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Ray Jordan

Ray Jordan has been writing about wine for more than 40 years. His first articles were published in the early issues of national wine magazine Winestate in the late 1970s when he worked in Sydney as a newspaper correspondent. From 1989 Ray wrote more than 3000 columns as a regular newspaper wine columnist. He currently writes a regular column for the special business publication Business News and is one of the main contributors to national wine platform Wine Pilot. In 2017 Ray co-authored The Way it Was – A History of The Early Days of the Margaret River Wine Industry and previously wrote Wine in the Blood: Australia’s Family Wine Estates, published in Mandarin and English. In 2011 Ray was awarded WA Wine Press Club Jack Mann Memorial Medal for his contribution to the WA wine industry. His love of wine is as strong as his love of the blues and tasting the thousands of wines that cross his bench each year allows him to indulge in both.
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Curtis Family Vineyards Ancestor McLaren Vale Shiraz 2022

Oh my, I’m liking this wine. The fruit was handpicked from hundred-year-old vines and after handpicking and time on skins,...
Curtis Small Batch McLaren Vale Tempranillo

Curtis Family Vineyards Small Batch McLaren Vale Tempranillo 2024

The red cherry and raspberry fruits of this Spanish variety sit comfortably in McLaren Vale. It is a wine of...
Curtis Small Batch McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz

Curtis Family Vineyards McLaren Vale Grenache Shiraz Small Batch 2021

Takes advantage of the high-quality fruit that was produced in McLaren Vale in this vintage. It’s a combination that works...
Curtis Small Batch McLaren Vale Grenache

Curtis Family Vineyards Small Batch McLaren Vale Grenache 2023

This is Grenache in the modern understated medium-bodied style. There’s a slightly sort of funky red berry character here that...
Curtis Small Batch McLaren Vale Shiraz

Curtis Family Vineyards McLaren Vale Shiraz Small Batch 2021

Captures everything you might expect from this super vintage in McLaren Vale. This is rich, it’s dark, it’s loaded with...
Curtis Small Batch South Australia Pinot Noir

Curtis Family Vineyards Small Batch Pinot Noir 2025

Opens with aromas that show a combination of dark cherry and strawberry with a subtle, earthy, mushroomy, truffle-like character. The...
Gartner CabSauv NV

Gartner Family Vineyards Cabernet Sauvignon 2021

The colour from this Coonawarra Cabernet is immediately striking, deep garnet and red. The nose reveals a lovely perfume of...
Bone Dry Chardonnay NV

Bone Dry Chardonnay 2025

A distinctly linear style of Chardonnay with nice melon, subtle stone fruit aromas. The palate has a slightly vanilla character...
Bone Dry Pinot Noir NV

Bone Dry Pinot Noir 2025

Well, as the name suggests, it’s as dry as chips, with less than one gram of sugar per bottle and...
Olea Nero D'Avola NV

Olea Nero d’avola 2025

This is a thoroughly delicious example of this Sicilian staple, loaded with those cherry and plum notes, with a little...
Olea Montepulciano NV

Olea Montepulciano 2025

This one comes from down at Padthaway in South Australia. And it’s a pretty nice take on this Italian variety....
Reschke R series Rose NV

Reschke R-Series Rosé 2025

The color is a pale yet brilliant pink. The nose displays some nice rose petal and raspberry notes with a...
T Bone Shiraz NV

T-Bone Shiraz Full Bodied 2024

From this very good year in South Australia is this thoroughly delicious, generous and smooth Shiraz. Loaded with plenty of...
Devitt & Moore Sunderland Shiraz NV

Devitt & Moore Sunderland Shiraz 2024

Strikes immediately with aromas of dark plum and a blackberry, mulberry-like combination. The palate is smooth and delightfully balanced, yet...
Reschke R Series Merlot

Reschke R-Series Merlot 2025

There’s a lot to like about this generous, largely medium-bodied Merlot from down in the Limestone Coast. The aromas are...
COPReservePinotNoir

Chain of Ponds Reserve Adelaide Hills Pinot Noir 2025

This structured, stylish Pinot Noir is the result of barrel selection from the best vineyards. Opens with a mix of...
COPMorningStarPinotNoirNV

Chain of Ponds Morning Star Pinot Noir 2023

The fruit has been sourced from a combination of three vineyards and involved five fermentations with some whole-bunch influence and...
COPAmeliasLetterPinotGrisNV

Chain of Ponds Amelia’s Letter Adelaide Hills Pinot Gris 2025

Sourced from a high vineyard in the Adelaide Hills. This is a light-bodied but textured and flavoursome Pinot Gris, with...
COPReserveChardonnay

Chain of Ponds Reserve Adelaide Hills Chardonnay 2025

This is a pretty tidy young Chardonnay that shows some reasonably sophisticated winemaking. The ferment was a mix of wild...
Chain of Ponds Black Thursday Sauvignon Blanc NV

Chain of Ponds Black Thursday Adelaide Hills Sauvignon Blanc 2025

Pretty much ticks all the boxes for this variety. Plenty of those gooseberry, citrusy characters, with a little passionfruit pulp...
ESTATE NERLOT CABERNET()

Pettavel Estate Merlot Cabernet 2019

This is a medium-bodied but intensely flavoured combination of Merlot and Cabernet from the Yarra Valley. Honey, blackcurrant, and slightly...
RESERVE RED QUARTET

Pettavel Estate Cabernet Sauvignon Cabernet Franc Merlot Petit Verdot 2018

This is a combination of Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc, Merlot, and Petit Verdot from an old winery and vineyard in...
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Paisley Keyboard Rosé 2025

A very pretty and precise Grenache from McLaren Vale. It’s typically pale, in fact, super pale, with pink onion skin...
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Triple Creek GSM 2024

Shiraz and Mataro blend from two estate vineyards with Grenache from a neighboring property. Ripe red berries with a slight...

Stories

Hayes Family Wines

Hayes Family Wines is a relatively new name for the Barossa Valley, but its roots date back to the middle...

Elderton in Form

It’s one of those weird twists. The Barossa Valley is renowned for its shiraz and one of the best has...

A New Grenache Benchmark from the West

History may show that the Swinney Farvie Frankland River Grenache 2020 was the wine that redefined this variety in WA....
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