata Integration has been a labour of love for Bernhard and the team since 2004 when he and Jacus made their first Sauvignon Blanc/Semillon blend. With both of these cultivars having exceeded all expectations as single varietals on the farm combined with Bernhard’s love for Bordeaux style wines, it was inevitable that the Coronata would become a resounding success.

From its inception the Coronata has received praise, but only since our 2009 vintage did we believe we had truly met our objective of creating a fully “integrated blend” between Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon. “A wine that shows off the best of both cultivars without one overpowering the other, hence our name change in that year to Coronata Integration”.

Although the wine has always showed tremendous potential and our 2009 & 2010 vintages were award-studded beauties with 5-star nominations on both vintages (2010 Platter 4½ stars, 2010 Concours Mondial du Sauvignon – Only SA blend awarded, 2009 Platters 4½ stars, 2009 Michelangelo gold medal AND BEST PRODUCER ON SHOW, Wine Magazine 4½ stars), we could not be more proud of our Platter 5 star rating on the 2011, as it signifies the culmination of years of work, passion and perseverance in the vineyard as well as the cellar.

Creating Nitida Coronata Integration:

The best Sauvignon Blanc (Cool Climate and made reductively) and the best barrel fermented Semillon (oxidative style, Batonage week for 8 weeks) are combined to make this 60/40 blend. After blending the wine goes back into 6^th fill 300 litre French oak barrels for a further 8 months to facilitate the perfect integration between the individual cultivars and their styles with gentle oak.

RJ tastes through the barrels every 2 weeks, until it is ready to be bottled. Then, instead of being pumped out of the barrel, it is pushed through using CO2 to protect the sensitive flavours, then stabilized and bottled out of the same tank.

Tasting Notes

“Surging creamy fusion embroidered with dramatic dulce de leche. Threads of cinnamon butterscotch are woven over sparkling greengage, crisp apples and bamboo shoots. A bit of a tart but has a special relationship with pork belly.”

The wine is showing some gorgeous Sauvignon Blanc characters like green peas while the aged Semillon is adding lanolin and peach characters. This wine will only get better over the next 5 years.

Technical Specifications

Analysis

CULTIVAR : 60% Sauvignon Blanc , 40% Semillon

VINE : 13yrs Semillon, 5-15yrs Sauvignon Blanc

ROOT STOCK : mainly R110

YIELD : 8 – 12 t/ha

WOOD : 40% Semillon 12 weeks new French barrels. Blended then 8 months 6^th fill French oak barrels

ALCOHOL : 13.78%

SUGAR : 1.9g/l

ACID : 7.4g/l

PH : 3.4