TESTALONGA
PAST WINES
2022 KEEP ON PUNCHING CHENIN BLANC
This site was planted in 1961 on sandstone adjacent to the river in the Piketberg Foothills. Access to water is crucial for these dry-farmed vines; fortunately, its proximity to the water-table and abundant over-winter rainfall helped bolster the crop. The Chenin Blanc was whole-bunch pressed into a combination of stainless steel and neutral foudres for fermentation and élevage.
2022 STAY BRAVE CHENIN BLANC
This vineyard was planted with Chenin Blanc in 1981 but abandoned in 2014. Craig tried to revive it in 2016 but it yielded no grapes. 2017 saw tremendous improvement and the 1.5ha of bush-vines cropped well. Located a mere 30km from the ocean on decomposed granite, the grapes tend to show a salinity. The grapes were destemmed and fermented in 1500L open top tanks. After 10 days on skins the wine is pressed off into a 3300L foudre for élevage. It was lightly filtered before bottling.
2022 FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS CARIGNAN
Carignan was planted on this site in 2001. The north-facing vineyard sits 220m above sea level on the Paardeberg’s decomposed granite. Despite dry farming, the vines are rather vigorous; this green matter is often retained to delay ripening and prevent sunburn. With high heat predicted, the grapes were harvested in a mad dash to retain acidity. Whole clusters were crushed and fermented in open-top tank for eight days before being pressed off into neutral foudres.
2022 CHIN UP CINSAULT
This 3ha block of Cinsault was planted in 1981 on an east-facing slope of decomposed granite. The vines are dry farmed and tend to yield large, thin-skinned berries. The grapes were destemmed into open top tank where they underwent fermentation as whole berries for six days. The wine is then pressed into neutral foudres for élevage. The wine is racked, lightly filtered, and bottled with minimal sulphur.
2022 CORTEZ CHENIN BLANC
These Chenin Blanc vines were planted in 1972 on decomposed granite with a high percentage of quartz and silica. Farmed organically since 2001, this vineyard features dry-farmed bush vines planted on a south-east facing slope at 200m above sea level. The grapes are whole bunch pressed into stainless steel and foudres for fermentation and élevage. After six months, the wine is blended and put back into the same vessels for further maturation.
2022 SKIN CHENIN BLANC
This was the first wine Craig made for this project in 2008. After many years of experimentation, he feels he has found a methodology that shows the delicacy of Chenin in a skin-fermented wine. The bush vines were planted in 1972. The vines weren’t suckered, which helped retain leaves, resulting in grapes with a better balance of acidity, alcohol, and phenolics. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top tank for eight days. The wine is then pressed off into neutral barrique and puncheon for élevage.
2022 I WISH I WAS A NINJA
This vineyard has been farmed organically by Dr Edmund Oettlé in Wellington since 1998. The vines go un-watered, but an adjacent river prevents water stress. The soils are dominantly decomposed granite. The site tends to preserve incredible acidity even in warm and dry vintages. The juice is fermented at stainless steel at really low temperatures (8oC). The wine was racked nine times to remove solids before going to bottle at 55g/l of sugar. The wine finishes fermentation in bottle under crown cap before being disgorged the following spring. This wine is unfined, unfiltered, and has no added Sulphur. It is off-dry.
2022 I AM THE NINJA
This wine is made from Craig’s oldest Chenin Blanc vines. Planted in 1961, this little vineyard lies on decomposed sandstone next to a small river in a secluded valley. It is part of the Piketberg foothills near Redelinghuys, making it a really interesting mesoclimate. Thanks to the delicacy of fruit and lower pH Craig opted to make this wine sparkling. It ferments at cool temperatures (8oC) with constant racking to remove heavy sediment. The wine is bottled while still fermenting (35g/l r/s) resulting in vigorous carbonation. The wine was hand disgorged and topped with the same wine after ten months on lees. No sulphur was added at any point
2022 SWEET CHEEKS MUSCAT
This small vineyard of Hanepoot (Muscat d’Alexandria) was planted in 1970 next to the site Craig gets the Chenin for Cortez from. They traditionally use them as table grapes (the local kids would eat them, hence the name), but Craig wanted to try to make something more serious by fermenting on the skins. After 8 days on the skins the wine is pressed off into neutral barrel for élevage. This wine is fully dry.
