Ray Jordan

Ray Jordan is one of Australia’s most experienced wine journalists. Ray has been writing about wine for more than 40 years. His first articles were published in the early issues of the national wine magazine Winestate in the late 70s when he worked in Sydney as a correspondent for The West Australian newspaper. Ray is currently Wine Editor for Seven West Media, writing wine columns for The West Australian Fresh Section and the Saturday Magazine, Play. In 2003 Ray released the first of his annual guides to West Australian wines. In 2016 Ray published Wine in the Blood: Australia’s family wine estates, with both Chinese and English versions. In 2017 Ray and Peter Forrestal released the definitive book on the beginnings of Margaret River as a wine region, The Way it Was: The History of the early years of the Margaret River Wine Region. Ray has been awarded the Jack Mann Medal for his contribution to the West Australian wine industry.

Wolf Blass Medlands Vineyard Platinum Label Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

This is also off the Medlands vineyard and opens with a huge hit of perfumed blackcurrant and violet cabernet fruit. Mingling, almost reluctantly, are notes

Wolf Blass Black Label Cabernet Shiraz 2018

One of Australia’s most famous wines thanks to the promotional activities of one Wolfgang Blass, after he triumphed with the Jimmy Watson Trophy in the

Wolf Blass Grey Label Langhorne Creek Cabernet Shiraz 2019

A pretty good example of why Blass – the man – turned to Langhorne Creek all those years ago in the pursuit of supple, approachable,

Wolf Blass Grey Label McLaren Vale Shiraz 2019

A typically generous and rich shiraz from McLaren Vale with dark, vibrant fruits dominating. The nose shows an intensity of blackberry and spicy liquorice and

Wolf Blass Grey Label Chardonnay 2019

After being recognised primarily for its red wines for many years, the Blass team started to focus considerable attention on lifting the chardonnay bar. It

Elderton Helbig 1915 Shiraz 2018

This is from the Helbig vineyard that Elderton purchased in 2010. The vineyard is North East of Greenock and was planted by the Helbig family

Elderton Command Single Vineyard Shiraz 2017

2017 was a challenging season for the region with several rain events, but this wine has nailed it with a slightly less overt and more

Elderton Ashmead Family Reserve Field Blend 2020

Not much went right in 2020, but after a tough vintage Elderton have managed to produce a pretty smart blend of grenache, mataro, carignan and

Elderton Ode to Lorraine Cabernet Sauvignon Shiraz Merlot 2018

The other half of Elderton’s founding duo was Lorraine Ashmead and this is a worthy recognition of her significant contribution. It’s a blend of cabernet

Elderton Neil Ashmead Grand Tourer Shiraz 2018

This is a wine to recognise the contribution of co-founder Neil Ashmead and his passion for both wine and cars. This used to be from

Elderton Shiraz 2018

This is the partner to the cabernet and provides further evidence of the quality of this Barossa vintage. The winemaking approach has been all about

Elderton Cabernet Sauvignon 2018

This was a super vintage in the Barossa and the fruit was sourced from vineyards across the regionincluding the relatively new acquisition at Greenock. It

Orin Swift Mannequin Chardonnay 2018

This is a ripe and opulent style of chardonnay that captures much of what Californian chardonnay is all about. An interesting feature is that winemaker

Orin Swift Palermo Cabernet Sauvignon 2017

This is made in an unashamed manner to create a very approachable and immediately drinkable Napa cabernet sauvignon with a ripe, generous and full blown

Orin Swift Eight Years in the Desert 2018

Zinfandel was one of the first varieties that winemaker Dave Phinney cut his teeth on. After starting with it in 1998, Phinney created a brand

Orin Swift Machete 2018

This is a blend of petite sirah, syrah and grenache. The colour is inky black and almost opaque and little surprise is that it is

Wolf Blass Medlands Vineyard Platinum Shiraz 2018

This comes from an old vineyard in the heart of the Barossa Valley. Wow there’s a lot happening here. The nose displays a mix of

3 drops Chardonnay 2019

This is a good example of why it is a mistake to tar all regions with the same vintage brush. The reason being that while

Castle Rock Great Southern Shiraz 2018

This is such a good example of the cooler climate shiraz from a great year in the Great Southern. It has slightly blue fruit characters

Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Riesling 2020

This must be one of the very best rieslings Rob Diletti has made. Stunning. It has a deep intensity of spicy citrusy fruit delivered which

Castle Rock Estate Porongurup Chardonnay 2020

This might be right up your alley if you’re looking for chardonnay showing slightly more upfront mealy stone fruit characters. At the same time, it

Leeuwin Estate Art Series Chardonnay 2018

This is the closest I have come to awarding a wine 100 points. Tempted briefly. But sorry guys, I’m philosophically opposed to awarding any wine

Trevelen Farm Riesling 2008

The remarkable thing about this wine, which is now 13 years old, is its youthfulness. It’s still showing almost primary characters of bright lemon and

Trevelen Farm Frankland Reserve 506 Shiraz 2017

This is a special reserve wine. It’s super concentrated showing liqueur cherry and plum aromas with masses of dark chocolate and a dash of coffee

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