Nocturne Yallingup SR Cabernets 2023

"Such extraordinary value for this class."  Ray Jordan
"It's a quiet wine but a scintillatingly beautiful one at that."  Erin Larkin
"Everything about this wine I love."  Jane Faulkner

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 sensational 2023 Nocturne SR Cabernets is a blend of 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43% Merlot and 10% Malbec from three vineyards in the Yallingup sub-region.

"The 2023 SR Yallingup Cabernet Sauvignon is pure, fine and seamless, with a flow of chalky tannins that encase the detailed core of fruit. It's a quiet wine but a scintillatingly beautiful one at that. I detect blood orange and raspberry pip, coffee grounds and raw cocoa. 2023 was a ripping vintage in Western Australia, and this wine is a poster child for the year that was."  Erin Larkin

"This wine tastes of the future, or at least a future that I want to be part of, one where medium bodied wines of great complexity and huge drinkability are the norm …. Cabernets, simply put, are just the most rewarding wines there are to drink. Yallingup is our stomping ground and where the world’s greatest Cabernet and Cabernet Blends are being grown. Its deliciously warm but never hot, with the amazing dual influence of the Indian Ocean and Geographe Bay.

In this SR6 Cabernets we have used our own beloved Sheoak Cabernet, Merlot from the Summus Vineyard and Malbec from the Robinson property that we are lucky enough to share the amazing valley with. The 2023 vintage it is a thing… Probably the most amazing thing about this mild largely dry season almost all varieties excelled. Not too hot not too cold, it was the Goldilocks of season where everything was just right. This allowed us to produce medium weighted effortless wines with the finest of tannin structures.

We commenced picking Sheoak Cabernet on the 16th of April relatively late given the heat in the season. Darkly coloured, quite tense for this vineyard it showed an abundance of ripe coco laden tannins from the outset. Instantly perfumed and richly coloured the wine spent 12 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 (15%) and two & three-year-old barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked only once in this time and, after 14 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. At this juncture we decided the final makeup, which is 47% Cabernet Sauvignon, 43 % Merlot and 10% Malbec. These wines were then settled together clarified and bottled.

This expression of a cabernet blend is exactly how I envisage great luncheon claret to be, Epic drinkability yet huge complexity and verve. If Earnest Hemmingway was still alive he’d be pouring this in by the bucketful. A cassis laden dream if you will, which is my absolute favourite Cabernet Blend yet."  Julian Langworthy, Winemaker

Expert reviews

"A beautiful cabernets showcasing the wonderful 2023 vintage in Margaret River. The medium-bodied palate is aromatic, vibrant, incredibly focused, pure and detailed, displaying berry fruits in the mulberry and cassis spectrum. The oak handling is impressive, the tannins soft and fine, but it is the freshness provided by the lovely acid core that makes the wine so enjoyable to drink. Smashing value."  Nick Munday, Canterbury Wines - 96+ points and Special Value Wine  ★ 

"The 2023 SR Yallingup Cabernet Sauvignon is pure, fine and seamless, with a flow of chalky tannins that encase the detailed core of fruit. It's a quiet wine but a scintillatingly beautiful one at that. I detect blood orange and raspberry pip, coffee grounds and raw cocoa. 2023 was a ripping vintage in Western Australia, and this wine is a poster child for the year that was. Drink:  2024 - 2038."  Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 95 points

"Everything about this wine I love. The colour, a black-red, the aromas, all heady and most importantly, the palate, all textural and detailed. It is very youthful, so its best days are ahead of it. However, it is dripping with mulberries, cassis and black plums all spiced to the max with a hint of nori and tapenade, even a waft of freshly rolled tobacco pops up. Fuller-bodied and flush with sweet, ripe tannins yet some with some grip and texture, which adds definition, so too the stony/ferrous character and lithe acidity. Drink by 2035."  Jane Faulkner, Halliday Wine Companion - 95 points and Special Value Wine ★ 

"This takes the excellent ’22 into a slightly more ethereal zone. Perfumes of tobacco leaf, black fruits and slightly minerally ironstone nuances. The palate has real character with fine chalky tannins and such precise oak handling combining to bring it all together. There’s a slightly earthy meaty depth here. Such extraordinary value for this class. Cellar 10 years."  Ray Jordan, Ray Jordan Wines - 95 points

Awards

Special Value Wine – Halliday Wine Companion  ★ 
Special Value Wine – Canterbury Wines  ★

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.