2022 THE DARK SIDE SYRAH
Craig gets his Syrah from a 0.75ha vineyard planted in 2001. The higher proportion of clay in the soils here help with dry farming, and they intentionally leave lots of leaves and shoots on the vines to keep ripeness in check. Whole-clusters were fermented in open top tank for 8 days before being pressed off into neutral puncheons. A small amount of SO2 was added a month before bottling.
2022 QUEEN OF SPADES
This 0.1ha plot was accidentally planted with Tinta Amarela instead of Tempranillo in 1999. Having worked in Portugal, Craig was excited by the opportunity to work with the grape again. The dry-farmed bush-vines are planted on the region’s typical decomposed granite. They avoid shoot thinning to help prevent sunburn on the grapes. Nitrogen fixing cover crops are planted between the rows to help with soil fertility. The grapes were fermented whole-cluster in tank for fifteen days before being pressed off into a single 300L barrel for élevage.
2021 KEEP ON PUNCHING CHENIN BLANC
This site was planted in 1961 on sandstone adjacent to the river in the Piketberg Foothills. Access to water is crucial for these dry-farmed vines; fortunately, its proximity to the water-table and abundant over-winter rainfall helped bolster the crop. The Chenin Blanc was whole-bunch pressed into a combination of stainless steel and neutral foudres for fermentation and élevage.
2021 STAY BRAVE CHENIN BLANC
This vineyard was planted with Chenin Blanc in 1981 but abandoned in 2014. Craig tried to revive it in 2016 but it yielded no grapes. 2017 saw tremendous improvement and the 1.5ha of bush-vines cropped well. Located a mere 30km from the ocean on decomposed granite, the grapes tend to show a salinity. The grapes were destemmed and fermented in 1500L open top tanks. After 10 days on skins the wine is pressed off into a 3300L foudre for élevage. It was lightly filtered before bottling.
2021 FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS CARIGNAN
Carignan was planted on this site in 2001. The north-facing vineyard sits 220m above sea level on the Paardeberg’s decomposed granite. Despite dry farming, the vines are rather vigorous; this green matter is often retained to delay ripening and prevent sunburn. With high heat predicted, the grapes were harvested in a mad dash to retain acidity. Whole clusters were crushed and fermented in open-top tank for eight days before being pressed off into neutral foudres.
2021 CHIN UP CINSAULT
This 3ha block of Cinsault was planted in 1981 on an east-facing slope of decomposed granite. The vines are dry farmed and tend to yield large, thin-skinned berries. The grapes were destemmed into open top tank where they underwent fermentation as whole berries for six days. The wine is then pressed into neutral foudres for élevage. The wine is racked, lightly filtered, and bottled with minimal sulphur.
2021 CORTEZ CHENIN BLANC
These Chenin Blanc vines were planted in 1972 on decomposed granite with a high percentage of quartz and silica. Farmed organically since 2001, this vineyard features dry-farmed bush vines planted on a south-east facing slope at 200m above sea level. The grapes are whole bunch pressed into stainless steel and foudres for fermentation and élevage. After six months, the wine is blended and put back into the same vessels for further maturation. Three hundred seventy-five cases were produced.
2021 SKIN CHENIN BLANC
This was the first wine Craig made for this project in 2008. After many years of experimentation, he feels he has found a methodology that shows the delicacy of Chenin in a skin-fermented wine. The bush vines were planted in 1972. The vines weren’t suckered, which helped retain leaves, resulting in grapes with a better balance of acidity, alcohol, and phenolics. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top tank for eight days. The wine is then pressed off into neutral barrique and puncheon for élevage.
