Crittenden's Eccentric Savagnins

Renowned Wine Writer, Huon Hooke shared his thoughts about our savagnin wines online at The Real Review. This is a subscription site, so we have shared some of Huon's key insights below.

To read the full article, go to: Crittenden's Eccentric Savagnins.

Down on the Mornington Peninsula, chardonnay and pinot noir reign supreme. But if you’re a winemaker who wants to set himself apart from everyone else, you probably wouldn’t do it with those grapes. If you’re Rollo Crittenden, of Crittenden Estate at Dromana, you’d choose the relatively obscure grape savagnin, native to France’s Jura region. And you’d make two very eccentric wines from it, also inspired by traditional Jura wines.

They are Crittenden Cri de Coeur Sous Voile Savagnin and Crittenden Macvin.

The first is made the same way as the Jura’s most famous wine, Vin Jaune, which reaches its zenith with Château Chalon. It’s aged in ullaged barrels under a film-forming yeast, much the same as in southern Spain where they make fino sherry and Manzanilla, aged under the ‘flor’ yeast. The difference is that sherry is a fortified wine, Vin Jaune is not.

The second wine is a sweet fortified wine also produced from the savagnin grape, a non-vintage wine aged in oak barrels and blended from several vintages. They call it Macvin, the same name it goes by in the Jura.

While the Sous Voile began as co-winemaker Matt Campbell’s baby, the Macvin is Rollo’s. 

It’s great to sip after dinner or chilled as an aperitif. Macvin No 4 is AUD $95. It goes well with various cheeses including blues, and also sweet pastries.

Read more online at The Real Review.