Novum is the brainchild of Will and Rachel Hoare. Will's wine career had a bumpy start, when he was kicked out of school for selling wine to his fellow students (we’d call it entrepreneurial), but since then it's been more of a success story. He started on the bottling line at Cloudy Bay, but worked his way into the cellar, and did vintages at Au Bon Climat with Jim Clenenden. On returning to Marlborough he worked at Fromm, then the only winery focusing on single vineyards and respecting the soil. Will’s great love is Pinot Noir, while Rachel, the other half of Novum told us at a recent tasting how she fell in love with Chardonnay after her time working with two Burgundy greats Veronique Drouhin and Dominique Lafon. They came together perfectly to produce precise, traditionalist wines that are very Burgundian in style. Of his focus on small plots, Will says: “Most producers think in terms of vineyards. We think in terms of small parcels within vineyards. Soil types and even aspect can vary considerably even in a seemingly homogenous vineyard. There are always ‘sweet spots’ that consistently produce better grapes than all the rest. That’s what we’re after.” Rachel and Will have 20+ years of experience as vignerons, and formed Novum so that they can make the decisions they want to make without compromise, on a small, artisanal scale. These are distinct wines that deserve to be on everyone's radar. Two fun facts to take away about Novum are that firstly, it is believed that their Chardonnay vines are the oldest in New Zealand and secondly, they are the only estate in Marlborough to not produce Sauvignon Blanc.
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