The Magic of the Soil

The Vineyard

Devil's Lairs' vineyards are approximately 17km south of the Margaret River township and are amongst the coolest and most southerly vineyards in the region. As such we are one of the latest wineries to harvest our fruit to allow full flavour development, but not excessive sweetness and alcohol.

Cabernet

The finest Cabernet sites are found on the gravely, fertile soil located towards the tops of the many ridges on the Estate. These are free-draining with large quantities of chunky ironstones embedded in the crumbly, sandy soils. Typically these overlay a limestone foundation several metres below the surface. This allows water to drain easily when it is in excess and also release it gradually back into the soil when times are dry.

Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc

These varieties tend to favour slightly heavier soils, particularly where we have more clay, as these are better at retaining water throughout the season - an important property that prevents our vines from going into stress during the heat of summer and essential to maintaining vibrancy in our fruit.

Old and new vines

The oldest vineyards are now more than twenty years old and these are our proven performers, regularly providing the heart material for our Devil's Lair Estate wines. Our youngest vineyards are between seven and ten years of age and are planted on north-facing slopes comprised of classic ironstone based soil.

The Environment

The natural environment is what makes Devil's Lair a unique place. To make the best possible wines and to safeguard the site for future generations, we work to preserve our water resources, our soil systems and the native biodiversity of the Estate.

"Sustainable viticulture is our guiding principle, a medium between conventional viticulture and organic viticulture. It influences the way we manage our ecology, our soil health, weeds, insects, disease and water." - Simon Robertson, our long time viticulturalist

The Devil's Lair Estate is only half planted to vineyards, the remainder is native bushland. We have undertaken revegetation programs to ensure regeneration of low lying flora and preserve and renew native species such as frogs, birds and insects.

Healthy vines allow us to produce consistently high quality wine. We avoid chemical fertilisers, herbicides and insecticides, preferring to use organic fertilisers wherever possible.