Deep Woods Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2023

James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2024
Trophy, Best White Wine - 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards
Trophy, Best Chardonnay - 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards
Trophy, Best Chardonnay - 2024 Royal Hobart Wine Show
Trophy, Best Western Australian Chardonnay - 2024 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards

"My favourite Deep Woods Estate Reserve Chardonnay, ever."  Julian Langworthy, Chief Winemaker

Deep Woods Estate was acquired by the Fogarty family in 2005, making it part of the Fogarty Wine Group. Under the FWG banner, Deep Woods Estate has been transformed into one of Margaret River's most highly regarded wineries. The Deep Woods Estate Reserve Chardonnay is now one of the most awarded Chardonnays in the country and noted critic James Suckling crowned the 2021 vintage as Australia's Top Wine of the Year. Fruit for the 2023 vintage, another exceptional year in Margaret River, was sourced from two premium central Wilyabrup vineyards, with additional fruit from a pristine site in Karridale. 100% Gin Gin clone.

"Let’s cut to the chase. The finest Deep Woods chardonnay yet. It has it all. Great fruit has been harnessed with whole bunch pressing and fermentation in new and seasoned French oak. Further lees stirring has built in texture, contributing to a thoroughly beautiful, refined mouth feel. Opens with stone fruit and savoury light lemon curd aromas. Peels off into a palate that reveals more of a struck match and cracked seashell minerality complementing the outstanding fruit concentration. Super wine."  Ray Jordan

Deep Woods Estate was awarded 'Best Value Winery' in the Halliday Wine Companion 2023. "Deep Woods has been nudging this award for a number of years now, and it is the consistently high quality of wine spread over a broad range of prices that eventually got them over the line. The team has shown a thrilling (some may say flagrant) disregard for accepted price point quality; i.e. their entry-level wines present compelling drinking propositions, and their Reserve range (among the cheapest of the best in Margaret River) frequently blitz the competition in the quality/value stakes."  Erin Larkin

"Of the 24 vintages I have done in Australia, the 2023 vintage stands tall as likely my favourite, and what I see as the best vintage I have experienced to date. 2023 also marks the 11th release of this modern style of our Reserve Chardonnay, which is pretty cool. 2023 was an effortless vintage in Margaret River – not too hot, not too cold, everything was just right, and our Reserve Chardonnay blocks really excelled. This wine has a beautiful purity and lift with sea breeze and funk on the nose, and it's got the most crystalline, tense, long palate you've ever seen. The Reserve Chardonnay wines are really quite balanced in their youth, but they will reward ageing like you would not believe. I'm so excited about this release and I'll be getting lots and lots for my cellar – if it doesn't sell out first! A Chardonnay for the ages and, like the vintage my favourite Deep Woods Estate Reserve Chardonnay, ever."  Julian Langworthy, Chief Winemaker

"Pale straw with cream/pearl hue. An array of complex white florals leads this wine into aromas of scratched citrus, grilled lime and white peach. Beneath the purest of fruit, the wine holds underlying cashew paste, nori and cardamom notes that merge with fennel seed, baked pastry and lemon rind. The palate has brilliant power and tension that is balanced by the sleekest core of fruit, where the wines pedigree rings true. Incredibly long and saline this wine has an effortless journey across the palate. Flavours of white stone fruit, lemon curd and bitter lime are captured by cheese cloth like textures that evolved from whole bunch pressing and an extended time on lees.