2021 I WISH I WAS A NINJA
This vineyard has been farmed organically by Dr Edmund Oettlé in Wellington since 1998. The vines go un-watered, but an adjacent river prevents water stress. The soils are dominantly decomposed granite. The site tends to preserve incredible acidity even in warm and dry vintages. The juice is fermented at stainless steel at really low temperatures (8oC). The wine was racked nine times to remove solids before going to bottle at 55g/l of sugar. The wine finishes fermentation in bottle under crown cap before being disgorged the following spring. This wine is unfined, unfiltered, and has no added Sulphur. It is off-dry.
2021 I AM THE NINJA
This wine is made from Craig’s oldest Chenin Blanc vines. Planted in 1961, this little vineyard lies on decomposed sandstone next to a small river in a secluded valley. It is part of the Piketberg foothills near Redelinghuys, making it a really interesting mesoclimate. Thanks to the delicacy of fruit and lower pH Craig opted to make this wine sparkling. It ferments at cool temperatures (8oC) with constant racking to remove heavy sediment. The wine is bottled while still fermenting (35g/l r/s) resulting in vigorous carbonation. The wine was hand disgorged and topped with the same wine after ten months on lees. No sulphur was added at any point
2021 SWEET CHEEKS MUSCAT
This small vineyard of Hanepoot (Muscat d’Alexandria) was planted in 1970 next to the site Craig gets the Chenin for Cortez from. They traditionally use them as table grapes (the local kids would eat them, hence the name), but Craig wanted to try to make something more serious by fermenting on the skins. After 8 days on the skins the wine is pressed off into neutral barrel for élevage. This wine is fully dry.
2021 QUEEN OF SPADES
This 0.1ha plot was accidentally planted with Tinta Amarela instead of Tempranillo in 1999. Having worked in Portugal, Craig was excited by the opportunity to work with the grape again. The dry-farmed bush-vines are planted on the region’s typical decomposed granite. They avoid shoot thinning to help prevent sunburn on the grapes. Nitrogen fixing cover crops are planted between the rows to help with soil fertility. The grapes were fermented whole-cluster in tank for fifteen days before being pressed off into a single 300L barrel for élevage.
2021 THE DARK SIDE syrah
Craig gets his Syrah from a 0.75ha vineyard planted in 2001. The higher proportion of clay in the soils here help with dry farming, and they intentionally leave lots of leaves and shoots on the vines to keep ripeness in check. Whole-clusters were fermented in open top tank for 8 days before being pressed off into neutral puncheons. A small amount of SO2 was added a month before bottling.
2021 MONKEY GONE TO HEAVEN
This vineyard was planted in 2001 and features dry farmed, bush vines and the typical decomposed granite soils of Swartland. Whole-clusters were fermented in tank for 10 days before being pressed onto into neutral puncheons. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and sees only minimal Sulphur before bottling. (167 Cases Produced)
2021 MANGALIZA HARSLEVELU
While making wine for Dirk Niepoort’s project in Austria, Craig fell in love with Harslevelu. Ironically, in the vineyard next to where he sources the fruit for Cortez and Sweet Cheeks, he found a 0.5ha plot of the grape planted back in 1981. Located near the bottom of the Paardeberg, the vines benefit from a closer proximity to the water table. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed into neutral barrel for fermentation and élevage. 59 cases were produced.
