Stupendous Savagnin with Crittenden Wines

Rollo Crittenden is general manager, winemaker and vineyard manager of Crittenden Wines in Victoria’s Mornington Peninsula region. Mornington Peninsula is synonymous with premium quality pinot noir and chardonnay, and Crittenden certainly excels at making wine from those varieties. But when it comes to differentiating the winery from its peers, Rollo has an ace up his sleeve. Since 2011, Crittenden has been making a rare Australian example of the white wines made from savagnin grapes that are unique to the Jura region of France. Known as ‘vin jaune’ wines in Jura, they’re aged for years in barrel under a layer of flor yeast, similar to how fino sherry wines are made in Spain. And the results are quite extraordinary, as I experienced myself late last year when Rollo presented a retrospective comprising six vintages of Crittenden’s Cri De Couer savagnin wines. Coming up, you’ll hear how this project has evolved from an accident into one of the most celebrated wines on the contemporary Australian scene. NB: This interview was recorded following the event late in 2023, right before I took an extended break from the podcast. Keep that in mind when we reference the upcoming pipeline of releases during this interview.