The Bandits Are Back | TESTALONGA vintage 2024 Release

This mixed case includes:

TESTALONGA Mielie ‘Green’ Chenin Blanc 2024
TESTALONGA Mielie ‘Magenta’ Chenin Blanc 2024
TESTALONGA ‘Keep on Punching’ Chenin Blanc 2024
TESTALONGA ‘Stay Brave’ Skin Macerated Chenin Blanc 2024
TESTALONGA ‘Chin Up’ Cinsaut 2024
TESTALONGA ‘Follow Your Dreams’ Carignan 2024

The wine is a blend of three vineyards from the Swartland. The koffieklip/granite soils near Malmesbury giving bush vines planted in 1981. Bush vines on the foothills of the Piketberg mountains in Moutons Hoek planted in 1961 on deep sandstone soils. The second vineyard planted in 1998 is close to Redelinghuys and 18km from the cold Atlantic ocean on the West Coast. The vineyard is also dry land farmed and gives a specific saltiness to the grapes. All organically and dry land farmed.

Winemaker notes on the label: We always put a quote by Camilla on the side of the bottle, and this year the quote was: “Monkey goes Duh” – very profound.

Bush vine trained Grenache noir, organically farmed. Planted in 2018, this is a block with quite a high soil water table as it is situated on a mountain in a “kloof” next to where the winter streams run. Hand harvested and sorted in the vineyard for any undesirable bunches.

Notes from the winemaker: This label was inspired by our daughter who we call “Mielie”. A Mielie is engrained in our South African heritage and is a food that is shared across all cultures in our society.

Planted in 1961, dry land bush vines, farmed organically. It is a 4-ha block of Chenin planted on the sandstone soils of the Piketberg foothills on the way to Redelinghuys.  It’s the oldest block of Chenin that TESTALONGA work with. The 2024 Keep On Punching shows amazing depth and character for such a young wine. This can only be attributed to the gentle ageing that occurs and the intensity we get from these old vines.

“Grapes from a Piketberg vineyard planted in 1961. Pear, peach and apple on the nose while the palate is well balanced – this vintage is quite broad with moderate acidity. ”

91 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Hand harvested in late January. The grapes were cooled down overnight to 6C and processed the following day. The grapes were destemmed into open 2000L fermentation tanks. After 14 days the tanks were pressed and the wine was allowed to finish ferment in fibreglass tanks. Full malolactic occured.

“Grapes from a vineyard planted in 1981 on granite. Two weeks of skin contact. Pretty aromatics of soft citrus, orange, potpourri and a hint of white pepper. Lovely fruit expression, bright acidity and a gently savoury finish. Balanced and relatively understated – not too tannic at all.”

91 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Planted in 1981, bush vine, dryland, farmed organically. This is a 3ha block on the farm of Rick McGrindle. It yields very large delicate grapes with thin skins of a pale complexion. Although 2024 vintage with the good rains preceding harvest added a bit more depth to the wine. 2024 had decent yields that gave good balance in the wine.

Hand harvested and 100% destemmed into open 2000L fermenters. Fermented on the skins for 12 days before being pressed off into a 5000L cement tank and stainless-steel tank. Fermented slightly warmer for a bit more extraction.

“Co-fermented with 10% Tannat. Red cherry and a hint of earth on the nose while the palate is light with zippy acidity and very fine, powdery tannins. Entirely smashable.”

Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Hand harvested and 100% whole bunch fermented. The wine does not do carbonic maceration but rather is crushed before going into tank for 12 days of fermentation and then pressed off into two old 3500L Foudre and 500L barrels. The grapes were harvested slightly later compared to previous vintages.

“100% whole-bunch fermented. Enticing aromatics of pomegranate, cherry, raspberry, fynbos and white pepper. Light bodied yet intensely flavoured with racy acidity and fine tannins. Layered and long.”

95 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Hand-harvested then fermented after being 100% whole bunch pressed. Pressed into one 500L and 400L old barrel. No added yeast or acid. Full Malolactic fermentation takes place. Un-fined and not filtered.

The richest, most open of the El Bandito Chenins.

“Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1981. 10ppm SO2 added at bottling. Potpourri, a hint of herbs, peach and apple on the nose. The palate is less overtly oxidative than previous vintages – pure fruit, fresh acidity and lightly grippy in texture.”

92 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Note from Craig: “We change the label every year to best suit the feeling I think the wine is giving… This is my favourite vineyard to work with.”

“Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1972. Haunting aromatics of potpourri, herbs, lime and peach. The palate shows great purity and precision – extraordinary fruit concentration matched by a lovely line of acidity, the finish long and savoury. Great definition and shape, this is as distinct and captivating as ever.”

98 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

A unique variety from Hungary, with only 2 vineyards of planted in South Africa this is a truly special and different wine.

“Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1971 on granite. Herbs, peach, apple and a slight waxy note on the nose. The palate has good weight and texture, well integrated acidity and a deeply savoury finish. A wine with a lovely tangy quality to it.”

93 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

It is a tiny parcel (300 vines) that they have been working with for a number of years. The name comes from one of Craig’s favourite musicians Thomas Mapfumo from Zimbabwe. When he started out making music and formed a band they all used to work in the chicken runs so their first band they called Hallelujah Chicken Run. The photo was taken by a friend Kevin Short whilst on a photo shoot in Kenya, the boy symbolises how they feel about wine.

