Testalonga

Testalonga is the project of Craig and Carla Hawkins, two of the most influential figures in South Africa's natural wine movement. Founded in 2008, Testalonga began with a single wine -- a four-week skin-macerated Chenin Blanc from old Paardeberg bush vines -- and has since grown into one of the most internationally sought-after labels to emerge from the Swartland.

Craig Hawkins cut his teeth as winemaker at Lammershoek, where he worked until the estate was sold in 2015. During that time he was already making wine under the Testalonga label from The Observatory vineyard, which he leased and farmed himself on the granite slopes of the Paardeberg. The Hawkins currently rent eleven hectares of organically farmed vineyards on the granite soils of the Paardeberg and four hectares on the sandstone soils of the Piketberg. In 2015 they purchased their own farm on slate and sandstone soils in the northern mountains of the Swartland, a property they named Bandits Kloof. The first vineyards were planted there in 2018, focusing on Mediterranean grape varieties suited to the dry-farmed conditions.

The winemaking philosophy at Testalonga is one of radical non-intervention. Craig uses only wild ferments. Nothing is added in the cellar -- no yeast, no enzymes, no acid. A small amount of sulphur dioxide may be used at bottling in some wines and vintages, but not all. Every wine is a single variety from a single site, an approach that makes each bottling a direct expression of a specific vineyard and season.

The wines are released under four ranges. The Mielies label offers the most accessible, everyday drinking. The Baby Bandito range steps up in concentration and character, with each wine named for something one might say to encourage a child: Keep On Punching is a Chenin Blanc, Stay Brave is a skin-contact Chenin, Chin Up is a Cinsault, and Follow Your Dreams is a Carignan. The El Bandito range is reserved for the top vineyards of bought-in fruit -- structured, intense wines that include the Skin (skin-macerated Chenin from 1972 Paardeberg bush vines), Monkey Gone to Heaven (Mourvedre), and the Queen of Spades (Tinta Amarela, the only example of this variety in the Swartland). At the top sits the Bandits Kloof range, made entirely from the Hawkins' own farm.

Testalonga does not operate a conventional tasting room. Visits are by appointment only, reflecting the small-scale, hands-on nature of the operation. Production sits at around 40,000 bottles per year. The wines are exported widely and have earned recognition from critics including Jancis Robinson. Craig Hawkins is regarded as one of the founding figures of the Swartland Revolution, the loose collective of winemakers who transformed the region from a bulk-wine backwater into one of the most exciting wine districts in the Southern Hemisphere.