El Bandito 'Cortez'

Fish, Cheese, Chicken, Mushroom, Prawns

The 2025 vintage was preceded by one of the wettest winters on record (again). A total of 689mm fell on Bandits Kloof. It was an extremely cool growing season. The first real heat came on the 25th of December, significant sun burn damage was the result, losing about 20-30% of the crop. Fortunately this helped reduce an already big crop and resulted in a fantastic vintage. The cool growing days and nights (relatively) led to wines that are well balanced with higher natural aciditys and pure fruit. We are extremely happy with the 2025 vintage and this vineyard site is always our most promising. The intensity and complexity that it delivers is always on another level compared to other sites. This wine will age a very long time.

The wine was kept on its gross less for 17 months. It was given a light filtration and a small amount of SO2 being added before bottling.

The grapes were hand harvested in early February. They were transferred to a cold room where they were kept at 6 C. The following day the grapes were whole bunch pressed directly into 500L barrels and a 1500L stainless steel tank. After 6 months the vessels were blended and the wine placed back into their vessels.

Testalonga is a Swartland natural wine producer founded by Craig and Carla Hawkins, known for pushing the boundaries of conventional South African winemaking. Working with wild fermentation, low sulphur and minimal intervention, the range explores distinctive vineyard sites and varieties through unconventional, expressive wines.