Donovan Rall has established an enviable reputation as one of South Africa’s most talented winemakers. Cutting his teeth in New Zealand, the Rhône Valley and, finally, with the Sadie Family, his time at the latter was instrumental to Rall's current understanding of the diverse terroir of this expansive region. In 2008, Donovan Rall set out on his own, creating his eponymous winery – Rall Wines. As was to be expected, it didn’t take him long to capture the interest of numerous leading wine critics. In fact, Donovan’s very first wine in 2008 already garnered a five-star rating from the Platter’s Wine Guide. Rall Ava Chenin Blanc 2021 marries a succulency of apples, stone fruit and honey with a touch of hay and oak and plum stones. Intense and reverberating but not heavy, just lots to like. Really long and focussed with a concentration and breadth that should see this develop handsomely in bottle. One of the Cape’s best Chenins. From schist-driven soils, fermented and aged in small, used oak barrels, the total production rarely exceeds 1,300 bts.