-
97
/ 100
Erin Larkin
Red
Classification
Cabernet Sauvignon
Variety
2023
Vintage
750ml (Bottle)
Bottle Size
Australia
Country
Western Australia, Margaret River
Region
14.0%
Alcohol %
15 Plus Years
Cellaring
Scores
97 / 100"The 2023 Single Vineyard Cabernet Sauvignon, sourced from the Sheoak vineyard, exemplifies the purity, precision, and balance characteristic of the exceptional 2023 vintage. This wine opens with vibrant notes of cassis, raspberry pip, dried herbs, sheets of nori, iodine, and leather. Its potent intensity allows the fruit to deeply penetrate the palate, leaving a lasting impression of flavor. Though still young and inchoate, the wine is beginning to reveal its potential, promising a long and bright future ahead. It possesses a shimmering, glittery purple vibrancy, as if illuminated by its own inner light. Margaret River shines brightest when producing wines like this—concentrated in flavor, weighty yet not heavy, with resolved, ductile tannins and a purity of fruit that is simply unstoppable. Bottled at 14% alcohol and sealed under a screw cap, this wine has earned 97+ points from Erin Larkin of Robert Parker Wine Advocate in November 2024."
- Erin Larkin
Tasting Notes
The 2023 vintage—it is a thing... as is this wine. In seasons when you can wait, pause, and assess the grapes for perfect tannin ripeness, you know something special is happening. 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 crafted 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. The wine is darkly colored yet wonderfully fine and ethereal from the outset. Instantly perfumed and richly hued, it spent 14 days on skins with a peak fermentation temperature of around 26°C. The wine was pressed to tank, settled briefly, and then transferred to a combination of new (25%) and two- and three-year-old barrels to undergo malolactic fermentation. It was racked only once during this time and, after 16 months in oak, was emptied from barrel. Only the best barrels were selected for the final blend. The wine was then settled, clarified, and bottled.
The Sheoak Vineyard produces expressive, medium-bodied, silky-structured wines. For me, this is the perfect incarnation: dark fruit flavors 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 benefit from 5 to 8 years of further maturation, which will truly allow it to shine.
– Julian Langworthy
Tasting Profile
- Light
- Full
- Low Tannin
- Tannic
- Sweet
- Dry
- Low Acidity
- High Acidity