Novum Pinot Noir 2020

Deep, ruby-red, with some purple hues. Rich and highly fragrant with dark red berry fruit, dried herb, cigar box and subtle earthy notes. Mouth-filling, generous with a core of ripe cherry, plum and spice flavours, yet savoury too. A wine with great textural interest and detail, opulence but also some seriousness.

The fruit for this wine was grown in the highly regarded Southern Valleys, sub region of Marlborough. The higher day time temperatures in the narrow valleys of this part of the region, coupled with the heavy clay loam soils that help bring the wine richness and concentration - make it the perfect environment to grow high quality Pinot Noir grapes.

The 2020 vintage was an outstanding vintage, the best that Marlborough has experienced in 20+ years. It was the rare combination a perfect growing season (where rain and sunshine occurred at the right moments ) and a long warm summer that lasted right through to late Autumn. The late Autumn warmth meant that we could harvest at the optimum moment – we weren’t rushed by the weather.

The majority of the fruit for this wine was harvested from our flagship Quarters Vineyard in the Brancott Valley, with a small amount from the Settlement Vineyard in the Omaka Valley. Both vineyards are: fully certified organic; located on a mix of steep and flat sites; have high density planting; and are a mix of UCD and Dijon clones.

Hand harvested. Once de-stemmed into open top fermenters the grapes sit on skins (about 5 days) prior to starting off a wild yeast fermentation, then pumped over 2-3 times a day during active ferment. After 35+ days on skins the wine is pressed, racked and transferred to French oak barriques (30% new oak).

The wine is aged in barrel for 12 months with the final wine being blended in late January and bottled in February 2021.