Devil's Lair wines are consistently rated among the finest in Margaret River, and as the years go by they only improve in depth and complexity.

The winery is situated about 15 km south of Margaret River township and here the micro-climate is slightly cooler and more influenced by south-easterly air-streams

The resulting wines seem to be tighter and more elegant than those from the warmer environs of Willyabrup. The whites are usually less unctuous and often cleaner on the palate.

The Devil's Lair adventure began back in 1980 when Phil Sexton planted the first vines on the site. These, however, failed due to lack of water and the inability of the gravel soils to retain water.

But, true to form, Phil was not deterred and further plantings in 1983 were supported by irrigation. By 1988, 14 hectares of vines were reasonably well established. In that year, he invested in 81 hectares adjoining the property, where a large dam was built to support the water-poor property.

Although the first commercial crop was produced from the vineyard in 1988, no wines appeared under the Devil's Lair label until the 1990 vintage.

Wine from that year immediately hit pay dirt with the Cabernet Sauvignon winning the trophy as the best wine at the 1992 SGIO Awards, a feat repeated two years later by the 1993 Pinot Noir.

The Devil's reputation rapidly spread, admittedly helped along by Mr Sexton's talent for fine packaging and excellent marketing.

In 1996, Devil's Lair was acquired by Southcorp wine group, which immediately set about expanding production and marketing of the impressive range of reds and whites.

Winemaker Janice McDonald, who is one of a swag of Margaret River young guns pumping out extraordinary wines, added a further plus to the equations, and the winery has not looked back.

Current production projects hover around 70,000 cases in the next few years. However quality has not been compromised by quantity, as is the case with some rapidly expanding concerns.

The Chardonnay is always a good bet. It s a rich, concentrated Margaret River style. The generous use of oak goes well with the intense fruit. Low yielding vines (never more than 2.5 tonnes per acre) and barrel fermentation and maturation in new and one year-old barriques, coupled with 100% malolactic fermentation makes what is always among the region's top 10 Chardonnays.

The Pinot is just as interesting as the Chardonnay. In riper years, it presents a pleasant mix between a full-bodied-dry red and Pinot Noir, though always retaining varietal character.

The Cabernet is always impressively powerful and concentrated. Produced from estate planting, it contains 85% cabernet sauvignon, 10% merlot and 5% cabernet franc. It invariably offers up rich red and black berry fruit flavours and boasts lingering tannins. Like all Margaret River Cabs, it only gets better with age.

The Devil's Lair Fifth Leg is a nifty mix of good winemaking, cool packaging and savvy marketing. It remains a favourite with the Cafe Society across this great land of ours. The white is very approachable, consisting of 60% Chardonnay, 20% semillon and 20% sauvignon blanc and is a great wine. The red's good, too.

Devil's Lair is unquestionably among the top wineries in the region. It has been on the cutting edge of regional style for a number of years and is always rated highly in national and international competition. As the vines age and the spirit of uncompromising quality continues, it will continue to be a devil of a good winery.

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