New horizons for Margaret River region wines

The region’s best wines were on show this week as awards were handed out for the 2024 Endeavour Group Margaret River Wine Show.

Culminating in a gala awards lunch at Wills Domain Winery Restaurant, the event saw Devil’s Lair receive the Trophy for Most Successful Exhibitor, while the Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 triumphed with a trio of trophies, winning Best Cabernet, Best Red Wine, and Wine of Show.

“Understandably, the entire Devil’s Lair team are absolutely thrilled with the recent string of results,” Senior Winemaker and Site Manager Travis Clydesdale said.

“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 haul adds to the eight trophies the Cabernet Sauvignon 2022 has won at previous competitions, including winning ‘Best Red Wine of Show’ at the prestigious National Wine Show of Australia earlier this year.

“The results are a huge source of pride for everyone involved with Devil’s Lair, especially our wonderful cohort of dedicated growers,” Mr Clydesdale said.

“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 ninety-one exhibitors.

Fifty wines achieved coveted gold medal status, 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 over 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,” Mr 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.”

Mr Bicknell said it was heartening to see the rise of alternative varieties and blends, with Albario, 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,” he said.

Margaret River Wine Association CEO Amanda Whiteland said the week was a huge one for the region’s wine leaders and industry members.

“This is always our biggest week of the year, with three days of Judging, a Rosé Beach Party, Exhibitor Tasting, and a Gala Awards lunch for 200 people,” she said.

“I don’t think any other regional wine show squeezes so much into one week.

“In line with our commitment to continuous improvement and caring for country, this year we have added a Sustainability Trophy presented by Wines of Western Australia.”

The trophy recognises a wine of excellence that is also Certified Sustainable Winegrowing Australia, Organic or Bioydynamic, or in Lightweight Glass under 420 grams.

Ms Whiteland said the single change can “significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions by over 20 percent”.

Wines of Western Australia Project Manager Eloise Jarvis presented the trophy to Voyager Estate for the Coastal Cabernet Sauvignon 2023. Voyager is also moving future bottlings of the wine to lightweight glass. This wine also won the coveted Tonnellerie de Mercurey Trophy for Best Single Vineyard Red.

“The Trophy for Sustainability celebrates producer’s sustainable actions and aligns with Wines of Western Australia’s ambitious goal for Western Australia – to be recognised by consumers as international leaders in sustainable wine production,” Eloise said.

The coveted Novonesis Trophy for Rosé, accompanied by a custom tailored Pink Jacket, was awarded to Fishbone Wines’ Stuart Pierce for the Fishbone Wine Black Label Estate Rosé 2024.

Also awarded this year was Richard Bateman, Regional Manager of Bantry Bay at Fabal Vineyards (Cape Mentelle Viticultural and Sustainability Excellence Award), Samantha Bradley, Cellar Door Manager at Xanadu Wines (Margaret River Busselton Tourism Association Cellar Door Excellence Award) and Dormilona’s Josephine Perry (John Tate Memorial Innovation Excellence Award) for her Fangbone range of reusable/refillable one-litre bottles.

“This year’s winner has taken their passion for sustainability with relooking at the way we use glass wine bottles with her refillable wine bottles,” Tate Wine’s Olivia Tate said.