2020 CHIN UP CINSAULT
In 2019 Craig was unable to harvest any of the fruit from this site due to disease pressure; we’re thrilled to finally have it back. Planted in 1981, this 3ha block of Cinsault is planted on east facing decomposed granite. The vines are dry farmed and tend to yield large, thin skinned berries. The grapes were destemmed into open top tank where they underwent fermentation as whole berries for six days. The wine is then pressed into neutral foudres for élevage. The wine is racked, lightly filtered, and bottled with minimal sulphur. 442 cases were produced. 10.54% ABV, 4.97 TA, 3.61 pH, tSO2 20ppm
2020 FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS CARIGNAN
Carignan was planted on this site in 2001. The north-facing vineyard sits at 220m above sea level on the Paardeberg’s decomposed granite. Despite dry farming the vines are rather vigorous; this green matter is often retained the delay ripening and prevent sunburn. With high heats predicted the grapes were harvested in a mad dash to retain acidity. Whole-clusters were crushed and fermented in open-top tank for eight days before being pressed off into neutral foudres. 1000 cases were produced. 11.26% ABV, 5.27 TA, 3.34 pH, tSO2 11ppm
2020 KEEP ON PUNCHING CHENIN
This site was planted in 1961 on sandstone adjacent to the river in the Piketberg Foothills. Access to water is incredibly important for these dry farmed vines; fortunately, its proximity to the water-table and abundant over-winter rainfall helped bolster the crop. The Chenin Blanc was whole-bunch pressed into a combination of stainless steel and neutral foudres for both fermentation and élevage. 1250 cases were produced. 11.62% ABV, 5.99 TA, 3.21 pH, tSO2 17ppm
2020 STAY BRAVE CHENIN
This vineyard was planted with Chenin Blanc in 1981 but abandoned in 2014. Craig tried to revive it in 2016 but it yielded no grapes. 2017 saw tremendous improvement and the 1.5ha of bush-vines cropped well. Located a mere 30km from the ocean on decomposed granite, the grapes tend to show a salinity. The grapes were destemmed and fermented in 1500L open top tanks. After 10 days on skins the wine is pressed off into a 3300L foudre for élevage. It was lightly filtered before bottling. 750 cases were produced. 11.3% ABV, 4.83 TA, 3.6 pH, tSO2 14ppm
2020 CORTEZ CHENIN BLANC
These Chenin Blanc vines were planted in 1972 on decomposed granite with a high percentage of quartz and silica. Farmed organically since 2001, this vineyard features dry-farmed bush-vines planted on a south-east facing slope at 200m above sea level. The grapes are whole bunch pressed into stainless steel and foudres for fermentation and élevage. After six month the wine is blended, and put back into the same vessels for further maturation. 375 cases were produced. 11.94% ABV, 6 TA, 3.26 pH, tSO2 23ppm
2020 SKIN CHENIN BLANC
This was the first wine Craig made for this project back in 2008. After many years of experimentation, he feels he has found a methodology that shows the delicacy of Chenin in a skin fermented wine. The bush-vines were planted in 1972. The vines weren’t suckered which helped retain leaves, resulting in grapes with a better balance of acidity, alcohol, and phenolics. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top tank for 12 days. The wine is then pressed off into neutral foudres for élevage. 334 cases were produced. 11.66% ABV, 5.24 TA, 3.5 pH, tSO2 14ppm
2020 I WISH I WAS A NINJA
This vineyard has been farmed organically by Dr Edmund Oettlé in Wellington since 1998. The vines go un-watered, but an adjacent river prevents water stress. The soils are dominantly decomposed granite. The site tends to preserve incredible acidity even in warm and dry vintages. The juice is fermented at stainless steel at really low temperatures (8oC). The wine was racked nine times to remove solids before going to bottle at 55g/l of sugar. The wine finishes fermentation in bottle under crown cap before being disgorged the following spring. This wine is unfined, unfiltered, and has no added Sulphur. It is off-dry. 917 cases were produced. 9.84% ABV, 8.7 TA, 3.01 pH, tSO2 9ppm
2020 I AM THE NINJA
This wine is made from Craig’s oldest Chenin Blanc vines. Planted in 1961, this little vineyard lies on decomposed sandstone next to a small river in a secluded valley. It is part of the Piketberg foothills near Redelinghuys, making it a really interesting mesoclimate. Thanks to the delicacy of fruit and lower pH Craig opted to make this wine sparkling. It ferments at cool temperatures (8oC) with constant racking to remove heavy sediment. The wine is bottled while still fermenting (35g/l r/s) resulting in vigorous carbonation. The wine was hand disgorged and topped with the same wine after ten months on lees. No sulphur was added at any point. 825 cases were produced. 10.34% ABV, 6.5 TA, 3.19 pH, tSO2 20ppm
