Craig and Carla Hawkins of TESTALONGA have released a new range of wines called ‘Mielie’ – named after Craig and Carla’s daughter, Camilla.
The Mielie range sits under the Baby Bandito wines, and will be opportunity for Craig to work with blends (vineyards and/or varieties) for the first time in TESTALONGA history.
The Mielie Green is a Chenin Blanc, and the range will be extended in future vintages.
The wine
100% Chenin Blanc, planted 1961 & 1998.
The wine is a blend of two vineyards from the West Coast area of the Swartland. The first is bush vines on the foothills of the Piketberg mountains in Moutons Hoek planted in 1961 on decomposed sandstone at 150m altitude. The second vineyard planted in 1998 on decomposed granite at 300m is close to Redelinghuys and 18km from the cold Atlantic ocean on the West Coast. The vineyard is unirrigated and gives a specific saltiness to the grapes.
Hand harvested and whole bunch pressed. The wine is a blend of two vineyards which were co-fermented in a 5000L concrete tank for 6 months then racked off its gross lees and placed back into the concrete tank. No yeast (or other) inoculation or additives apart from a small amount of SO2 shortly before bottling were added. 100% malolactic fermentation. Unfined and a light clarifying filtration was done. The purity of fruit this year and the very soft edges makes this wine delicious in our opinion.
TESTALONGA Mielie ‘Green’ 2022
MIELIE 'GREEN' 2022
by TESTALONGA
Craig and Carla Hawkins of TESTALONGA have released a new range of wines called ‘Mielie’ – named after Craig and Carla’s daughter, Camilla.
The Mielie range sits under the Baby Bandito wines, and will be opportunity for Craig to work with blends (vineyards and/or varieties) for the first time in TESTALONGA history.
The Mielie Green is a Chenin Blanc, and the range will be extended in future vintages.
The wine
100% Chenin Blanc, planted 1961 & 1998.
The wine is a blend of two vineyards from the West Coast area of the Swartland. The first is bush vines on the foothills of the Piketberg mountains in Moutons Hoek planted in 1961 on decomposed sandstone at 150m altitude. The second vineyard planted in 1998 on decomposed granite at 300m is close to Redelinghuys and 18km from the cold Atlantic ocean on the West Coast. The vineyard is unirrigated and gives a specific saltiness to the grapes.
Hand harvested and whole bunch pressed. The wine is a blend of two vineyards which were co-fermented in a 5000L concrete tank for 6 months then racked off its gross lees and placed back into the concrete tank. No yeast (or other) inoculation or additives apart from a small amount of SO2 shortly before bottling were added. 100% malolactic fermentation. Unfined and a light clarifying filtration was done. The purity of fruit this year and the very soft edges makes this wine delicious in our opinion.
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