2022 Nocturne Single Vineyards
It is always with great anticipation and excitement that we announce the imminent arrival of Julian Langworthy's Single Vineyard wines from Nocturne, now in its eighth year!
“Each year I strive to make the best one ever, and it’s thanks to all of you for supporting this passion project – not just to make Margret River’s best wine, but Australia’s best wine (which in my humble opinion, makes some of the best wine in the world).” Julian Langworthy
2022 Nocturne SV Chardonnay Forrest Vineyard, Wilyabrup $63 (limited)
Sooooo, things that were just right. The Forrest Vineyard in central Willyabrup and as you may now know my first and devastatingly brutal love, the tiny Tassel Park vineyard was wiped out in 2021 and in 2022 but hope springs eternal and I have learnt to love again. This second SV wine from this excellent site builds on last year’s work and is pretty darn special.
The fruit is of course from a single site, the Forrest Vineyard in the Willyabrup sub-region of Margaret River. Moreover, this wine is from a tiny ridge section from within the middle of this vineyard selectively picked for this wine. Planted to the classic, WA Gin Gin clone, it’s a wine of unbelievable natural acid presence and structural drive. The vineyard is otherwise largely flat and quite close to the coast, some 3 kms only and in common with Tasslel Park, it is planted on deep silver-grey sands. The picking date is generally relatively early in the Chardonnay season given the vineyards low yielding nature.
The grapes were handpicked on 18th of February, a day earlier than 2021, again which I find weird; and whole bunch-pressed directly to new, one- and two-year-old puncheons, with no settling or fining processes. This juice was then carefully monitored and spontaneous fermentation kicked off on day five after pressing. After a Four-week ferment, the wine remained on gross lees un sulphured until September of that year. In December the wine was emptied from barrel, settled, filtered and bottled.
This is an exciting site that holds amazing acid structure and lovely al dente tannin. It needs some time to truly unfurl, unfold, and show its true colours, but one sniff will show, that it has the character that Nocturne’s SV Chardys are famous for, Flint, funk, just ripe stone fruit, citrus and hope…. In hope that change is always to grow and to hopefully improve. Get around this wine bright with flint, funk and grilled lime, it’s a bright new future out there. – Julian Langworthy
This 2022 leads with gentle reduction, flinty complexity and loads of acid and fruit in the mouth. This abundantly composed, vigorously svelte and polished while being authentic. You get salted peach, persevered citrus, jasmine tea, star anise, clove, cut fennel and a line of graphite through phenolics. This is a thoroughly exciting Chardonnay to drink and to ponder- frisky acidity brings crunch and crackle, fleshy fruit envelopes the mouth, and there’s a curved line of phenolics through the finish.” 96+ points. Erin Larkin, The Wine
Advocate 2023
2022 Nocturne SV Cabernet Sauvignon Sheoak Vineyard, Yallingup $63 (limited)
2022 was as suggested prior a cassis flavoured dream. Whilst we had very little fruit on the vines, a pitiful 2.8t / Ha. But what was there tasted of raw emotion!
We commenced picking Sheoak Cabernet on the 14th of April, some 3 weeks later than the tricky 21 vintage. What we got from this lovely time in the sun, under an Indian summer so to speak, was perfect tannins ripeness. Densely structured, instantly perfumed and richly coloured. The wine spent 15 days on skins, with a peak fermentation temperature of around 28 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 15 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. 100% Cabernet from a very special vineyard.
The Sheoak vineyard makes expressive, medium-bodied silky structured wines. Dark fruit flavours and high notes of cassis and warm spice frame this slightly more brooding release of the Nocturne SV. While it’s amazingly accessible on release, this wine would love 3 to 6 years further maturation, which will really make this amazing wine shine. – Julian Langworthy
“Each year I strive to make the best one ever, and it’s thanks to all of you for supporting this passion project – not just to make Margret River’s best wine, but Australia’s best wine (which in my humble opinion, makes some of the best wine in the world).” Julian Langworthy
2022 Nocturne SV Chardonnay Forrest Vineyard, Wilyabrup $63 (limited)
Sooooo, things that were just right. The Forrest Vineyard in central Willyabrup and as you may now know my first and devastatingly brutal love, the tiny Tassel Park vineyard was wiped out in 2021 and in 2022 but hope springs eternal and I have learnt to love again. This second SV wine from this excellent site builds on last year’s work and is pretty darn special.
The fruit is of course from a single site, the Forrest Vineyard in the Willyabrup sub-region of Margaret River. Moreover, this wine is from a tiny ridge section from within the middle of this vineyard selectively picked for this wine. Planted to the classic, WA Gin Gin clone, it’s a wine of unbelievable natural acid presence and structural drive. The vineyard is otherwise largely flat and quite close to the coast, some 3 kms only and in common with Tasslel Park, it is planted on deep silver-grey sands. The picking date is generally relatively early in the Chardonnay season given the vineyards low yielding nature.
The grapes were handpicked on 18th of February, a day earlier than 2021, again which I find weird; and whole bunch-pressed directly to new, one- and two-year-old puncheons, with no settling or fining processes. This juice was then carefully monitored and spontaneous fermentation kicked off on day five after pressing. After a Four-week ferment, the wine remained on gross lees un sulphured until September of that year. In December the wine was emptied from barrel, settled, filtered and bottled.
This is an exciting site that holds amazing acid structure and lovely al dente tannin. It needs some time to truly unfurl, unfold, and show its true colours, but one sniff will show, that it has the character that Nocturne’s SV Chardys are famous for, Flint, funk, just ripe stone fruit, citrus and hope…. In hope that change is always to grow and to hopefully improve. Get around this wine bright with flint, funk and grilled lime, it’s a bright new future out there. – Julian Langworthy
This 2022 leads with gentle reduction, flinty complexity and loads of acid and fruit in the mouth. This abundantly composed, vigorously svelte and polished while being authentic. You get salted peach, persevered citrus, jasmine tea, star anise, clove, cut fennel and a line of graphite through phenolics. This is a thoroughly exciting Chardonnay to drink and to ponder- frisky acidity brings crunch and crackle, fleshy fruit envelopes the mouth, and there’s a curved line of phenolics through the finish.” 96+ points. Erin Larkin, The Wine
Advocate 2023
2022 Nocturne SV Cabernet Sauvignon Sheoak Vineyard, Yallingup $63 (limited)
2022 was as suggested prior a cassis flavoured dream. Whilst we had very little fruit on the vines, a pitiful 2.8t / Ha. But what was there tasted of raw emotion!
We commenced picking Sheoak Cabernet on the 14th of April, some 3 weeks later than the tricky 21 vintage. What we got from this lovely time in the sun, under an Indian summer so to speak, was perfect tannins ripeness. Densely structured, instantly perfumed and richly coloured. The wine spent 15 days on skins, with a peak fermentation temperature of around 28 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 15 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. 100% Cabernet from a very special vineyard.
The Sheoak vineyard makes expressive, medium-bodied silky structured wines. Dark fruit flavours and high notes of cassis and warm spice frame this slightly more brooding release of the Nocturne SV. While it’s amazingly accessible on release, this wine would love 3 to 6 years further maturation, which will really make this amazing wine shine. – Julian Langworthy