2022 Crittenden Cri de Coeur Chardonnay, Mornington Peninsula

One of the very best Crittenden Chardonnays I have tasted. It comes from the original home block vineyard which has been through gradual rejuvenation to more sustainable management. The fruit was whole bunch pressed to a mix of new and one-year-old French barriques for wild yeast fermentation, about half went through malo and there was occasional lees stirring to bring texture while retaining the fine delicate acidity. Aromas of light fig and stone fruit with a little lemon zest. The palate has a delightful purity with a dry savoury finish completing an excellent wine. Drink 2024 to 2034.

97 points Ray Jordan for Wine Pilot, November 2024

50% went through malolactic fermentation in 40% new oak for 11 months. Zested lemons, cotton petals and crab apples. A hint of freesia and white nectarine skin. Supremely elegant and pretty. Oak glitters in white sandalwood and a smattering of sawdust. It has a mix of salt crystals, dried sunscreen and sticky icy pole melt. Like a day of merriment at the beach. The palate is linear with lingering acidity and finishing with white candlenut and crème fraiche quenelles. It’s delicate and yet the palate flavours continue on as far as the horizon. It’s pin point accuracy with its oak handling and allows the purity of perfectly picked fruit to shine in the spotlight. Wow this is stunning. A wonderful vintage for this superstar wine. Drink 2024 to 2034.

96 points Shanteh Wale for Wine Pilot, November 2024

Of all the chardonnays from Crittenden, this has a specific DNA. While there’s winemaking at play – the rich, sweet, cedary oak especially – there’s always a savoury overlay, almost a button-mushroom character. Tangy, juicy fruit rolled in spice, baked apples too; the fuller-bodied palate is fleshed out by nougat-lemon-curd lees and, of course, the oak. This needs time to open up and be served with food to see it at its best. Drink 2024 to 2032.

95 points Jane Faulkner for Halliday Wine Companion, August 2024

Crittenden was established in Dromana in 1982 by Garry Crittenden — at a time when planting those first vines effectively doubled the total vineyard area on the Mornington Peninsula. His son Rollo returned home after years making wine abroad and now leads the winemaking, bringing a broader perspective to a place he knows intimately. The Dromana vineyard is farmed sustainably without synthetic inputs, with a focus on building natural resilience in the vines over time.

The Cri de Coeur — Cry of the Heart — was established in 2012 as the expression of what Rollo Crittenden believed the Dromana vineyard was capable of at its best, and made in tiny quantities.

The 2022 was a low-yielding vintage across the Mornington Peninsula but for many vineyards of very good quality. The fruit for this wine was hand harvested and whole bunch pressed directly to a mix of new and one-year-old French oak barriques for spontaneous wild yeast fermentation. Fifty percent of the wine went through malolactic conversion and occasional lees stirring early in maturation gave texture without weight. Eleven months in barrel, then released with some bottle age.

The wine has a specific character that returns vintage after vintage — a savoury, almost mushroom-like overlay sitting beneath the fruit that gives it a depth and seriousness beyond the primary aromatics. The 2022 opens with stone fruit, fig, lemon zest and a faint freesia lift, with white sandalwood and nutty barrel notes in the background. The palate is linear, focused and pure fruited with chalky texture, restrained oak and a long, dry, savoury finish.

The wine's precision and savoury depth find a willing partner in anything that lets the ingredient speak for itself: a simple plate of burrata with you best olive oil, salt and sourdough, a whole roasted spatchcock with tarragon and crème fraiche, or a Japanese-style dashi-poached flounder with yuzu and ginger.

Drink now through 2034.