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."  Deep Woods Estate 

Expert reviews

"Let’s cut to the chase. The finest Deep Woods chardonnay yet. It has it all. Great fruit has been harnessed with whole bunch pressing and fermentation in new and seasoned French oak. Further lees stirring has built in texture, contributing to a thoroughly beautiful, refined mouth feel. Opens with stone fruit and savoury light lemon curd aromas. Peels off into a palate that reveals more of a struck match and cracked seashell minerality complementing the outstanding fruit concentration. Super wine. Cellar: 13 years. Cellar 13 years."  Ray Jordan, Ray Jordan Wine - 98 points

"The nose is very flashy and mineral-driven with citrus notes of lime zest, gunsmoke and grapefruit rind. The medium-bodied palate has high-tension acidity with an underlying power, showing notes of lemon peel, shortbread and sea salt. A very classy, tightly wound chardonnay that will unravel for years to come. Exceptional. Drink or hold. Screw cap."  James Suckling, JamesSuckling.com - 97 points and Top 100 Wines of Australia 2024

"I recently tasted these 2023 Chardonnay wines from Deep Woods off the grid - that is to say that no tasting notes were taken, but the impressions were powerful. The 2023 season was one of the most magnificent vintages in Western Australia for its long, mild and dry outlay of growing days. There was some rain at the very end of the harvest period, which did impact some later-ripening reds, but given the year and how it all played out, this was managed well by most. The 2023 Reserve Chardonnay is a true reflection of the year that birthed it; it is elegant, long, coiled and fine, with a palate of concentrated fruit. Most importantly to us, the drinkers, the wine has presence and impact. The acidity is saturating, glassy and crystalline, the fruit is ripe, powerful and restrained, and the phenolic structure that holds it together does so in a pliable, ductile fashion. This is an excellent wine and a wine that I want to drink. Drink:  2024 - 2033."  Erin Larkin, Wine Advocate - 96 points

"This has everything turned up a notch. More depth of fruit, more complexity from the winemaking and more impact from the texturing oak. Here, the citrus has been replaced with the more typical tropical/pineapple acidity. Lees and barrel work add greatly, with minerality and struck match notes really adding to the mix. And there is tremendous length and persistence of flavours. The fruit is primarily from Wilyabrup and spent time in 35% new oak (a combination of barriques, hogs heads and puncheons). A superb wine that deserves to be considered amongst the region’s finest."  Barry Weinman, Fine Wine Club - 96 points

"Winemaker Julian Langworthy says, "This is the best release, ever", and aside from that, I have no other information to hand. Lime, pink grapefruit, quite a lot of cashew, cinnamon pastry, some cut fennel, a wisp of flinty and smoky things. It has intensity and ripe grapefruity acid cut, something more saline and umami here too, bright and chalky in texture, with lime rind and grip on a finish of excellent length. It has zing and energy, though it really needs a few years in bottle to cool its boots and settle into its groove. Drink: 2025 - 2033+."  Gary Walsh, The Wine Front - 95+ points 

Awards

James Suckling Top 100 Wines of Australia 2024
Trophy, Best White Wine - 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards
Trophy, Best Chardonnay - 2024 Royal Queensland Wine Awards
Trophy, Best Chardonnay - 2024 Royal Hobart Wine Show
Trophy, Best Western Australian Chardonnay - 2024 Royal Melbourne Wine Awards
Gold Medal – 2024 Sydney Royal Wine Show
Gold Medal - 2024 Royal Hobart Wine Show

Winemaker

Julian Langworthy is regarded as one of the most talented winemakers in Australia with awards such as James Halliday's Winemaker of the Year, a Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, Ray Jordan's Winemaker of the Year, and a Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year nominee. His impressive career has included vintages in France and Canada, and senior winemaking roles in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra.

Passionate about producing regionally distinctive wines, Julian joined the Deep Woods team in 2011. Under his leadership, the winemaking team has continued to refine and explore the Deep Woods style, culminating in more than 60 trophies and 200 gold medals awarded across major national and international wine shows.

The following is an extract from an interview with Julian Langworthy in Aug 2022 by Vintage Cellars

What drew you to wine?

My dad worked in grapevine disease research in the early 1980s and as a small child I followed him around a few vineyards. We also had lots of wine at home; Mum and Dad were avid wine drinkers and collectors.

After school I headed straight into studying marine biology. I loved surfing and diving, but it rapidly became obvious that it’d be fairer on the fish if I didn’t do that (and the research aspect of marine biology wasn’t really for me). I had a year off then moved to South Australia to study winemaking – and I haven’t looked back.