2020 QUEEN OF SPADES
This 0.1ha plot was accidentally planted with Tinta Amarela instead of Tempranillo in 1999. Having worked in Portugal, Craig was excited by the opportunity to work with the grape again. The dry-farmed bush-vines are planted on the region’s typical decomposed granite. They avoid shoot thinning to help prevent sunburn on the grapes. Nitrogen fixing cover crops are planted between the rows to help with soil fertility. The grapes were fermented whole-cluster in tank for fifteen days before being pressed off into a single 300L barrel for élevage. 33 cases were produced. 11.7% ABV, 4.7 TA, 3.64 pH, tSO2 22ppm
2020 THE DARK SIDE SYRAH
Craig gets his Syrah from a 0.75ha vineyard planted in 2001. The higher proportion of clay in the soils here help with dry farming, and they intentionally leave lots of leaves and shoots on the vines to keep ripeness in check. Whole-clusters were fermented in open top tank for 8 days before being pressed off into neutral puncheons. A small amount of SO2 was added a month before bottling. 125 cases were produced. 12.07% ABV, 4.74 TA, 3.65 pH, tSO2 12ppm
2020 MONKEY GONE TO HEAVEN
Planted in 2001, this site features the classic decomposed granite of the Paardeberg mixed with clay rich koffieklip. The 1ha of bush-vines are shared with Jurgen Gouws from Intellego. Although there was disease pressure early in the season, they overcame and successfully harvested healthy ripe grapes. The Mourvèdre is fermented whole-cluster for nine days before being pressed off into neutral barrel. 167 cases were produced. 12.62% ABV, 4.24 TA, 3.67 pH, tSO2 12ppm
2020 MANGALIZA
While making wine for Dirk Niepoort’s project in Austria, Craig fell in love with Harslevelu. Ironically, in the vineyard next to where he sources the fruit for Cortez and Sweet Cheeks, he found a 0.5ha plot of the grape planted back in 1981. Located near the bottom of the Paardeberg, the vines benefit from a closer proximity to the water table. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed into neutral barrel for fermentation and élevage. 59 cases were produced. 11.5% ABV, 7.05 TA, 3.11 pH, tSO2 38ppm
2020 LEKKER CHENIN BLANC
This cuvée was previously made This farm is owned by Carla’s mother’s aunt Anna. She grew up here on Swartland’s west coast near Elands Bay, where the climate and soils are drastically different from those further inland. They were able to convince them not to replant the sandy, chalky soils to potatoes and rooibos. Originally sold exclusively to his Norweigan importers, we now get a tiny allocation of this magnum only cuvée each year. Chenin Blanc grapes were whole-cluster pressed directly to a single neutral barrel. After fermentation and élevage the wine is racked, gentle filtered, and bottled with minimal SO2. 400 bottles were produced. 11.64% ABV, 5.79 TA, 3.31 pH, tSO2 17ppm
2020 CLINT PINOTAGE
This wine is a collaboration between Craig and Carla Hawkins, and Mick and Jeanine Craven. It is a blend of two sites; the first is planted on rocky decomposed granite in the Paardeberg, and the second is planted on koffieklip in Stellenbosch’s Polkadraai Hills. The Pinotage grapes were whole-bunch pressed into neutral 500L barrel for fermentation and élevage. It is bottled unfined and unfiltered. 100 cases were produced. 11.98% ABV, 4.49 TA, 3.74 pH, tSO2 20ppm
2019 CORTEZ
These Chenin Blanc vines were planted in 1972 on decomposed granite with a high percentage of quartz and silica. Farmed organically since 2001, the Observatory Vineyard features bush-vines planted on a South-East facing slope at 180m above sea level. The grapes are whole bunch pressed into old French oak for fermentation. Ambient yeasts carry out the fermentation and the final wine is bottled without fining nor filtration. 11.5% ABV. (375 Cases Produced)
2019 MONKEY GONE TO HEAVEN
This vineyard was planted in 2001 and features dry farmed, bush vines and the typical decomposed granite soils of Swartland. Whole-clusters of Mourvedre were fermented in tank for 10 days before being pressed onto into neutral puncheons. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and sees only minimal Sulphur before bottling. (167 Cases Produced)
2019 SKIN
This was the first wine Craig made for this project back in 2008. After many years of experimentation, he feels he has found a methodology that shows the delicacy of Chenin in a skin fermented wine. The bush-vines were planted in 1972. The vines weren’t suckered which helped retain leaves, resulting in grapes with a better balance of acidity, alcohol, and phenolics. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top tank for 8 days. The wine is then pressed off into neutral barrique and puncheon for élevage. 10.5% ABV. (334 Cases Produced)
