Testalonga is the child of Craig Hawkins, South Africa’s nominated “Natural Wine King”. He, and his wife Carla (also a winemaker), are producing some of the most innovative wines in that country at the moment, sourcing most of their grapes from farmers with old vine plots scattered across the Swartland region North of Cape Town. Thanks to their loyal growers they are able to access a variety of old-vine, organic grapes such as Cinsault, Chenin Blanc, Muscat, Carignan and Harslevelu, amongst others.
Winery notes (2021 Vintage)
"Cahn's pinotage is a unique wine made especially for Martin Cahnbley (the "Cahn") in New Zealand. 2019 was the first time this has been done and the photo was taken by Martin on one of his many trips to Cape Town. It was taken in Hout Bay looking up through the spaces between two umbrellas. It is a strong photo with a personal connection for Martin yet appears abstract enough to draw the viewer in for a closer look. We love the photo as it has 2 distinct lines that run through the picture and create mystery. The grape used in the wine is Pinotage which can be seen as a "Black Sheep" wine in the wine industry, but Martin tasted one particular barrel that he really enjoyed so we decided to bottle it for him, we are very glad we did!
Hand harvested and then destemmed without crushing into open fermentation tanks (2000L). It is Fermented and then pressed into 500l barrels. No yeast (or other) inoculation or additives apart from a small amount of SO2 shortly before bottling. "
What we love about this block is that it produces very balanced purple fruited wines, and once the wine has finished fermentation the acid doesn’t fall out (like it does in a lot of pinotage blocks) but it retains its relatively low (for Pinotage) pH and fruit structure."