2022 Reserve Chardonnay

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.

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

Seared scallops with a lemon pepper butter topped with parsley.

Sydney Royal Wine Show 2023

Royal Hobart Wine Show 2023

Royal Queensland Wine Awards 2023

James Halliday Australian Chardonnay & Cabernet Challenge 2023

Ray Jordan Wine Guide 2024

What a marvelous Chardonnay from these guys. At the outset, it's whole bunch pressed and fermented in a combo of new and seasoned French oak before a regime of lees stirring. Has a fine mineral thread with an engaging combination of light char, cracked seashell and sea spray on the nose. The palate is precise but relentlessly long and intense. Beautiful finish. As good as has been produced from Deep Woods.

Runner-up Best Chardonnay

98

James Suckling, November 2023

An impressive Chardonnay with notes of salted lemons, sliced pineapples, flint, seashell, raw almonds and praline. Full-bodied, layered, concentrated and so balanced, with a delicate, sleek texture and tangy, saline undertones. It is vivid and delicious. Long. Drink or hold. 

Angus Hughson, Margaret River Guide 2024

Fresh grapefruit, yellow peach, lime aromas with flinty, gun smoke notes. Generous and creamy with abundant ripe yellow fruits, fine chalky textures, some marzipan notes and fresh persistent crunch acidity. Finishes crisp with superb mineral length.

James Halliday, The Weekend Australian Magazine 2023

Sourced from the best grapes, hand-picked, whole bunch pressed, fermented in new and used French oak; only the best barrels are chosen for this wine. It is a beautiful Chardonnay, offering complexity and length to its white peach core.

The Real Review 2024

Light lemon-yellow colour. Nose lifts with papaya, grapefruit and flinty reduction characters. Tightly wound but there is a latent power and intensity that makes you take notice. Smoky reductive notes, hints of yellow spices, grapefruit pith and hazelnut characters are all there in the slot and the length is extraordinary.

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!