2019 STAY BRAVE CHENIN
This vineyard was planted with Chenin Blanc in 1981 but abandoned in 2014. Craig tried to revive it in 2016 but it yielded no grapes. 2017 saw tremendous improvement and the 1.5ha of bush-vines cropped well. The grapes were destemmed and fermented in 1500L open top tanks. After 11 days on skins the wine is pressed off into a 3300L foudre for élevage. (750 Cases Produced)
2019 KEEP ON PUNCHING CHENIN
The grapes for this cuvée come from an organically farmed vineyard planted in 1972. The north facing slope is littered with decomposed granite, 220m above sea level. Clusters here are particularly small and are crammed with natural acidity. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed directly into stainless steel and neutral puncheon. The wine is neither fined, nor filtered before bottling. (1000 Cases Produced)
2019 FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS CARIGNAN
This vineyard was planted in 2001. The bush vines are farmed organically although some biodynamic preparations are also used. The is fermented as whole-clusters before being pressed of into neutral 3500L foudres. After a short élevage periode the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered. 12% ABV (750 Cases Produced)
2019 I WISH I WAS A NINJA
This vineyard has been farmed organically by Dr Edmund Oettlé in Wellington since 1998. The vines go un-watered, but an adjacent river prevents water stress. The soils are dominantly decomposed granite. The site tends to preserve incredibly acidity even in warm and dry vintages. The juice is fermented at stainless steel at really low temperatures. Craig racks the wine constantly to remove solids before going to bottle at 52g/l of sugar. The wine finishes fermentation in bottle under crown cap before being disgorged the following spring. This wine is unfined, unfiltered, and has no added Sulphur. It is off-dry. (834 Cases Produced)
2019 I AM THE NINJA
This wine is made from Craig’s oldest Chenin Blanc vines. Planted in 1961, this little vineyard lies on decomposed sandstone next to a small river in a secluded valley. It is part of the Piketberg foothills near Redelinghuys, making it a really interesting mesoclimate. Thanks to the delicacy of fruit and lower pH Craig opted to make this wine sparkling. It ferments at cool temperatures with constant racking to remove heavy sediment. The wine is bottled while still fermenting resulting in vigorous carbonation. The wine was hand disgorged and topped with the same wine. No Sulphur was added at any point. (500 Cases Produced)
2019 CLINT PINOTAGE
This wine is a collaboration between Craig and Carla Hawkins, and Mick and Jeanine Craven. They each made a barrel of Pinotage from a granitic site in the Swartland, only blending the two right before bottling. (167 Cases Produced)
2019 QUEEN OF SPADES
This small plot of Trincadeira (Tinta Amarela) was planted in 1999 on decomposed granite. The insanely small number of grapes harvested saw only 6 days on skins during whole-cluster fermentation before being pressed off into neutral barrel. The goal was minimal extraction since the skins yield high tannins and tons of color. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and sees only minimal Sulphur before bottling. ABV 11%. (34 Cases Produced)
2019 SWEET CHEEKS
This small vineyard of Hanepoot (Muscat d’Alexandria) was planted in 1970 next to the site Craig gets the Chenin for Cortez from. They traditionally use them as table grapes (the local kids would eat them, hence the name), but Craig wanted to try to make something more serious by fermenting on the skins. After 8 days on the skins the wine is pressed off into neutral barrel for élevage. This wine is fully dry. (150 Cases Produced)
2019 THE DARK SIDE SYRAH
Craig gets his Syrah from a 0.75ha vineyard planted in 2001. The higher proportion of clay in the soils here help with dry farming, and they intentionally leave lots of leaves and shoots on the vines to keep ripeness in check. Whole-clusters were fermented in open top tank for 10 days before being pressed off into neutral puncheons. A small amount of SO2 was added a month before bottling. (50 Cases Produced)
2019 MAGALIZA
While making wine for Dirk Niepoort’s project in Austria, Craig fell in love with Harslevelu, made just east of them in Hungary. Ironically, in the vineyard next to where he sources the fruit for Cortez and Sweet Cheeks, he found a 0.5ha plot of the grape planted back in 1981. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed into neutral barrel for 10 months before bottling. ABV 11.5%. (92 Cases Produced)
