Testalonga: A New Home, A Fresh Start.

Those who know me well will be familiar with my obsession regarding the Testalonga wines. Craig Hawkins made the first wines that opened my eyes to the unique and diverse world of natural wine and they remain one of my major sources of inspiration. Thus when, due to 'investor relations' (I'll say no more), Craig and his family had to leave Lammershoek, the farm where he used to make his wines, it left a sour taste. However, it also means that Craig, Carla and the family have the opportunity to start a new chapter in their lives, leave Lammershoek behind them and focus solely on the Testalonga brand.

Craig, his soon-to-be wife Carla, her parents and Craig's father are all relocating to a new farm in Piketburg, approximately an hour and a half drive from Cape Town. I had the privilege to be shown around the farm and I was bowled over by the sheer beauty of their new home.

The new farm in the Piketburg Mountains

The farm is nestled high in the Piketburg mountains, with a stunning view overlooking the vineyards and land beneath.

It was not only humans that had to be moved to the farm, and the Nguni cattle and Donkeys were successfully and safely transported to their new home.

The farm is alive and bustling with all manner of fauna and flora. The farm animals will be sharing their home with a wide array of wild creatures; we saw baboons, eagles and there are even leopards and other small cats high in the mountains. There is an abundance of plant life, from small bushes of tea plants and fynbos to wild olive trees.

Wild Olives

Tea plant

Spoor of a small cat in the sand, maybe a Gennet

Craig and Carla walked us round the farm, and Craig explained how the soils should make a perfect location for growing grapes. The soils are an unusual mix of schist meeting sandstone, and such a mixture should impart unique and complex flavours into the grapes. The vines are still in the process of being planted, and won't be fruit bearing for another few years but it will be interesting to see how the wines from the farm turn out.

Craig and Carla patrolling the farm

A gap by the side of the cellar shows a perfect cross-section of the rocky soils.

The farm is supplied by water from a completely natural source running from the mountains. We followed the pipeline that carries the water into two large dams all the way up into the mountain, climbing over rocks and ducking under bushes and trees until we reached the source. We drank the water directly from the pipe and it was clean, pure and delicious. 

Craig cleaning up the baboon's mess in one of the dams

On the farm they are also building a large new cellar and winery, where the wines will be made and stored. 

The inside of the new cellar

The farm has a life-giving aura, an atmosphere of being at one with nature and spending the day there made me excited about the future of Testalonga. There is undoubtedly a lot of work to be done, and the building will be timely and expensive, but it is a lifelong project and the foundations are in place for something truly special.

After sharing a drink on the veranda overlooking the farm and taking some time to savour the view, we drove back to the Paardeberg, where the wines are currently being stored, to taste through the new vintage.

We started with a new wine for this year, the 'Baby Bandito'. It is 100% Chenin Blanc from bush vines planted in 1972. The wine is tank fermented and very fresh as a result. It is tight and focused, showing bright lemon notes on the nose and a bracing acidity.

Baby Bandito in tank

Next we moved onto to the 'El Bandito Cortez'. Again 100% Chenin, the grapes were harvested at different levels of ripeness with some aged in barrel and some in tank. The wine is clean and vibrant, with vivid citrus notes complemented by an underlying oxidative, nutty complexity. The 2014 Cortez is one of my favourite wines on the planet and the '15 is shaping up to be similarly brilliant.

Cortez Chenin in barrel

I was delighted to hear that Craig will be continuing to make a Harslevulu after the move, as the Cellarfoot Harslevulu he made whilst at Lammershoek was a gorgeous wine. We tasted the '15 vintage in barrel. The wine had some skin contact, and was a deep, golden-bronze colour. The nose showed fresh floral notes with undertones of darker, earthy herbs. There was lovely depth to the wine and a slight grip on the finish with a fresh acidity giving life to the rich, complex flavours.

Harslevulu in barrel

There was some more good news, as the 'Sweet Cheeks' Muscat is also making a comeback after there was no 2014 vintage due to mildew problems. Also a skin contact wine, the nose was extremely aromatic with the distinctive Muscat aromas of litchi and grape given a depth and complexity from the time spent on skins. A sensual wine with a fascinating mineral core that is unusual and stimulating.

Craig is also making a single vineyard Chenin this year, intriguingly called 'Karl Marx'. The vineyard is only one hectare in size, thus the quantities are extremely limited. Out of the barrel the wine was very taut and pure, with a lovely structure. It is always interesting to see the way that different vineyards produce completely different wines.

Karl Marx Chenin in barrel

Next up was the final white (well, orange) wine of the day, the famed skin contact Chenin, El Bandito. After 21 days on the skins, the wine is aged in old spirit vats, which allows the wine to take on oxidative, nutty notes which add to the already deep, complex flavours created by skin contact. A characterful and interesting wine, there is a real crunchy tannin which provides a bedrock to layer after layer of flavour. 

Craig sampling the El Bandito out of the spirit vats

We moved on to Craig's 2015 Zinfandel Rose. A pale, salmon-pink in colour, the wine was fermented in stainless steel and was fresh, bouncy and fun to drink. It showed gentle strawberry and red fruit character and would be perfect drinking on a balmy summer evening.

Wines in barrel at the cellar

Next up were the reds. First was the 2015 Zinfandel. An exuberant, ruby-red colour, the wine had a reductive, oniony nose that will blow off with time in barrel. The palate showed fresh primary fruits, cherry and ripe plum with a crisp acidity.

This was followed by the 'King of Grapes' Grenache, another real stand-out wine from the Testalonga range. Pale in colour, the wine has an alluring elegance with refined raspberry and cranberry on the nose given depth by an intense earthiness on the palate. The integrated tannin gives the fresh, drinkable wine structure and finesse.   

Another 'Baby Bandito' wine was next. 100% Carignan, the colour was bold and deep and the nose was full of savoury characteristics highlighted by a peppery spice. 

Craig talking us through his Baby Bandito Carignan

Craig's Syrah was the final red we tasted. In 2014, he released a Syrah entitled 'Redemption'. It was a wine with heart, soul and meaning behind it (think aforementioned investor relations), and made a stunning point regarding the quality of the Testalonga wines. The 2015 won't be called Redemption, so we wait in anticipation for the name, however the wine is tasting like it will live up to the 2014 vintage. Dark, peppery spice and restrained black fruits lead to an assured, brooding wine. This is light years away from a jammy, oaky New World Shiraz and instead is elegantly confident and displays Syrah at its best. A wine to be excited about.

The 2014 Redemption Syrah

Before the afternoon was over, we had time to pick up a bottle of Craig's 2015 Pet Nat, a sparkling wine rather amusingly entitled 'I wish I was a Ninja'. At 15g/l of residual sugar, you probably won't find this in your dentist's cellar, but it had a nice, creamy mousse, gentle peach flavours and was a lot of fun to drink. We drove up to the vineyards on top of the Paardeberg and shared the bottle whilst watching the sunset. It was a prophetic end to a day that was a celebration of a new beginning for Testalonga. 

  

@bobbyfishel