Tasting Notes
winemaker's note
The Reserve Shiraz comes almost entirely from our old vine central Wilyabrup vineyard, planted in 1972. A wine of great poise, power, yet fine detail. My favourite Reserve Shiraz to date.
Julian Langworthy, Chief Winemaker
colour
Deep purple with a bright crimson rim.
aroma
A complex array of warm spices such as cinnamon and star anise, underpinned by deep dark blood plums and cedar.
palate
Rich, dark brambly fruits and plums intermingle with savoury pepper and wood smoke. The tannins are powder fine and frame a medium-bodied, smooth mouthfeel that lingers on the palate. A wine equal parts great poise and power.
cellaring
Optimum drinking within three to ten years of vintage.
Technical
vintage
2020 was a tricky vintage for life in general with lockdowns, split work forces and all manner of challenges but it did make for some very lovely wines in Margaret River.
A steady, relatively warm season, punctuated by a couple of solid rainfall events, resulted in one of the very best Shiraz seasons in our amazing region. The Shiraz vineyards largely loved the natural moisture along with the warm temperatures and the resulting fruit has great flavour with perfectly ripe tannin structure.
winemaking
This wine is almost entirely from our old vine central Wilyabrup vineyard planted in 1972. The fruit was hand-picked and varying amounts of whole bunches were employed in small open top fermenters.
A minimalist approach in the winery included only twice daily plunging and pressing after 12 days on skins to a mixture of new and seasoned French oak. The individual parcels were kept separate and aged on lees for 12 months until the final selections of the parcels were made.
The final blend incorporates a combination of 30% and 100% whole bunch fermented batches allowing for a wine of both great depth and complexity.
region
Margaret River
variety
Shiraz
analysis
- Alcohol: 14.5%
- pH: 3.69
- TA: 5.90 g/L
Food Pairings
Rare venison with mushroom ravioli and celeriac puree.
Awards
Royal Hobart Wine Show 2021
Reviews
Ray Jordan Wine Guide 2023
This is as a good a shiraz as Deep Woods have produced. I love its weight and shape in the mouth. Scents of licorice and satsuma plum with spices and dried herbs. The palate is loaded with black fruits laced with spices and dark chocolate. It’s so bright and brilliant. Lovely wine displaying Margaret River shiraz at its best.
97
James Halliday, Halliday Wine Companion 2023
Hand picked from a single block on the estate's 1972 plantings in central Wilyabrup, matured for 12 months in new and used French oak. This is as powerful as any of its breed, with the blackest of black fruits and tannins normally the confines of cabernet sauvignon, French oak lost in the wash.
96
Ray Jordan, The West Australian Wine Guide 2021
So much black fruit concentrated into a seamless, voluptuous palate. Plum and licorice with a liqueur chocolate addition and a splash of glazed fruit cake. The palate is beautifully integrated, with powdery tannins and liberal oak working together. It's a pup, but with plenty of aging potential if you wish.
95
Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front 2021
It’s grown on vines that were planted in 1972, which is remarkable in Margaret River terms. Wilyabrup sub-region.
It’s a cracking red wine. Just fantastic. It’s strong, bold, firm and complex. Tannin, lots of tannin, muscular with it. Cherries into plum into straight-out kirsch into peppercorn, woodsmoke and cedar. It’s fractionally reductive, to positive effect. It will live and develop over many a yonk. This is a wine that goes for gold.
95
Reserve shiraz
Very good wine!

STUNNING WINE LOVE IT
ENJOY EVERY DROP

2020 reserve Shiraz
This was the best Shiraz I have tried at a Vineyard. Straight away I was impressed with it. I am confident this will get better if cellared correctly. The problem is we have ***** the whole carton already.

Top Drop
Beautiful wine this. It’s almost brooding with deep dark red fruit characteristics. Plenty of length and some silky tannins Great for now but will only get better if you can resist the temptation.

Solid cool climate shiraz
Great drop... Good example of a Marg River shiraz... highly recommended..

5 Star!
Who knew Margaret River could make a Shiraz this good! Really showing that MR can hang with the big-name Shiraz's of Australia