Review: 2023 X Novo Chardonnay and Pinot Noir X Omni Vineyard
X Novo is a small production winery in Oregon’s Eola-Amity Hills AVA, helmed by Craig Williams, who’s been working harvests in California and Oregon since the 1970s, including a 35-year stint at Joseph Phelps. His love of Burgundy translated to making wine in Oregon thanks to its soil and climate similarities. He purchased the 5-acre X Novo vineyard on the south side of Eola-Amity, “away from the action,” as he says, in 2010. While the original idea was to grow only pinot noir, Williams quickly became obsessed with chardonnay — another iconic grape of Burgundy — which now makes up more of X Novo’s production than pinot noir.
X Novo now manages 23 acres of vineyards (including a larger second vineyard, X Omni) and, while the plan was originally to grow and sell grapes, he eventually got into producing his own wine, too. 2021 marked the first vintage sold publicly.
Today we look at the only two wines that X Novo releases, both from its third vintage, 2023, including a chardonnay and pinot noir from the X Omni vineyard. (283 cases of chardonnay and 260 cases of pinot noir were released from this vintage.) (In case you’re wondering, the name “X Novo” is an homage to ex novo in Latin, which fittingly means “new beginnings,” more or less.)
2023 X Novo Chardonnay X Omni Vineyard – An instant winner, this chardonnay is bright and very lemony, with a lithe grassiness that layers the wine with a gently pastoral note, presenting the whole affair as quite sunny and fresh — very summery. Delicate and brisk, it’s far from a fruit-bomb porch pounder, thanks to ample acidity that amplifies that wine’s surprisingly intense mineral notes. A touch of green in the hue of the wine evokes the crisp green apple notes that pop on the palate, though the impact of malolactic fermentation gives the late game a gently creamy quality (apple pie, maybe?) that tames any overt tartness. A / $100
2023 X Novo Pinot Noir X Omni Vineyard – Made with 15% whole cluster fruit, aged for 18 months in French oak barrels. Bright cherries pop from the start then meander their way into chocolate cherry notes before swinging back again — laser-focused on fresh, high-quality fruit. The wine gets a bit gravelly as it develops, with a vague layer of char, evoking the underlying tannins, but this turns out to be highly complementary to the fruit, shaving some of the tartness from the edges. Balanced, refreshing, and enduringly light on its feet, the pinot finishes on hints of rhubarb and the lightest hint of racy balsamic, evoking cru Burgundy more than Williams even might have anticipated. Outstanding stuff. A / $100
The post Review: 2023 X Novo Chardonnay and Pinot Noir X Omni Vineyard appeared first on Drinkhacker: The Insider’s Guide to Good Drinking.