The towering talent of this itinerant winemaker started out with his own wines back in 2008 after touring/working for a variety of wineries in Europe and Australasia. Donovan is always on the lookout for amazing fruit that he can craft into something even more amazing; wines from old forgotten vineyards or isolated sites that are full of character, charm and flavour. Donovan trained with Eben Sadie and Miles Mossop before doing his own thing - creating wonderfully honest and natural wines that punch way above their weight.
Donovan Rall Callender Peak Chardonnay 2018
13.5% abv
100% fruit from the unique high-altitude Ceres Plateau appellation. 2 vineyards, one called “Kliptuin” which translates to “stone garden”. This is the site the first vines were planted on the farm and another called “rivierblok” with more sandy soils. Very long cold winters and cooler than normal ripenng periods causes these grapes up in the mountains to ripen atleast a month or in some years up to 2months later than regions like stellenbosch. winemaking is kept as basic as possible. Whole bunch pressed to tank to settle overnight without any additions and racked to second and third fill french barriques the next day. Spontaneous fermentation can last up to 6 months. Full malolactic if the wine wants to and after 10 months on the lees the first racking takes place when the wine is blended and returned to barrel for anoher 2 months before bottling with minimal filtration.
Stone-fruit and green melon with subtle oak nuances on the nose. The palate is mineral and citrus driven with struck match and nutty lees flavours. A fresh almost limey acidity contributes to the wine’s length and gives balance to the creamy texture of the barrel fermented component.
Donovan is always on the lookout for amazing fruit that he can craft into something even more amazing; wines from old forgotten vineyards or isolated sites that are full of character, charm and flavour. Donovan trained with Eben Sadie and Miles Mossop before doing his own thing – creating wonderfully honest and natural wines that punch way above their weight.
- Reference #:
- 11064
- Strength
- 13.5 ABV
- Bottles per Case
- 6 bottles
- Grapes
- Chardonnay
- Organic
- No
- Biodynamic
- No
- Vegan
- No
- Vegetarian
- Yes
- Sparkling
- No
