Deep Woods Estate

History

Deep Woods Estate is based in the Yallingup sub-region of Margaret River, one of the cooler, more maritime corners of an already cool-climate appellation. The property changed hands in 2011 when Perth businessman Peter Fogarty, who already owned Millbrook Winery in the Perth Hills and Lake's Folly in the Hunter Valley, acquired the estate. That consolidation under Fogarty's privately held group brought greater investment and sharper focus, and the wines have tracked upward in ambition and consistency since. The Fogarty Wine Group now operates the label as a serious regional proposition rather than a lifestyle project, with export markets in Asia and the UK forming a meaningful part of the business.

Vineyards

The estate sits within Yallingup, where the Indian Ocean influence is direct and the growing season is long and relatively cool by Australian standards. Soils on the property are gravelly loam over clay, typical of the northern Margaret River corridor, with good natural drainage that keeps vine stress moderate without pushing to excess. The vineyard is planted primarily to Chardonnay and the Bordeaux red varieties: Cabernet Sauvignon, Merlot, Cabernet Franc, and Malbec. The range of wines reviewed here spans an estate tier, a reserve tier, and a single vineyard bottling, suggesting differentiated blocks rather than a single homogenous planting. Specific hectare counts and row-by-row farming certifications are not publicly detailed, and no organic or biodynamic certification is on record.

Winemaking

Deep Woods has been shaped in the cellar by winemaker Julian Langworthy, who has held the role for a significant stretch and is credited with refining the house style toward restraint and definition rather than weight. The Chardonnay range, including both the Reserve and the Single Vineyard bottlings, leans toward the leaner, more Burgundian end of what Margaret River Chardonnay can deliver: oak is present but not dominant, and acidity is the structural anchor. The Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon is the flagship red, typically a blend weighted toward Cabernet Sauvignon with smaller contributions from the other Bordeaux varieties, and it receives French oak aging in a mix of new and seasoned barrels. The Hillside Cabernet Sauvignon appears to represent a specific site-selection within the red program, positioned as a distinct expression rather than simply a step up or down from the Reserve. The estate and single vineyard tiers across both Chardonnay and the Cabernet-based reds give the range a logical hierarchy that rewards vertical comparison.