2021 Testalonga El Bandito Mangaliza

WINEMAKER: Craig & Carla Hawkins
REGION: Swartland, SA
VARIETAL: Harslevelü
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

"The wine is borne from my experiences in working close the Hungarian border in Austria. Here I came into contact with the grape Harslevelü, which is beautifully fragrant and has a great natural oily texture together with decent acidities. I came back to South Africa and work with a tiny 0.5 ha vineyard, (which is next to the Sweet Cheeks and Cortez vineyard). Whilst in Hungary I also discovered the Hungarian “Sheep Pig” locally called Mangalitsa, I like pigs and particularly pigs that look like sheep, so I called the wine Mangaliza in homage to the sheep pig. The photo was taken by myself of a field mouse which I rescued from my dogs, it lived to fight another day." - Craig

During the apartheid, the South African wine industry was completely dominated by one organization, which controlled everything from production to price. Modern day renegades, Craig & Carla Hawkins, established Testalonga in 2008 and shook the industry to its core. Settling in Swartland, they started with two barrels of macerated chenin - the first 'orange' wine made in South Africa. The deeply conservative authorities often rejected their wines for export for not exhibiting 'typicity' of South African wine.