2022 - NOA Chenin Blanc, Rall, Swartland

Bright and fresh, the 2022 NOA Chenin Blanc possesses notes of beeswax and petrichor with a citrus-laced nose. Medium-bodied, the palate offers lively acidity with notions of granite and Meyer lemon before a soft leesy essence sways with notes of lime meringue. The Chenin Blanc continues to uncoil and reveal layers of complexity and depth over the long, lingering, food-friendly finish that has me returning for more.

One concrete egg, one vineyard. Chenin from the highest, most granitic parcel of vines on the Paardeberg, planted in 1969. Densely woven with the most remarkable, mithril-mineral geometric structure that seems to build from within the depths of the wine. The fruit is interstitial, shaped by this crystalline, quinine-sculpted, anise-chiselled matrix. Sorrel and salt. Silk and rock. Beautiful wild herbs on the finish. Tastes like an ocean wind in winter. I think Donovan Rall is a little bit like the Gandalf of wine. (TC)