In 2025, Julian Langworthy donned a salmon jacket and drank rosé on a boat. Nothing new there… or was there? The Sydney mood was somehow more serious and more buoyant than ever. Nocturne had come of age.
Nick Ryan quipped that Jules shouldn’t have time for showers, let alone side hustles. And yet, what this so-called side hustle has achieved is momentous. Nocturne has celebrated its 10th birthday, and the cascade of praise shows no signs of abating. The source of that praise is not an upwelling of hype nor a cult of personality. It is Chardonnay and Cabernet Sauvignon of breathtaking personality and quality, year in year out.
Nocturne leapt emphatically into the Halliday Top 100 Wineries list in 2025. “In a decade, Julian Langworthy’s Nocturne has cemented itself as one of Margaret River’s finest names,” the listing read. Think about that for a second. Margaret River is young in global terms, but its hallowed estates seem to have been around—with superb wines and apparently boundless resources—forever. Jules has always firmly respected his elders and betters, so long as their wines are worthy of the reputation. And he has revelled in the challenge of matching and surpassing them—while he has “never strayed from his affable, down-to-earth and infectiously passionate ways,” as that Halliday piece aptly observed. “That shines in wines that feel deeply personal, artisanal.”
We love tasting and drinking Julian’s wines, with or without him. They wear their unfettered ambition with gay abandon and make you glad to be alive. If you’re reading these words, chances are you feel exactly as we do. The 2024 Sheoak Cabernet Sauvignon—with typically mouthwatering reviews—is another ecstatic reminder of this talent, and the sheer beauty of Margaret River fruit handled with care from an exquisitely well-placed vineyard.
You’re going to love it.