Search
thewest.com.au
LifestyleChevron Right Icon

Ray Jordan (Wine writer / reviewer)

review
review
‘Balance and poise’CommentsPremium
review
Just how good is the latest Grange?

The latest Grange is about to hit the shelves and the question I will inevitably be asked is: where does it sit in the pantheon of Granges?

Ray Jordan

Top 100 red winesCommentsPremiumBest value red wine: It’s soft, fruity and costs $7.30

The cheap, cheerful and thoroughly scrumptious drop has triumphed over more than 700 Australian red wines.

Ray Jordan

Top 100 redsCommentsPremiumIt’s official: Shiraz has got its groove back

After assessing over 700 wines for The West Australian Top 100 Reds Magazine, Ray Jordan says Australian-grown examples of this classic grape variety are holding their ground against trendy newcomers.

Ray Jordan

review
review
‘Quality and individuality’CommentsPremium
review
50 years on, still the best

Among a galaxy of Margaret River stars, the wines of this landmark winery glow incandescent.

Ray Jordan

WinePremiumRed-y to go

Great Southern winery Plantagenet has a new lease of life and some excellent new releases to show for it.

Ray Jordan

Wine reviewPremiumBring on the Bolli

Call it Christmas in July if you need an excuse, but any time is a great time for a bottle of champers.

Ray Jordan

Cellar TalkPremiumRay Jordan shares a preview of 2021’s best reds

As well as three fantastic drops to try, find out how you can win a red wine prize pack.

Ray Jordan

From the ashesCommentsPremiumHow horrific bushfires led to some incredible drops

Last year was tough for many, dire for others. But despite facing extreme heat, fire, smoke and then rain during the 2020 bushfires, this Eastern States winery somehow turned ashes into gold.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanCommentsPremiumFinding Xanadu

Xanadu winemaker Glenn Goodall dropped me a note with the latest bunch of samples, to say he was “really excited” to share them with me. About half an hour later, I knew why. They are so bloody good.

Ray Jordan

Wine reviewPremiumStill great

Legendary winery Seppelt Great Western is an iconic fixture of the Australian wine scene, and as Ray Jordan discovers, 170 years after vines were first planted they are still producing top drops.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanCommentsPremiumThree reds that deliver power, elegance, and seduction

Power, elegance, and seduction. At first glance there is a sense of mutual exclusivity about the words. Yet strangely they can share a common thread when applied to pinot noir.

Cellar TalkPremiumThree of the best value-for-money red wines

Ray Jordan profiles a South Australian winemaker making some of the country’s best-value reds.

Ray Jordan

Top dropCommentsPremiumNear perfect score for emerging leader in Aussie shiraz

For many, Australian shiraz is synonymous with the robust wines of the Barossa and McLaren Vale. But a new iteration began to emerge about 15 years ago. Here’s what sets them apart.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumBarossa’s bequest

One of the Barossa’s oldest vinyards has just release its 40th vintage, and its a cracker.

Ray Jordan

WinePremiumSo boozy, it’s zinful

Zinfandel is one of the most curious of all varieties. In an era when winemakers are generally seeking to reduce alcohol, zin fanatics want just the opposite.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumBack to grenache

After losing its way in the 80s and 90s, Grenache is back, and in the hands of top winemakers, the variety is enjoying renewed popularity among drinkers.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumA year to remember

Here’s the drum on the 2016 release of Hill of Grace — it is one of the very best, unmistakable in style and expression of the old vines.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumGood thing gets better

Denmark’s Rockcliffe winery just keeps kicking goals.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumVasse Felix a class act

The fifth release of the Vasse Felix Tom Cullity Cabernet Malbec from the 2017 vintage has structure, finesse, restraint and elegance. An all-round class act.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumCompelling combination from Henschke

With so much focus — and justifiable focus — on the wonderful single vineyard Hill of Grace, other wines in the portfolio can be overlooked. Mistake; big mistake.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumCan it get any better than this?

This is getting just ridiculous. From the time the heavyweights of WA wine started to reveal their wines from the 2018 vintage, it has been a cavalcade of one great wine after another.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumAn old favourite

The wines are good. No, they are a lot better than that. They are outstanding.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanPremiumHistoric winery at a cornerstone

For nearly 50 years, the vineyards of Juniper Estate have been pumping out first-class wines, and now they are releasing a new flagship range.

Ray Jordan

Ray JordanCommentsPremiumThe Vasse Felix wines worth every last drop

The 2018 vintage in WA was perhaps the greatest ever throughout the State’s wine regions. But emerging from its shadow is the cooler 2019 vintage, which is just starting to show how good it is.

Ray Jordan