Testalonga Monkey Gone To Heaven Mourvedre 2024

Country: South Africa
Region: Swartland

‘Monkey Gone to Heaven’ Mourvèdre comes from organically farmed bush vines planted in 2001 on slightly more clay-rich Koffieklip soils of the Abbotsdale region on the foot slopes of the Paardeberg. This 2.5-acre block is shared with winemaker Jurgen Gouws of Intellego, who farms the block. The 2021 vintage provided ample yields and incredibly healthy fruit. The label is a picture of Craig’s friend at Burning Man, and the name comes from the eponymous Pixie’s song. “There was a guy, an underwater guy who controlled the sea, got killed by ten million pounds of sludge from New York and New Jersey, this monkey’s gone to heaven...”
The grapes were hand-harvested and placed into open tanks for spontaneous whole cluster fermentation. After 12 days, the wine was pressed off the skins and sent to three 500L French barrels for full malo and ageing. The wine was blended & bottled with a gentle filtration and sulfur addition. No fining.