These are unadulterated wines for fun and festive times. Summer is here and Testalonga’s Baby Bandito wines, with alcohols hovering around 12%, offer the ultimate ‘geek’ experience. Focusing on the Swartland, they celebrate place and authenticity wrapped in loads of quirky pleasure.
Designed to be drunk young, the wines offer pureness of fruit, fresh and crunchy acidity and energetic tannins. Joined by two thirst-quenching Ninjas and Mielies, get the set to experience a wonderful varietal journey and site-distinctive delights.
‘Baby Bandito is a project we started in 2015. We wanted to work with vineyards that deliver wines that can be drunk young yet still “over deliver” in quality. The names of the wines come from expressions that we use as if giving encouragement to a child.’ – Craig Hawkins
Sourced from an old vineyard planted in 1961, the 100% Chenin Blanc Keep on Punching 2025 is delicious, with lots of mouthfeel and clarity of fruit. A superb wine. In contrast, the more edgy Stay Brave 2025 is a 14-day skin-contact Chenin. This is one for the sceptical geeks and an entry point to skin-contact wines.
Made for early drinking, the Chin Up 2025 Cinsault is so delicious and light that it’s almost impossible to share! It’s brilliantly rendered, with lots of juicy fruit, yet serious, showing defined tannins. The 100% Carignan Follow Your Dreams 2025 is so spicy and so good, with a bouncy, lively personality.
The El Bantito I Wish I was a Ninja is 100% Colombard. Off-dry in style, it’s a refreshing sparkling wine, made alongside the drier 100% Chenin Blanc, I Am a Ninja. These are ‘fun in the sun’ kind of wines.
The Mielie Green is salty and almost steely, a blend of Chenin with a touch of Macabeo. Easy-going refreshment. The Mielie Magenta is from Grenache and according to Christian Eedes, there is ‘more substance than the price might lead you to expect.’ Drink now!
View the full 2025 Testalonga range here >
Tasting Notes:
Testalonga Baby Bandito Keep on Punching 2025
‘From a Piketberg vineyard planted in 1961. Two-thirds matured in stainless-steel tank, one-third in foudre. The nose shows pear, peach, talc and dried herbs. The palate is linear and energetic – great fruit definition and a super-dry finish. Alc: 12%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 93/100
Testalonga Baby Bandito Stay Brave 2025
‘Fermented on skins for 14 days. Matured in fibre glass tank. Subtle notes of cut apple, orange, ginger and spice. The palate is edgy in the best, most refreshing way with zippy acidity and a lightly grippy finish. Alc: 11.5%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 92/100
Testalonga Baby Bandito Chin Up 2025
‘Matured for 11 months in concrete. Overtly perfumed with cranberry and floral notes. Light-bodied and pure, with zippy acidity and the faintest tannic grip. Cheerful, uncomplicated and made for early drinking. Alc: 12%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 90/100
Testalonga Baby Bandito Follow Your Dreams 2025
‘From the Paardeberg. Fermented 100% whole-bunch and matured for 11 months in concrete. The nose shows red and black berries, a faint playdough note, herbs and spice. The palate is vinous and energetic, with snappy acidity and rustic, slightly coarse tannins – a wine full of personality. Alc: 12.1%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 91/100
‘Includes a dash of Macabeo. Two-thirds matured in stainless-steel tank, one-third in foudre. Very fragrant with notes of flowers, herbs, citrus and peach. The palate is clean, fresh and pithy, almost steely. Alc: 12%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 91/100
Testalonga Mielie Magenta 2025
‘Destemmed and matured in concrete. Wild berry, flowers and herbs on the notes while the palate shows pure fruit, snappy acidity and grippy tannins. More substance than the price might lead you to expect. Alc: 12%.’ – Christian Eedes, Winemag.co.za, 92/100
Testalonga Baby Bandito I Wish I was a Ninja 2025 & Baby Bandito I Am the Ninja 2025
‘The two Méthode Ancestrale wines – I Am the Ninja (Chenin Blanc) and I Wish I Was a Ninja (Colombard), – are great fun, but they resist formal rating, pitched more as carefree lifestyle wines than anything else.’ – Christian Eedes, no rating
