96 Points in the 2025 Halliday Wine Companion

 We are very excited to have received some exceptional reviews in the recently released 2025 Halliday Wine Companion.

Our 2022 Reserve Chardonnay was awarded 96 points, with James Halliday reviewing this wine: "This is a beautiful Chardonnay offering complexity and length to its white peach core."

Our 2023 Estate Rosé was awarded 95 points and featured in the 'Halliday Top Rated: Rosé' list alongside Australia's best Rosé wines. Unfortunately, this vintage has sold out however keep an eye out for our upcoming 2024 release. 

We are also thrilled to have been rated as a Top Five Red Star winery again.

This rating indicates an "outstanding winery regularly producing wines of exemplary quality and typicity. Will have at least two wines rated at 95 points or above, and has held a 5-star rating for the previous three years (i.e. 4 years in total at 5 stars). Where the winery name itself is printed in red, it is a winery with a long track record of excellence, having held a 5-star rating continuously for 10 years – truly the best of the best. (Formerly a winery generally acknowledged to have had a long track record of excellence in the context of its region.)"

This is a huge testament to our incredible winemaking and viticultural teams, led by Chief Winemaker Julian Langworthy, Senior Winemakers Emma Gillespie and Matt Buchan, and Chief Viticulturist John Fogarty. Please join us in congratulating our epic team!

You can read all of our 2025 Halliday Wine Companion reviews below:

2022 Deep Woods Estate Reserve Chardonnay

• 96 Points, James Halliday
• Sourced from the best grapes, handpicked, whole-bunch pressed, fermented in new and used French oak; only the best barrels are chosen for this wine. This is a beautiful Chardonnay offering complexity and length to its white peach core.

2023 Deep Woods Estate Rosé (sold out)

• 95 Points, Jane Faulkner
• Featured in the ‘Halliday Top Rated: Rosé’
• Bring 69/20/11% Sangiovese/Merlot/Tempranillo into the mix, and the result is a Rosé that’s a pastel pink blush dressed in fine acidity with flavour and a shapely palate. Plenty of tangy red-accented fruits from strawberries to redcurrants all spiced up. A lovely, slippery texture with fine acidity driving this long. Excellent rosé in anyone’s book.

2022 Deep Woods Estate Single Vineyard Cabernet Malbec

• 95 Points, Jane Faulkner
• It starts with an intense dark purple hue followed by a wonderful fragrance of florals, cardamom and turmeric. The full-bodied palate has many layers, a richness of dark fruit, lots of oak spices plus a wave of tannins. Very good now but better in another year or two.

2023 Deep Woods Estate Single Vineyard Chardonnay

• 95 Points, Jane Faulkner
• Oh yeah, I could sit back at lunch and enjoy this and then at dinner, too. It’s an all-rounder. Still nervy from youth but so moreish and savoury with dabs of white stone fruit, citrus and spice with judicious oak and creamy, nutty lees. Latent power here and will evolve beautifully with more time in bottle.

2023 Deep Woods Estate Harmony Rose

• 93 Points, Jane Faulkner
• An enticing pale pastel pink with a floral lift, lightly spiced and fruited with raspberries and strawberries. The palate is ultra-refreshing with zest and lemony acidity, yet there’s some texture, and this finishes dry.

2022 Deep Woods Estate Cabernet Merlot

• 92 Points, Jane Faulkner
• A gorgeous, enticing dark purple shot with red; redolent with cassis, mulberries plus lots of warming spices and cedary oak too. Soft and giving with a light spray of tannins and acid. It’s ready now, not complex yet delicious and keenly priced.  

2021 Deep Woods Estate Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

• 92 Points, Jane Faulkner
• An excellent bright, dark garnet hue and plenty of fruit to the fore from mulberries and blackberries with kirsch and roasted tomatoes, too. A hint of mint and spicy oak adds sweetness across the medium-bodied palate, a little sinewy although there’s a flavour of roasted coffee beans dipped in dark chocolate. A certain elegance to this, and time will help it unfurl.

2023 Deep Woods Estate Sauvignon Blanc

• 91 Points, Jane Faulkner
• It oscillates between showy and bright with varietal flavours of snow peas, lemon balm, lemon-lime juice and passionfruit pith. A neat slip of texture with some creamy lees and slightly sticky phenolics, making this a wine best enjoyed with food.

2022 Deep Woods Estate Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon

• 90 Points, Jane Faulkner
• Punches above its weight at this price point. A solid combo of cassis, sweet mulberries, wood spices, menthol and turmeric working across a fuller-bodied palate. Ripe, fleshy tannins and cleansing acidity seal the deal. Nice one.

2022 Deep Woods Estate Reserve Shiraz

• 90 Points, Jane Faulkner
• It sits precariously on the edge of being a tad too ripe, so it is full bodied, rich and dense as a result. There’s freshness within, with dark fruit and baking spices, a touch of fruitcake and lots of cedary, charry oak. Lovely plump tannins, finishing with some alcohol warmth; better with food.

A huge congratulations to our winery and viticultural teams on these epic reviews.

Shop all of our 2025 Halliday Wine Companion rated wines online here.