“Grapes from a vineyard planted in 2001 on granite on the outskirts of Malmesbury. The nose shows honeysuckle, fynbos and peach while the palate is light-bodied with a pleasing tension about it – clean, fresh and pithy.”

90 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

The vineyard is a special one as it is the only vineyard that TESTALONGA work with that is completely unique in its location and soil make up. It is about 20 km from the ocean and on deep sand that sits on top of a chalk layer. The vineyard benefits from the warm sunny days but it is cooled by nearby ocean breezes on most days. The vineyard produces a very unique salty flavour.

“Grapes from a vineyard planted in 1998 on “beach sand” near Elands Bay on the West Coast. Pear, peach, soft citrus and a hint of ginger on the nose. Broad and textured with moderate acidity and a salty finish. Plenty of interest. ”

92 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Craig Hawkins:
“We brought the property (Bandits Kloof) in 2015. This was a virgin property with no electricity but a fresh supply of water from the mountain on which is sits. We started planting vineyards in 2018, these being Grenache blanc and Grenache noir.

The whole idea behind Bandits Kloof is to make the best wine we can from the property, if this mean that it is a single vineyard wine or a blend of all the grapes then so be it. The same rings true if we feel the vintage is not good enough, we will not bottle it. This is the second vintage and wine off our new property.

Decomposed Sandstone and Koue Bokkeveld Shale, 380m above sea level, East facing.

“Grapes from own vineyards planted in 2018. Long lees ageing and no sulphur added. Hay, citrus, peach, earth and hard-to-describe nutty quality on the nose. Dense fruit, moderate acidity and a savoury finish – full of character. ”

94 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

The original TESTALONGA wine.

Organically farmed dryland bushvines, planted in 1972.

Hand harvested. Destemmed 100% into 1500L open fermenters. Fermented for 14 days on the skins before being pressed into one 3000L Foudre. No yeast inoculation and fermented at ambient room temperature of 16 degrees. Full malolactic fermentation takes place. Bottled after 11 months in Foudre.

“The original TESTALONGA wine. Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 1972 on granite. Complex aromatics of hay, lime, lemon, peach, fynbos, and tea. The palate is light-bodied yet detailed. Energetic with a persistent, finish – super-dry but not astringent.”

96 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Organically farmed bush vines planted in the 1952, they are situated in a very wet part of the Paardeberg, at the bottom of the slope, and this helps with ripening the large berries fully.

Hand-harvested then fermented after being 100% Destemmed. Pressed after 10 days and matured in 500L old oak casks. No added yeast or acid. Full malolactic fermentation takes place. SO2 added a month before bottling, a light clarifying filtration, not fined.

“Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard supposedly planted in 1952 on granite. Skin contact lasting two weeks. The nose shows floral perfume as well as a grape-like quality while the palate is juicy and fresh with a lightly salty finish. Cheerful if a bit simple.”

Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Dry land bush vines planted in 1999, organically farmed, no shoot thinning is done, rather leaves are left to provide shade which Craig thinks brings more elegance to the wine. Cover cropping with legumous nitrogen fixing plants is done every year. There are only 300 vines so it is tough to manage this on such a small scale but they try our best to fill a barrel every year.

“Grapes from a vineyard planted in 1999 on granite. 100% whole-bunch fermented. Exotic aromatics of red and black berries, wilted rose, spice and earth. Good fruit depth and moderate acidity before a dry finish – neither too luscious nor astringent.”

92 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Bush vines planted in the 2001 and organically farmed, they are situated on slightly more clay rich “Koffie Klipp” soils of the Abbotsdale region on the foot slopes of the Paardeberg, this is a 1ha block they share with good friend and winemaker Jurgen Gouws who farms the block. 2024 vintage achieved good yields on this block and the grapes were perfect in health and quality and a pleasure to work with.

“Grapes from an Abbotsdale vineyard planted in 2001. 100% whole-bunch fermented. The nose shows lavender, fynbos, red and black berries plus a hint of earth. Medium bodied with pure fruit, zesty acidity and powdery tannins, the finish nicely dry.”

92 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

Organically farmed bush vines planted in 2001, the soils have a higher clay content than a lot of the other parcels they get from – which helps with water retention which is a good thing in the very dry years. Not a lot of suckering is done to promote leaf growth.

“Grapes from a Paardeberg vineyard planted in 2001 on granite. 100% whole-bunch fermented. Red berries, rose, fynbos and white pepper. Great fruit purity, zesty acidity and lightly grippy tannins. Ethereal if the variety can ever be that – has a lovely lightness of being about it. ”

93 Points – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za

100% Chenin Blanc Methode Ancestral

Note from Craig: “We love Methode Ancestral wines and the texture they bring. We wanted this wine to be drier than the “I wish I was a Ninja” as we feel Chenin has more depth when it is drier. The photo was taken by our friend Martin Shambrock in London of his neighbour’s dog “Layla”. We love the photo and think it suits this wine perfectly, it is serious but playful at the same time.”

100% Colombard Methode Ancestral

Note from Craig: “We are extremely happy with this wine, as it is quickly becoming one of our mainstay wines. The good balance of acid, sugar and bubbles is now a consistent quality. The name came about whilst we were bottling the wine in harvest and we got onto the topic of Ninjas. The photo was taken by me in the pool of good friend Paul Jordaan, during one of many Swartland braais. I knew then that the photo would be my label as I think it captures the essence of what I want the people to feel like when they drink this wine.”