2015 Noon Winery Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon Langhorne Creek Australia 750 ml

Legendary Australian Cabernet Sauvignon, Made by a Master

“Life is too short not to be drinking the wines of Drew and Rae Noon,” says Robert Parker of the legendary Noon Winery, adding that Noon is a “superstar winery” that “sets the bar for South Australia.” That’s high praise, considering that wines like Penfolds Grange, Henschke’s Hill Of Grace, and Chris Ringland all fetch $500+ a bottle, and yet, Parker continues to rave about Noon, ranking their wines an average of 94 points over the past decade: “These are wines of extraordinary depth and richness, with amazing upside potential in the bottle.”

Perhaps no wine in the entire portfolio is better suited to showcasing that age-worthy depth and structure as the Noon Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon. The Wine Advocate offered up 94 points for its “restrained power, held in check by a framework of elegant pencil shavings and minty notes,” adding, “it's loaded up with cassis fruit, ample weight and layers of velvety tannins, yet it finishes with plenty of persistence, elegance and complexity.”

In this case, it’s Cabernet from two blocks in the Borrett family vineyard—a site cooler than most in the region—that give this big, bold Cab the finesse to match its strength. The result is a superb effort that drinks among Australia’s best Cabernets—full-bodied, dense, and balancing ripe fruit with intriguing herbaceous notes—but doesn’t match their price tags.

Langhorne Creek is one of  Australia’s most well-regarded appellations for Cabernet Sauvignon, and owner Drew Noon that knows exactly how to handle it. Noon is one of the few Masters of Wine in his native country, and an iconic figure in the Aussie wine industry. In the vineyard, Noon pursues a minimalist, artisanal, dry-farming approach. Pair that with Borrett family fruit and the result is a wine of incredible opulence and complexity that, while bearing a 15.5% alcohol level, shows no signs of heat, only massive ripeness in an elegant package.

The 2015 vintage in Langhorne Creek was unusually short, meaning the 45-year-old Cabernet Vines in the Borrett family vineyard produced even less fruit than normal. The upside was that the fruit that made it into Drew Noon’s open-topped crusher was also more concentrated and complex than normal.