PRE-ARRIVAL: The 94-Point, $25.99 Donovan Rall White that Beats his Best!

A year ago, in one of our favorite emails of the year, we brought you a special pre-arrival offering of a white wine that the stunningly talented Donovan Rall proclaimed to be the greatest he had ever made.

The favorite wine in our entire trip to South Africa last year, it earned a glowing 93+ point review from Wine Advocate, and you all snapped it up fast.

Today, we give you a chance to acquire the successor to that wine. Earning a full 94 points from Wine Advocate, it manages to top the wine that Donovan himself considers his best ever!

Scroll down for all the details on this Vin Chicago exclusive, and for a chance to pick up the first-ever bottling of Grenache Noir, then obliterate that Big Green Button to get your order in!

This is a Pre-Arrival offer. Wine is expected to arrive in December. Your card will be charged upon order confirmation. We will contact you when your wine is ready to be picked up!

2023 Rall Wines "Rall White" White Blend
Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa
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Since we started working with the "Rall White" in 2016, the 2023 may be our favorite one yet, which is no small feat given how utterly delicious his 2022 vintage was. 

Boasting strong notes of freshly cut pineapple, juicy apricot, citrus blossom, and a tang of green apple, all housed with a touch of honey on the finish, it is pure freshness in a bottle. This new vintage might be the most successful sequel since The Godfather: Part II. Seriously, it's that good!

In typical Rall fashion, this blend of 71% Chenin Blanc, 26% Verdelho and 3% Viognier is juicy with a mindblowing amount of bounce and freshness and a near perfect interplay between roundness and acidity that elicited multiple “Oh Wows!” from our tasting panel.

Simply put, all fans of quality white wines need to grab at least a bottle or two of this. If you've loved the Rall White before, or if you're a fan of Sancerre or anything from the Loire Valley, you ought to be thinking about a six-pack or two. This is a VERY special wine, and - thanks to the continually weak South African Rand, - the price-to-quality ratio is through the roof!

“Donovan Rall's 2023 Coastal Region White is 71% Chenin Blanc, 26% Verdelho and 3% Viognier. It was first produced in 2008. The formula behind the blending seeks to preserve acidity, although this dynamic winemaker allows malolactic fermentation in his white wines. The Verdelho adds the freshness with cool aromas of crisp green apple and kiwi. This is a lovely wine with a crunchy or snappy quality, and the focus here is squarely on that balanced freshness. This bottle offers outstanding value.” 
          - 94 Points, Wine Advocate (6/25/2025)

"The 2023 White is a blend of Chenin Blanc, Verdelho and Viognier, matured in 2,000-liter foudre and concrete. It has a well-defined and vibrant bouquet with peach skin, dried honey and subtle gravelly scents, accented by a hint of chamomile. The palate has a lovely honeyed texture, displaying notes of apricot and vanilla pod, with white pepper and orange rind developing toward the finish. Give this a couple of years in bottle so it can just 'stretch its arms.' This has potential. Drinking Window 2026 - 2038.” 
          - 93 Points, Neal Martin - Vinous (8/2024)

This is everything a Chenin Blanc should be. The idea of enjoying it with goat cheese or shrimp scampi has us practically salivating, as does sipping a glass on the porch after work. Serve at 50 degrees and enjoy as it opens up over a period of hours and even days.

We are the only of just a few stores in the US to have access to this wine, and are so far the only ones to be offering this new vintage. Looking online, we find two listings for the previous vintage, both at $42. At 38% less, today's pre-arrival blows that away. This is one of those wines that defines what we do at Vin Chicago. Absolutely. Fantastic. Stuff.

Pre-Arrival Price: 25.99

Donovan's Debut Bottling of Grenache Noir is Amazing!

2023 Rall Wines Grenache Noir
Swartland, Western Cape, South Africa
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While today's awesome white has long been Donovan Rall's signature bottling, this is the very first bottling he has ever made of Grenache Noir!

The fruit here was originally intended for inclusion in his "Rall Red" blend, but when Donovan realized how hypnotically delicious it was, he made the decision to bottle it on its own.

We are wholeheartedly thankful that he did, as the wine is sensational. Pouring a beautiful magenta color, the aromas of red licorice and violets suck you for a sip where they erupt into an explosion of fresh raspberry and blueberry pie flavors. Finishing with distinct thyme and white pepper snappiness, this mesmerizing wine evolves even over the course of a single sip!

This is a joy to drink now and we look forward to revisiting it a few years down the road. Only 173 cases were produced and we managed to get roughly a third of them allocated for our shoppers. A true Vin Chicago exclusive, we could not find a single listing in the US or abroad - not even in South Africa! A very cool, very rare, very delicious wine that you are going to love trying and sharing with friends!

Pre-Arrival Price: 23.99