2023 Testalonga El Bandito The Dark Side

WINEMAKER: Craig & Carla Hawkins
REGION: Swartland, SA
VARIETY: Syrah
VITICULTURE: Organic/Biodynamic

Hand-harvested then fermented with 100% whole bunches in open 1500L tanks. Pressed after 8 days and matured in one 500L old French oak barrels. No added yeast or acid. SO2 added a month before bottling, un-fined and a light clarifying filtration was done. There is a great purity of fruit this year and even though the wine is of lighter touch it has great depth. The nose is rather subdued – subtle notes of red and black fruit, flowers and white pepper. Darkly floral: violets and white pepper sail on a sea of crunchy red fruit. Slippery tannins and pure, precise fruit seam together effortlessly with a super finish.

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.