Testalonga El Bandito Mangaliza 2024

Country: South Africa
Region: Swartland

The wine is born from Craig’s experiences working close to the Hungarian border in Austria, where he first tasted Hárslevelű. It is a beautifully fragrant grape with great waxy texture and good acidity. While in Hungary, he also discovered the Hungarian “Sheep Pig,” locally called Mangalitsa. Admittedly, Craig likes pigs and particularly pigs that look like sheep, so he called the wine Mangaliza in homage to the sheep pig. The photo on the label was taken by Craig and shows a field mouse which he rescued from his dogs, living to see another day.

The grapes were hand-harvested and whole-bunch pressed before spontaneous fermentation in 225 and 500L barrels. The wine remained in those vessels for malo and ageing. About a month before bottling, Craig added a dash of sulfur. The wine was lightly filtered but unfined.