Novum Chardonnay 2023
The Wine
In Marlborough’s Southern Valleys, vineyard sites are carefully chosen for their clay-rich loams and gravelly soils. This unique terroir, paired with the area’s maritime climate, brings bright acidity, expressive aromatics, and a touch of minerality. Hand-picked grapes are gently whole-bunch pressed, fermented with native yeasts, and aged in French oak barriques (about 15–20% new), adding complexity, texture, and seamless integration while keeping the fruit’s purity front and center.
96 Pts Shanteh Wale, James Halliday’s Australian Wine Companion 'Firework flint, lemon oil and yellow peach cheeks. Grapefruit sorbet and cold butter log. Almond milk creaminess with a deft handling of oak on the palate. Cumin, powdered ginger and white pepper. This delivers the charitable dimensions of chardonnay with a breeze of gently rolling acidity and brilliance of a chiselled precious stone. Peach cream and baked meringue on the finish. Drinking beautifully and will age further. Wonderful to see the confidence and precision from a new player. Very exciting. Drink by 2028.
The Details
Variety - Chardonnay
Country - New Zealand
Region - Marlborough
Extra - Cork
Year - 2023
Volume - 750ml
About the Wine Maker 
Novum is a creation aof William and Rachel Hoare who started to release wines from 2016. Will started as a cellar hand and left as General Manager of Fromm after 19 years. Will’s family were among Marlborough’s very first contract grape growers and still own around 40-hectares of vineyards on land purchased in 1978. They are Cloudy Bay’s oldest grower.
Novum has a simple philosophy. They buy small parcels of grapes from established vineyards in special sites to make the very best wine they can. For them it is not about ticking an obvious box of being organic or biodynamic, interventionist or non-interventionist winemakers but more taking the best learnings from all areas of the winemaking and viticulture process and applying them to make the best wines possible.
