2017 Testalonga Carignan Baby Bandito Follow Your Dreams

Community Tasting Notes (3) Avg Score: 88.5 points

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  1/23/2019 - r.o.man Likes this wine: 91 Points

  Pure Carignan. Low intervention, fermented spontaneously. Light and fresh, refreshing, tasty. Lacks some structure and depth, but is easy and really delicious. (My bottle labeled with 12% alcohol)

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  6/27/2018 - grapenomad wrote: 86 Points

  Lots of you know that I'm a sucker for Testalonga, but Baby Bandito just takes the largest piece of the cake for me. You know how an iconic Riesling shows the badass fruit purity and razor sharp precision? That's what Baby Bandito does with grapes such as Carignan, Cinsault and Chenin Blanc. The name tag “Follow your Dreams” is a quote made famous by the street artist Banksy, who says “All art is stolen”, so Testalonga did just that. Makes sense. Carignan is not a popular grape, but what it is is an awesome one. With a homeland in Languedoc-Roussillon, it gives deeply-colored, high tannic wines with prominent acidity to complement. In South Africa's version I could sense massive notes of blackcurrant, blueberry, cherry punch, plum and lingonberry (strange, but yeah, it was punching me straight in the face). Crispy like bacon, so smashable with its 10% abv and a medium finish marked by tones of cherry-plum juice and a hint of spice.

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  5/26/2018 - Wine Ratings Likes this wine:

  Such a thing of beauty, the look of the 2017 Testalonga Chin Up Cinsault. You all know I love a good colour, and damn if this one isn’t ridiculously appealing! It’s equally intriguing in the glass, as well - ‘bretty cranberry juice’, as Erik put it. The brettiness fades and leaves a wonderful (crushable) blend of savoury herbs, cranberries, and juicy pomegranate. The 10.0% ABV showing on the bottle (9.4%, in truth) sure doesn’t hurt that crushability factor either!

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