2019 LEKKER CHENIN BLANC
This cuvée was previously made exclusively for Craig’s importer in Norway, but we’ve now received a tiny allocation. This Chenin Blanc vineyard is planted on Swartland’s west coast. Soils here are extremely sandy resulting in a wine with a distinctively salty finish. Whole clusters were pressed directly to neutral barrel for fermentation and elevate. (150 Bottles Produced)
2018 I AM THE NINJA
This wine is made from Craig’s oldest Chenin Blanc vines. Planted in 1961, this little vineyard lies on decomposed sandstone next to a small river in a secluded valley. It is part of the Piketberg foothills near Redelinghuys, making it a really interesting mesoclimate. Thanks to the delicacy of fruit and lower pH Craig opted to make this wine sparkling. It ferments at cool temperatures with constant racking to remove heavy sediment. The wine is bottled while still fermenting resulting in vigorous carbonation. The wine was hand disgorged (partly by me) and topped with the same wine. No Sulphur was added at any point. 9.5% ABV
2018 I WISH I WAS A NINJA
This vineyard has been farmed organically by Dr Edmund Oettlé in Wellington since 1998. The vines go un-watered, but an adjacent river prevents water stress. The soils are dominantly decomposed granite. The site tends to preserve incredibly acidity even in warm and dry vintages. The juice is fermented at stainless steel at really low temperatures. Craig racks the wine constantly to remove solids before going to bottle at 52g/l of sugar. The wine finishes fermentation in bottle under crown cap before being disgorged the following spring. This wine is unfined, unfiltered, and has no added Sulphur. It is off-dry. 9.5% ABV
2018 SKIN
This was the first wine Craig made for this project back in 2008. After many years of experimentation, he feels he has found a methodology that shows the delicacy of Chenin in a skin fermented wine. The bush-vines were planted in 1972. The vines weren’t suckered which helped retain leaves, resulting in grapes with a better balance of acidity, alcohol, and phenolics. The grapes are destemmed and fermented in open top tank for 8 days. The wine is then pressed off into neutral barrique and puncheon for élevage. 10.5% ABV
2017 SKIN
The grapes for this wine come from old Chenin Blanc bushvines planted on decomposed granite. The vineyard is South-West facing at 300m above sea level. Both these factors contribute to the wines inherent freshness. The grapes were fermented as whole berries (30% whole cluster, 70% destemmed) with wild yeasts and no temperature control. The wine was left on the skins for four weeks before being pressed into old 500l French oak barrels. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with a total sulphur count of 26ppm. 11.79% ABV (0.96 g/l VA)
2015-18 CORTEZ
This dry farmed vineyard was planted in 1972 on quartz and silica laden soils. Since 2001 it has been farmed organically which was an extreme rarity at that point. Whole clusters are pressed into a combination of neutral puncheon and stainless steel. After six months, the two components are blended and put back into stainless steel and puncheon. ABV 12.43%, TA 5.67, RS 1.63, pH 3.42
2017-18 MAGALIZA
While making wine for Dirk Niepoort’s project in Austria, Craig fell in love with Harslevelu, made just east of them in Hungary. Ironically, in the vineyard next to where he sources the fruit for Cortez and Sweet Cheeks, he found a 0.5ha plot of the grape planted back in 1981. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed into neutral barrel for 10 months before bottling. ABV 11.5%
2017-18 KEEP ON PUNCHING
The grapes for this cuvée come from an organically farmed vineyard planted in 1972. The north facing slope is littered with decomposed granite, 220m above sea level. Clusters here are particularly small and are crammed with natural acidity. The grapes are whole-cluster pressed directly into stainless steel and neutral puncheon. The wine is neither fined, nor filtered before bottling. ABV 12.01%, TA 6.5, RS 2.26, pH 3.29
2015-18 FOLLOW YOUR DREAMS
This organic bushvine vineyard was planted in 2001 on North facing decomposed granite at 220m above sea level. Leaves are left on in the fruiting zone to protect the Carignan from sunburn. Whole bunches of large, juicy berries are lightly crushed and fermented on the skins for a little over a week. The wine is then pressed off into a 3500l foudre. As always, the wine is bottled unfined and unfiltered with minimal Sulphur.
