

Nocturne SV Sheoak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Style: Red Wine
Closure: Screwcap
Nocturne SV Sheoak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon 2023
Camberwell
Burke Road
Camberwell VIC 3124
Australia
Critic Score: 97
Alcohol: 14.0%
Size: 750 ml
Drink by: 2045
Nocturne is a venture spearheaded by winemaker Julian Langworthy, regarded as one of the most talented winemakers in Australia and James Halliday's 2019 Winemaker of the Year. Nocturne produces a range of single vineyard and sub-regional wines from exceptional sites in Margaret River. The 2023 Nocturne SV Sheoak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the Sheoak Vineyard in the Wilyabrup sub-region and its beautifully mature Cabernet vines.
"The 2023 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon leads with all the purity, precision and balance that we have come to expect from the glorious 2023 season. You get cassis, raspberry pip, dried herbs, sheets of nori, iodine and leather. The wine is potently intense; the fruit penetrates the palate and stains it with flavor. The wine is still opening up; it's so young as to be inchoate and with a long, bright future ahead. It has a glittery, purple, shimmering sort of vibrancy to it, as if lit by its own inner light. Margaret River is at its greatest when wines are like this, with concentrated flavor, weight without heaviness, resolved ductile tannins and purity of fruit. Unstoppable." Erin Larkin
"The 2023 vintage; it is a thing…… as is this wine. In seasons when you can wait, and pause, and asses the grapes for perfect tannin ripeness is when you know you have something special going on. Not too hot, not too cold, it was the 'Goldilocks' season where everything was just right. In this instance from what I see as the best part of the Sheoak vineyard slope, we have made an effortless wine with the finest of tannin structures.
We commenced picking Sheoak Cabernet on the 6th of April, relatively early given the even nature of the vintage. Darkly coloured though wonderfully fine and ethereal from the outset. Instantly perfumed and richly coloured, the wine spent 14 days on skins with a peak fermentation temperature of around 26 degrees C. The wine was pressed to tank and settled briefly, before being transferred to a combination of new (25%) and two & three-year-old barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked only once in this time and, after 16 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. Only the best barrels were selected for this final blend. The wines was then settled, clarified and bottled.
The Sheoak vineyard makes expressive, medium-bodied, silky structured wines. This for me is the perfect incarnation: Dark fruit flavours and high notes of cassis and warm spice frame this fine and completely poised vintage of the Nocturne SV. While it’s amazingly accessible on release, this wine would love 5 to 8 years further maturation, which will really make this amazing wine shine." Julian Langworthy, Winemaker
Expert reviews
"The 2023 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon comes from the Sheoak vineyard and leads with all the purity, precision and balance that we have come to expect from the glorious 2023 season. You get cassis, raspberry pip, dried herbs, sheets of nori, iodine and leather. The wine is potently intense; the fruit penetrates the palate and stains it with flavor. The wine is still opening up; it's so young as to be inchoate and with a long, bright future ahead. It has a glittery, purple, shimmering sort of vibrancy to it, as if lit by its own inner light. Margaret River is at its greatest when wines are like this, with concentrated flavor, weight without heaviness, resolved ductile tannins and purity of fruit. Unstoppable. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap. Drink: 2024 - 2043." Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 97+ points
"A classy cabernet with all manner of heady aromas and flavours. Expect a combo of mulberries, blackberries and currants, freshly ground coffee beans and iodine plus lots of menthol. There are more savoury inputs of nori and tapenade with cedary oak just-so. Fuller-bodied yet beautifully modulated with exceptional tannins. Drink by 2038." Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion - 96 points
Awards
Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion ★
About the winery

