Devil’s Lair 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon won the Wine of Show Trophy at the Endeavour Group Margaret River Wine Show.
The wine also won Best Cabernet and Best Red Wine.
Owned by Treasury Wine Estates, Devil’s Lair also won a trophy for Most Successful Exhibitor.
This adds to the eight trophies this wine has won at other competitions, including Best Red Wine of Show at the National Wine Show of Australia earlier this year.
Senior winemaker and site manager at Devil’s Lair, Travis Clydesdale said, “Understandably, the entire Devil’s Lair team are absolutely thrilled with the recent string of results.
“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 results are a huge source of pride for everyone involved with Devil’s Lair, especially our wonderful cohort of dedicated growers.
“Of course, any acknowledgement isn’t complete without paying homage to our winemaking utopia – the beautiful Margaret River wine region.
“Pound for pound, there’s simply no better location on the planet to craft luxury Cabernet Sauvignon than Margaret River.”
David Bicknell, chief winemaker at Oakridge in the Yarra Valley, chaired this year’s judging at Margaret River HEART, which included experts from across Australia, who assessed 650 entries from 91 exhibitors.
Fifty wines won a gold medal, earning 95 points or higher on the 100-point scale.
An additional 102 wines received silver medals and 242 wines received bronze medals, producing a medal strike rate of more than 60 percent.
“Statistically, Cabernet classes edged Chardonnay this year with a whopping 28 percent of all gold medals in the show going principally to 2022 and 2023 vintages,” Bicknell said.
“This only reinforces the opinion that Cabernet Sauvignon from Margaret River is peerless in this country.
“Not to be outdone, Chardonnay pouched 24 percent of the gold medals awarded, underlining its credentials as the powerhouse region for the variety with a superb spread of gold medals awarded to nine separate producers.
“No other region has this depth or consistency.
“What was also heartening to see was the continued rise of alternative varieties and blends, with Albariño, Cabernet Franc, Grenache and Malbec all finding strong support from the judging panel.
“In a wine world of changing fashion and tastes, there looks to be an incredible opportunity for the region to excel with multiple other varieties, adding further lustre to Margaret’s winemaking credentials.”
This year the Margaret River Wine Association added a Sustainability Trophy presented by Wines of Western Australia.
“This trophy recognises a wine of excellence that is also Certified Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, organic or bioydynamic, or in lightweight glass under 420 grams, as this single change can significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 20 percent,” CEO Amanda Whiteland said.
Wines of Western Australia project manager Eloise Jarvis presented the inaugural trophy to Voyager Estate for the Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, which is certified by Organic and Sustainable Winegrowing Australia.
Voyager Estate is also moving future bottlings of this wine to lightweight glass.
This wine also won the Tonnellerie de Mercurey Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Red.
The judges were David Bicknell (chair), Angus Hughson, Erin Larkin, Feleasha Prendergast, Foni Pollitt, Kasia Sobiesiak, Larissa Dalli Cani, Rob Mack, Steven Paul and Tim Dolan.
The associate Judges were: Cyndal Petty, Diana Pineda, Ellin Tritt, Rory Parks, Sophie Ward and Ulrika Larsson.
Trophies
Endeavour Group Trophy
Wine of Show
Devil’s Lair 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon
Vasse Steel Trophy
Red Wine of Show
Devil’s Lair 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon
Labelmakers Group of Companies Trophy
White Wine of Show
Flametree 2023 SRS Wallcliffe Chardonnay
Vinline Mobile Bottling Trophy
Most Successful Exhibitor
Devil’s Lair
Langtons Trophy
Wine of Provenance
Deep Woods Estate Reserve Chardonnay 2023, 2017, 2014
City of Busselton Trophy
Best Cabernet Sauvignon
Devil’s Lair 2022 Cabernet Sauvignon
MCC Trophy
Best Chardonnay
Flametree 2023 SRS Wallcliffe Chardonnay
Tonnellerie de Mercurey Trophy
Best Single Vineyard Red
Voyager Estate 2023 Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon
Sanector Trophy
Best Single Vineyard White
Driftwood Estate 2023 Single Site Chardonnay
Wines of Western Australia Trophy for Sustainability
Voyager Estate 2023 Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon
Novonesis Pink Jacket Trophy
Best Rosé
Fishbone Wine 2024 Black Label Estate Rosé
Cospak Saverglass Trophy
Best Cabernet Sauvignon Blend
Stones + Thunder 2023 Echoes of Fury Bordeaux Blend
Fusion Electrical Trophy
Best Shiraz/Syrah
McHenry Hohnen Vintners 2023 Syrah
Hahn Corporation Trophy
Best Alternate Red
tripe.Iscariot Sœur 2023 Cabernet Franc
Margaret River Wine Storage Trophy
Best Alternate White
Deep Woods 2024 Estate Single Vineyard Albarino
My Vintner Trophy
Best Sauvignon Blanc
Xanadu Vinework 2024 Sauvignon Blanc
JAS Forwarding Australia Trophy
Best Blend of Sauvignon Blanc and Semillon
Evans & Tate 2023 Fresh as a Daisy Semillon Sauvignon Blanc
Margaret River Wine Awards
Viticulture & Sustainability Excellence Award
Presented by Cape Mentelle
Richard Bateman, Fabal Vineyards
Cellar Door Excellence Award
Presented by Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association
Samantha Bradley, Xanadu Wines
John Tate Memorial Innovation Excellence Award
Presented by Miles from Nowhere
Josephine Perry, Dormilona
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