Tasting Notes
colour
Pale straw with flashes of brilliant green.
aroma
The nose is complex and alluring showing a flinty minerality of river stone, sea breeze and chipped shell woven together with ripe citrus and a rich, nutty undertone.
palate
The palate is a triumph of medium-bodied power and persistence. Intense flavours of scratched lime, white nectarine and peach roll in layers across the tongue. Fine-grained oak underpins the expressive Gin Gin clone characteristics with a delicious, chewy texture drawing out the long finish.
cellaring
Whilst not as tight as the 2021 vintage, the 2022 is more accessible and will perhaps offer more pleasure in the short to medium term, whilst retaining great cellaring potential. Optimum drinking within three to ten years.
Technical
vintage
2022 was a truly exceptional vintage in Margaret River. The season started beautifully with a wet spring and late flowering, followed by a warm and dry season, producing wines with refined flavour, elegance and real personality.
Crucially, the Chardonnay ripened relatively slowly with great fruit weight, ripe stone fruit characters and of course a dash of Deep Woods Estate’s flint and funk on the nose! The picking window for Chardonnay was tight, with the majority of our best vineyards picked within a two-week time frame.
winemaking
This wine is an assemblage of largely two central Wilyabrup vineyards, with additional fruit coming from an excellent mature vineyard in Wallcliffe and a small amount of fruit from Karridale.
The fruit was hand-picked and then chilled to maintain pristine condition. A minimalist approach in the winery included whole bunch pressing, wild fermentation and sparing lees stirring in a mixture of new and seasoned French oak.
The individual parcels were kept separate and aged on lees for nine months until the final wine was blended for bottling.
region
Margaret River
variety
Chardonnay
analysis
- Alcohol: 13.0%
- TA: 6.40 g/L
- pH: 3.18
Food Pairings
Seared scallops with a lemon pepper butter topped with parsley.
Awards
Sydney Royal Wine Show 2023
Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2023
James Halliday Australian Chardonnay & Cabernet Challenge 2023
Reviews
Erin Larkin, Robert Parker Wine Advocate 2023
The quality of the 2022 vintage meant that very little fruit got downgraded from the Reserve level. The quantity in this low-yielding vintage was healthy (1,000 dozen with new vineyard resources online). I maintain that this cuvée is released too early (November the year following harvest) to show its pedigree and potential, of which it is abundantly endowed. So, this 2022 Reserve Chardonnay leads with almond meal, toasted peach, apple skins and preserved citrus. There are hints of sandalwood, clove, cut fennel and star anise. The fruit in the mouth plumes around the skeleton of phenolics that shape the flavor through the finish. It is textural and complex, detailed and fleshy. This is very good! Will be better!
Delivery
PRE-RELEASE
Please note that this wine will be shipped from 1 October 2023.
Please note your entire order will be sent in October when this pre-release wine is shipped. We recommend placing a separate order for your pre-release wines if you would like your other wines sent now.
