2023 Testalonga El Bandito Cortez

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

 “For me this is probably the Chenin that has the most complexity and longevity.” “The vineyard, planted in 1972, is a special one as it has been farmed organically since 2001 and every year, good or bad, gives a tension we sometimes don’t find in our other wines [as much]. This, I think, is due to the high percentage of quartz in the soil.”

Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1972. The nose is shy but nevertheless compelling with traces of pear, peach, green apple, herbs, earth and some flinty reduction. The palate is intense but not weighty – great fruit delineation, snappy acidity and a bone-dry finish. A wine that pulls together wonderfully well – just about pitch-perfect. Alc: 11.97% 98/100 Christian Eedes, WineMag.co.za 

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.