You spent time working at larger wineries such as Wynn’s Coonawarra before moving back to Margaret River. How is Deep Woods different?

Wynn’s was one of the great winemaking experiences of my life, and the year I was there we made as much wine as the entire Margaret River region in 2018 – a slightly different experience!

Wynns’ Senior Winemaker, Sue Hodder, was quite inspirational and very empowering, which meant a lot to me as a young winemaker, especially one working on such an iconic brand. Working in a winery of that size is a different beast – it’s very regimented and, in a way, formulaic, whereas at Deep Woods we’re a little more hands-on with more of a creative focus.

You’ve always worked with cabernet sauvignon. How does Margaret River cabernet sauvignon differ to that of other regions?

To me, cabernet sauvignon is Australia’s best grape variety, and as a region, Margaret River is cabernet nirvana. Even the hottest day of the year doesn’t reach over 30 degrees and, in the afternoon, sea breezes come in to cool everything down; overnight temperatures usually sit at about 12 to 14 degrees, which is perfect for cabernet.

It ripens slowly, so we get lovely tannin development without too much sugar, which results in fully ripe, medium-bodied wines that aren’t monstrously high in alcohol. That’s exactly what we want to achieve. I also think Margaret River cabernet is quite an international style – it has that lovely, lush tannin ripeness without the “heat” you might get from warmer regions.

I believe it has more in common with international regions than it does with South Australia or Victoria, with a level of complexity that I don’t see elsewhere in Australia. I believe that in Margaret River, we can make the best cabernet in the world, which is pretty exciting. That said, I love old Coonawarra cabernet and I really enjoy Yarra Valley cabernet, too.

The following article by James Halliday is reproduced from: https://winecompanion.com.au/resources/awards/2019/winemaker-of-the-year

My selection of Julian Langworthy as Winemaker of the Year caused me to ponder on the three greatest winemakers of the 20th century: Maurice O’Shea of Mount Pleasant Wines, Colin Preece of Seppelt’s Great Western and Max Schubert of Penfolds (Schubert’s masterwork, Grange). They plied their trade in a market where fortified wines, largely sold in saloons and hotels, reigned supreme. The one thing they had in common was the balance of their wines underlying their longevity.

Each had a substantial winery that provided support, although that support had its limits. Schubert was able to make the epic voyage to Spain and France in 1950 to study first-hand the making of sherry – it was from that journey that Grange, a Penfolds-banned wine during ’51–’61, saw its almost accidental birth; Preece had personal issues with some of the numerous members of the Seppelt family, with relations souring to the point where he felt compelled to resign; O’Shea was rescued by a number of members of the McWilliam clan – the McWilliams first buying half the shares in Mount Pleasant, and ultimately the other half in the aftermath of the Great Depression. If you take a broad view, these hugely talented winemakers were incidental to their employers’ financial needs, but left in limbo for much of their careers (Schubert was brought out of retirement when the marketing gurus belatedly realised his value). There was no expectation that any one of these winemakers would have any knowledge of, let alone responsibility for, the commercial value or the financial cost of their wines. How different to the wine world of today.

Julian Langworthy is chief winemaker for the Fogarty Wine Group (FWG), the fastest growing wine business in Western Australia. He reports to the Group General Manager, and is responsible for the stylistic direction of all of the FWG wineries and their individual brands. He mentors and manages a team of 12 winemakers and, in conjunction with the Group Chief Viticulturist, is responsible for all fruit purchases – this is in addition to more than 300ha of estate vineyards spread from Hunter Valley in New South Wales to Margaret River in Western Australia.

Julian has particular responsibilities for Deep Woods, with an extensive promotional role for its profile interstate and internationally. He plays a lead role in brand planning, providing wine business acumen and support for the marketing team. He has broad-based human resources responsibilities, including coordination for all site compliance issues, and others too many to mention.

