2024 Nocturne Sheoak Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon

96 pts
Sourced from the finest section of the Sheoak Vineyard, the 2024 Nocturne Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon is a beautifully poised, medium-bodied expression of Margaret River Cabernet.

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Sale price$66.00
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Description

When a winemaker with Julian Langworthy's trophy cabinet quietly suggests that this might be the best Single Vineyard Cabernet he has ever made, we sit up and pay attention.

The 2024 vintage was famously hot and challenging across much of Western Australia. Yet, Julian notes that his coastal Sheoak vineyard in Yallingup sat in a bizarrely perfect "Goldilocks" zone. While others were rushing, he was able to pause, wait for absolute tannin ripeness, and pick pristine fruit from the best part of the slope on April 7th.

The fruit spent 14 days on skins before being pressed to tank, then transferred to a mix of new (25%) and seasoned French oak for 16 months. Only the absolute top-performing barrels were selected for the final SV blend.

The result is a darkly coloured but wonderfully ethereal Cabernet. It is a masterclass in medium-bodied elegance, built on a ridiculously silky, effortless tannin structure. Expect a driving core of dark fruit, soaring high notes of cassis, and a beautiful frame of warm spice.

It is dangerously accessible right out of the gate, but if you can manage to hide a few bottles away for 5 to 8 years, you are going to be handsomely rewarded.

96 points
“In the mouth, the wine is structurally firm, populated by succulent Cabernet fruit, and pliable in texture. There are notes of dried bay and tobacco, graphite, lead pencil and blackcurrant pastille. It is really good.”
- Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

96 points - “The 2024 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon hails from the Sheoak vineyard in Yallingup, in Margaret River’s northern reaches, and leads from the glass with an abundance of dark fruit, exotic spices and tapenade. In the mouth, the wine is structurally firm, populated by succulent Cabernet fruit, and pliable in texture. There are notes of dried bay and tobacco, graphite, lead pencil and blackcurrant pastille. It is really good. 14% alcohol, sealed under screw cap.” - Erin Larkin (The Wine Advocate)

Customer Reviews

Customer Reviews

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J
Jan N.
Beautiful rich cab sauvignon - my new favourite

I have been a fan of Cab sauv for years.. I love it.
This one is great. Big, fresh, beautifully balanced wine ... absolutely delicious and missing that OTT mouth puckering overdose of tannin that sometimes marrs otherwise great Cabs.
My wine of the season. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

The 2024 vintage was not a thing. This wine, however, is. Coastal vineyards are a thing, especially when the other thing is the hottest season ever. This is where my confusion lies: in seasons when you can wait and pause and assess the grapes for perfect tannin ripeness, that’s when you know you have something special going on. Not too hot, not too cold, it was the Goldilocks of seasons 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 started picking Sheoak Cabernet on 7th April, pretty much the same date as 2023, which is also weird. It’s darkly coloured, though wonderfully fine and ethereal from the outset. The wine spent 14 days on skins with a peak fermentation temperature of around 26°C. The wine was then pressed to tank and settled briefly before being transferred to a combination of new (25%), two- and three-year-old barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. The wine was racked only once during this time and, after 16 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. Only the best barrels were selected for this final blend. The wines were 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 remarkably accessible on release, this wine would love 5 to 8 years of further maturation, which will really make this amazing wine shine.

Price Bracket $51 to $100
Type Red
Body Full Bodied
Variety Cabernet Sauvignon
Country Australia
Region Margaret River
Australian State WA
Critic Score 96
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Nocturne Wines

Nocturne is the personal side label of highly decorated Margaret River winemaker Julian Langworthy.

Julian has won just about everything there is to win in Australian wine, having taken out Winemaker of the Year for the 2019 Halliday Wine Companion, the 2016 Jimmy Watson Memorial Trophy at Royal Melbourne in the space of just a couple of years.

The Nocturne wines are all small production with Jules focusing on quality rather than quantity in this range.

The fruit is procured through Julian's connections with local growers developed over his lifetime in the Margaret River region. If you're looking for hidden gems of Margaret River, the Nocturne wines are it.

Winemaker Julian Langworthy Nocturne

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