Nocturne is a venture spearheaded by winemaker Julian Langworthy, regarded as one of the most talented winemakers in Australia. Nocturne produces a range of single vineyard and sub-regional wines from exceptional sites in Margaret River.
Julian grew up in Margaret River and it is where he has transformed Deep Woods Estate since joining them in 2011 on his return to the region. Under his leadership, Deep Woods has been awarded more than 60 trophies and 200 gold medals across major national and international wine shows. He is also Chief Winemaker for the rest of the wineries in the Fogarty Wine Group (FWG).
Julian has also received many personal accolades, including James Halliday's 2019 Winemaker of the Year, Ray Jordan's Winemaker of the Year and a Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year nominee. His impressive career has also included vintages in France and Canada, and senior winemaking roles in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra.
Nocturne is the culmination of Langsworthy's experience throughout his career, his relationship with growers and his love for his hometown. He is acutely sensitive to the best fruit sources in the region and has an unwavering commitment to the best Margaret River has to offer.
Julian’s favourite grape variety is Cabernet Sauvignon, arguably the crown jewel of Margaret River. Fruit for the Nocturne SV (Single Vineyard) Cabernet Sauvignon is sourced from the newly acquired Sheoak Vineyard in the Wilyabrup sub-region and its beautifully mature Cabernet vines. Julian has always worked with cabernet sauvignon and when asked to compare Margaret River cabernet sauvignon to that from other regions, he replied:
"To me, cabernet sauvignon is Australia’s best grape variety, and as a region, Margaret River is cabernet nirvana. Even the hottest day of the year doesn’t reach over 30 degrees and, in the afternoon, sea breezes come in to cool everything down; overnight temperatures usually sit at about 12 to 14 degrees, which is perfect for cabernet.
It ripens slowly, so we get lovely tannin development without too much sugar, which results in fully ripe, medium-bodied wines that aren’t monstrously high in alcohol. That’s exactly what we want to achieve. I also think Margaret River cabernet is quite an international style – it has that lovely, lush tannin ripeness without the "heat" you might get from warmer regions.
I believe it has more in common with international regions than it does with South Australia or Victoria, with a level of complexity that I don’t see elsewhere in Australia. I believe that in Margaret River, we can make the best cabernet in the world, which is pretty exciting. That said, I love old Coonawarra cabernet and I really enjoy Yarra Valley cabernet, too."
The following article by James Halliday is reproduced from: https://winecompanion.com.au/resources/awards/2019/winemaker-of-the-year
My selection of Julian Langworthy as Winemaker of the Year caused me to ponder on the three greatest winemakers of the 20th century: Maurice O’Shea of Mount Pleasant Wines, Colin Preece of Seppelt’s Great Western and Max Schubert of Penfolds (Schubert’s masterwork, Grange). They plied their trade in a market where fortified wines, largely sold in saloons and hotels, reigned supreme. The one thing they had in common was the balance of their wines underlying their longevity.
Each had a substantial winery that provided support, although that support had its limits. Schubert was able to make the epic voyage to Spain and France in 1950 to study first-hand the making of sherry – it was from that journey that Grange, a Penfolds-banned wine during ’51–’61, saw its almost accidental birth; Preece had personal issues with some of the numerous members of the Seppelt family, with relations souring to the point where he felt compelled to resign; O’Shea was rescued by a number of members of the McWilliam clan – the McWilliams first buying half the shares in Mount Pleasant, and ultimately the other half in the aftermath of the Great Depression. If you take a broad view, these hugely talented winemakers were incidental to their employers’ financial needs, but left in limbo for much of their careers (Schubert was brought out of retirement when the marketing gurus belatedly realised his value). There was no expectation that any one of these winemakers would have any knowledge of, let alone responsibility for, the commercial value or the financial cost of their wines. How different to the wine world of today.
Julian Langworthy is chief winemaker for the Fogarty Wine Group (FWG), the fastest growing wine business in Western Australia. He reports to the Group General Manager, and is responsible for the stylistic direction of all of the FWG wineries and their individual brands. He mentors and manages a team of 12 winemakers and, in conjunction with the Group Chief Viticulturist, is responsible for all fruit purchases – this is in addition to more than 300ha of estate vineyards spread from Hunter Valley in New South Wales to Margaret River in Western Australia.
Julian has particular responsibilities for Deep Woods, with an extensive promotional role for its profile interstate and internationally. He plays a lead role in brand planning, providing wine business acumen and support for the marketing team. He has broad-based human resources responsibilities, including coordination for all site compliance issues, and others too many to mention.
Are his winemaking skills and palate on par with the greats of the 20th century? It’s a question without an answer. But if he is to be compared with the best of today, the answer is an emphatic yes. His wine show successes (and the team he has led) have gold medals flying around the room like confetti, with trophies (including the biggest of all, the Jimmy Watson) equally plentiful. And most of all, he is universally admired and liked by all who have had contact with him and/or the great wines he makes.

Western Australia
Western Australia is home to more than 400 wineries across nine vast and extraordinary wine regions which are almost entirely concentrated in the south-west and great southern land divisions of the State. The regions are Blackwood Valley, Geographe, Great Southern, Peel, Pemberton, Manjimup, Margaret River and Swan District.
The oldest region is the Swan Valley, the best known both nationally and internationally is Margaret River and the largest is Great Southern. The Great Southern region is further divided into the five subregions of Albany, Denmark, Frankland River, Mount Barker and Porongurup.
The history of wine production in Western Australia dates back to 1840 with the establishment of Sandalford in the Swan Valley region. The recognition of the fine wine possibilities started to be realised after the establishment of the Margaret River Region in 1967, which has become renowned for its high quality Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon. The other regions produce a diverse range of regionally distinct wines, from stunning Rieslings and evocative Shiraz, to a range of unique Cabernet Sauvignon blends.