Are his winemaking skills and palate on par with the greats of the 20th century? It’s a question without an answer. But if he is to be compared with the best of today, the answer is an emphatic yes. His wine show successes (and the team he has led) have gold medals flying around the room like confetti, with trophies (including the biggest of all, the Jimmy Watson) equally plentiful. And most of all, he is universally admired and liked by all who have had contact with him and/or the great wines he makes.

Viticulturist

John Fogarty, son of Fogarty Wine Group founder and owner Peter Fogarty, has been the Chief Viticulturist for the Fogarty Wine Group since 2002 - overseeing the management of the premium vineyards in Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, and sourcing fruit from select growers. John's interest in planting and training young vines is coupled with an ardent focus on sustainability and innovation. He is constantly looking at ways to increase fruit quality to ensure the Group's winemakers can create the best wines possible. John has completed multiple degrees in viticulture and has an unmatched knowledge of each vineyard site.

The following article is reproduced from: https://younggunofwine.com/vineyard/deep-woods-estate-margaret-river/

Since its establishment in 2005, Deep Woods Estate has become a phenomenal success story, with the wines achieving numerous accolades, including three Max Schubert Trophies and the 2016 Jimmy Watson. The success of the wines has also seen Chief Winemaker Julian Langworthy collect several Winemaker of the Year gongs, largely due to the cabernet-based wines and chardonnay. But that success has been underpinned by the viticultural work of John Fogarty that has transformed a vineyard that had previously focused on yield over quality to one that produces some of the highest quality and most distinctive fruit in the Margaret River region.

The Deep Woods Estate vineyard in Yallingup was first planted between 1985 and ’87, with a new block established in 2020, taking the plantings to 14 hectares. All the vines are planted on own roots, with the varietal mix now consisting of cabernet sauvignon, merlot, cabernet franc, malbec, shiraz, tempranillo (which replaced verdelho), semillon and sauvignon blanc. The Fogarty family acquired the property in 2005, with Chief Viticulturist John Fogarty immediately working to fine-tune the vineyard for quality wine production, with extensive retraining and re-trellising, as well as a focus on building soil health.

"My job here is quite simple really," says Fogarty. "It is to keep the vines producing the best quality fruit that is true to style. We have spent the past 16 years reworking what were poorly structured vines with previous owners looking to yield not quality, with many cabernet vines carrying over 8 metres of old cordons."

The re-trellising and irrigation replacement program was completed this year, Fogarty notes, while a reduced use of herbicides and minimal soil disturbance have become key elements of their practices. "We have worked hard to increase soil carbon and organic matter with compost, cover crops and reduction of acidifying fertiliser use, replaced with softer fertilisers with additions of microbes and fungi to help restore soil health across the site," he says.

Soil moisture monitoring equipment has also been installed across the vineyard, which allows the viticultural team to manage water use based on the information collected alongside real-time weather data. That data comes courtesy of an on-site weather station. Fogarty notes that their unique mesoclimate meant that general local weather information was unreliable, with the up-to-the minute and accurate information streamlining their irrigation practices and minimising water use.

"The cabernet on the site always achieves full tannin ripeness and silky feel to the wines while retaining fresh fruit characters and violet lift, without ever gaining overripe characters."

Deep Woods has been a member of Sustainable Winegrowing Australia since 2019, utilising the benchmarking data to refine practices with the aim of being a certified member soon. Fogarty is also the current chair of the Margaret River Wine Association Sustainability Sub-Committee. "I want to help give back to the greater community around us," he says. "I want to be proud of the amazing region we live and work in and ensure it is there for our children to enjoy in the same way we have. We have a great community within Deep Woods and Fogarty Wine Group and the whole community of Margaret River. I love to learn, and community is the best resource for this. If you think you know everything in this game, your time is up!"

Fogarty notes that soil health has been a key focus with less cultivation and more ground cover maintained. "We have allowed species that want to grow in the vineyard take the reins instead of introducing species with cultivation and seeding over and over again," he says. "This allows a mixed species and really shows the variance across the site based on what is wanting to grow to allow us to support the areas in need."

