Australia's best wines

The best cabernet sauvignon in Australia

By The Tasting Team

The Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2023 has been named the best cabernet sauvignon in Australia.

The Halliday Wine Companion Awards celebrate the top wines in Australia – as chosen by our esteemed wine critics who spend the year tasting and reviewing wine from across the country. Below, you'll find Australia's best cabernet sauvignon wines, along with the ratings awarded by the Tasting Team. Members can also click through for each wine's detailed review.

Devil’s Lair flies under the radar, but perhaps more so does winemaker Travis Clydesdale. Though he really shouldn’t, such is his pedigree, both by birth (his father was the cellar manager at Mitchelton for three decades) and for his remarkable tenure across some of Western Australia's finest estates, including Vasse Felix and Deep Woods. We raise a glass to you, Travis, and to the wider winemaking team – this is a sensational wine, and you are deserving of this acknowledgement.

Read on to learn more about the best cabernet sauvignon of the year, plus all other leading wines in this category.

2026 Best Cabernet Sauvignon of the Year in Australia

Devil’s Lair Cabernet Sauvignon 2023, Margaret River

98 points | Price when tasted $50


The best wines in Australia

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Every now and then, a wine makes my heart skip a beat. It’s the confluence of all the elements – the aromas, the flavours, how it feels, how it makes me feel, everything perfect poised. And of course, the X-factor. The magic stuff, which can’t be decoded. Take a bow the wine team at Devil’s Lair. A stalwart producer yet flying under the radar when it really shouldn’t. Here’s the reason why – this is the epitome of elegant Margaret River cabernet. A harmonious blend of mulberries and cassis, baking spices, and cedary oak which is superbly integrated. The mid-weighted palate is finely tuned with beautiful, shapely tannins and acidity stretching out to a lingering finish. Devil’s Lair is on a roll, get onboard. Although, bittersweet as I wish the wonderful Simon Robertson (who passed in '24), its long-time viticulturist could have witnessed the success of this wine. – Jane Faulkner

Learn more about cabernet sauvignon.

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The 2026 Halliday Wine Companion is available now. Secure your copy of Australia's most comprehensive wine guide at all good bookstores.

This is an edited extract from the 2026 Halliday Wine Companion, with reviews by Dave Brookes, Jane Faulkner, Jeni Port, Katrina Butler, Marcus Ellis, Mike Bennie, Philip Rich, Shanteh Wale and Toni Paterson MW. Cover art by James Coe.


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