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  The Editor’s Award

19 Nov 2020

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Platter's by Diners Club South African Wine Guide

Announce the Newcomer Winery of the Year 2021

Rall Wines is this year’s “ambassador par excellence for South Africa”

The Editor’s Award, goes to a winery whose performance is matched by a superb track record and whose winemaking approach makes them, in the editor, Philip van Zyl’s words:  “ambassadors par excellence for South Africa”.

This year, the award goes to Rall Wines.

Rall Wines have featured at the topmost level of award in this guide since their debut – this year sees four wines gaining 5-star ratings. Winemaker Donovan Rall’s philosophy has always been to ‘produce something unique by choosing interesting sites and expressing the place and the soil rather than typical varietal character or winemaking techniques’. To this end, he’s turned to - and, in fact, been a pioneer of - neutral older oak and, latterly, vessels of concrete and clay for ferment and ageing. Implicit is a minimum-intervention approach. An underpin of all his wine is freshness, and an accumulated understanding of the vineyards he works with, mostly but not only in Swartland, enables him to adjust picking times and blends, among other strategies, to achieve all-important palate vivacity.

Donovan Rall, known for letting his wines do the talking, noted: “To say this award is unexpected is an understatement. I’m incredibly grateful and proud to be part of an industry that raises the bar every year.”

Click here to read about the Editor’s Newcomer Winery of the Year. And, for details about the Top Performing Winery of the Year 2021, click here.

All Platter’s 2021 ratings and results are now available for subscribers. To subscribe and view them now click here.


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