2017 STAY BRAVE
This vineyard was planted in 1981 but abandoned in 2014. Craig tried to revive it in 2016 but it yielded no grapes. 2017 saw tremendous improvement and the 1.5ha of bush-vines yielded well. The grapes were destemmed and fermented in 1500L open top tanks. After 11 days on skins the wine is pressed off into a 3300L foudre for élevage. ABV 9.88%, TA 6.5, RS 1.42, pH 3.7
2017-18 THE DARK SIDE
Craig gets his Syrah from a 0.75ha vineyard planted in 2001. The higher proportion of clay in the soils here help with dry farming, and they intentionally leave lots of leaves and shoots on the vines to keep ripeness in check. Whole-clusters were fermented in open top tank for 10 days before being pressed off into neutral puncheons. A small amount of SO2 was added a month before bottling. ABV 11.91%, TA 4.51, pH 3.73.
2017-18 MONKEY GONE TO HEAVEN
This vineyard was planted in 2001 and features dry farmed, bush vines and the typical decomposed granite soils of Swartland. Whole-clusters were fermented in tank for 10 days before being pressed onto into neutral puncheons. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and sees only minimal Sulphur before bottling. ABV 12.4%
2017-18 QUEEN OF SPADES
This small plot of Trincadeira (Tinta Amarela) was planted in 1999 on decomposed granite. The insanely small number of grapes harvested saw only 6 days on skins during whole-cluster fermentation before being pressed off into neutral barrel. The goal was minimal extraction since the skins yield high tannins and tons of color. The wine is unfined, unfiltered, and sees only minimal Sulphur before bottling. ABV 11%
2017-18 SWEET CHEEKS
This small vineyard of Hanepoot (Muscat d’Alexandria) was planted in 1970 next to the site Craig gets the Chenin for Cortez from. They traditionally treat these as table grapes, but Craig wanted to try to make something more serious by fermenting on the skins. After 11 days on the skins the wine is pressed off into neutral barrel for élevage. ABV 10%
2015 SKIN
This vintage of Skin comes from the same organic vineyard as the 2014. Leaves were left on the vine in the fruit zone for shading and to delay ripening. This led to better skin phenolics and acidity. The grapes were fully destemmed before spontaneous fermentation at ambient temperatures. The wine was pressed off after 21 days on the skins into large, neutral French oak. It was bottled unfined and unfiltered with less than 10ppm of SO2. 11% ABV (0.66 g/l VA)
2014 SKIN
The grapes for this wine come from old Chenin Blanc bushvines planted on decomposed granite. The vineyard is South-West facing at 300m above sea level. Both these factors contribute to the wines inherent freshness. The grapes were fermented as whole berries (30% whole cluster, 70% destemmed) with wild yeasts and no temperature control. The wine was left on the skins for four weeks before being pressed into old 500l French oak barrels. The wine was bottled unfined and unfiltered with a total sulphur count of 26ppm. 11.79% ABV (0.96 g/l VA)