Encouraging the population of native species of plants over introduced one is an important focus, with the impact on beneficial local insect populations a bonus, aiding in the Integrated Pest Management program. And that’s something Fogarty wants to enhance in the future with an aim to establish insectarium shelters around the vineyard to increase native insect populations. "We have amazing remnant bush around the whole site which helps dramatically," he says, "but increasing the diversity of native species to attract more beneficials to the site would be great."

Fogarty believes their site is a unique one that is quite different to most of Margaret River and even those nearby in their northern pocket of the region. "The microclimate is really amazing, and the vineyard has quite a different orientation to most surrounding it with a lovely valley for drainage, and a north-east aspect," he says. "The proximity of both Geographe Bay and the Indian Ocean site create an ultra-maritime climate, with the warmer Geographe Bay and the cold Indian Ocean having a great influence on the ripening of fruit. There are only a handful of vineyards in the region that are as close to both."

That site produces wine, and cabernet in particular, of singular character. "The cabernet on the site always achieves full tannin ripeness and silky feel to the wines while retaining fresh fruit characters and violet lift, without ever gaining overripe characters," Fogarty says, noting that improving the soil profile with compost applications and a permanent mid-row sward has only enhanced this expression, as well as helping to build resilience and a consistency across increasingly variable weather patterns.

"With better nutrition management, we have reduced the variability across vintages with the vines becoming more balanced and not pushing vegetative growth and unbalanced vines producing greener harder tannin wines," says Fogarty. "More careful fruit thinning and placement of fruit allow optimum even ripeness, and I believe we have managed well over the years to increase fruit weight, colour and tannins. …There is nothing more satisfying than growing grapes to produce wine of this quality consistently, and I believe the wine quality and unique style of the vineyard is proving itself."

About the winery

Deep Woods Estate was established in 1987 with plantings of Semillon, Sauvignon Blanc, Verdelho, Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Shiraz and Merlot. With subsequent plantings of Chardonnay and Semillon, there are now approximately 16 hectares (40 acres) under vine planted in 12 separate blocks.

Deep Woods Estate was acquired by the Fogarty family in 2005, making it part of the Fogarty Wine Group. Under the FWG banner, Deep Woods Estate has been transformed into one of Margaret River's most awarded and highly regarded wineries.

The vines are irrigated from the natural spring-fed dam on the estate and flourish in the mainly gravelly loam soil. The cooling summer breezes from Geographe Bay to the north and the Indian Ocean to the west provide the perfect climate for growing premium quality grapes for which the region is renowned.

The Fogarty Wine Group has introduced a new vineyard maintenance program, utilising sustainable vineyard practices, to improve fruit quality and produce lower, higher-quality yields.

Chief Winemaker

Julian Langworthy is regarded as one of the most talented winemakers in Australia with awards such as James Halliday's Winemaker of the Year, a Jimmy Watson Trophy winner, Ray Jordan's Winemaker of the Year, and a Wine Society Young Winemaker of the Year nominee. His impressive career has included vintages in France and Canada, and senior winemaking roles in the Barossa Valley, Clare Valley and Coonawarra.

Passionate about producing regionally distinctive wines, Julian joined the Deep Woods team in 2011. Under his leadership, the winemaking team has continued to refine and explore the Deep Woods style, culminating in more than 60 trophies and 200 gold medals awarded across major national and international wine shows.

Chief Viticulturist

John Fogarty has been the Chief Viticulturist for the Fogarty Wine Group since 2002, overseeing the management of the premium vineyards in Western Australia, Tasmania and Victoria, and sourcing fruit from select growers. John's interest in planting and training young vines is coupled with an ardent focus on sustainability and innovation. He is constantly looking at ways to increase fruit quality to ensure the Group's winemakers can create the best wines possible. John has completed multiple degrees in viticulture and has an unmatched knowledge of each vineyard site.