Margaret River Wine Show crowns Devils Lair as champion exhibitors among awards celebration

The 23rd annual Margaret River Wine Show has showered acknowledgement on some of the region’s leading producers and personalities after judging wrapped last week.

Headline prizes announced at a gala awards lunch at Wills Domain went to three of the region’s well-known industry figures.

The Innovation Excellence Award went to Dormilona’s Josephine Perry, who received the John Tate Memorial Innovation Award for her Fangbone range of re-usable one-litre wine bottles.

The annual Cellar Door Excellence Award went to Xanadu Wines’ Samantha Bradley.

The Viticultural and Sustainability Excellence Award was this year given to Fabal Vineyards’ regional manager Richard Bateman.

Among the wineries themselves, Devils Lair was singled out as the show’s most successful exhibitor, and their Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 triumphed with a trio of trophies, winning best cabernet, best red wine, and wine of the show.

That accolade added to the eight trophies their 2022 vintage had already won at other competitions, including the Best Red Wine of Show at the National Wine Show of Australia earlier this year.

“We take enormous pride in our cabernet program, so to be the beneficiaries of such an incredible run of success is deeply humbling and particularly satisfying,” the Lair’s Travis Clydesdale said.

“The results are a huge source of pride for everyone involved with Devils Lair, especially our wonderful cohort of dedicated growers.

“Pound for pound, there’s simply no better location on the planet to craft luxury cabernet sauvignon.”

Other standouts from the local show included Flametree Wines snatching the white wine of show for their SRS Wallcliffe Chardonnay 2023, while the Langtons Trophy for Wine of Provenance went home with Deep Woods Estate.

The best sauvignon blanc gong went to Xanadu Wines, best chardonnay was taken home by Flametree, while the best single vineyard reds and whites went to Voyager and Driftwood estates respectively.

Meanwhile, Fishbone Wine’s Black Label Estate Rose 2024 won the annual pink jacket trophy and McHenry Hohnen won best shiraz/syrah for their 2023 vintage.

Best alternate red went to tripe.Iscariot, while Deep Woods Estate’s single vineyard albarino 2024 took home the Best Alternate White award.

In the blends, fast-rising Willyabrup vineyard Stones + Thunder scored for best cab sav, and Evans & Tate’s Fresh as a Daisy semillon sauvignon blanc 2023 took out its category.

The introduction of a new sustainability trophy celebrated producers’ sustainable actions and was presented to Voyager Estate.