2022 Cri de Coeur Pinot Noir

Downloadable tasting notes

WinePilot | Ray Jordan | 98 points
​Power, poise, elegance and refinement. A marvellous expression of pinot from Mornington in a very good year. A little more whole bunch and new oak have been brought into the equation to support the power-laden fruit intensity. This is a high-class pinot with a vibrant high-energy palate, effortlessly extending through to a smooth elegant finish. There is real power here delivered with that subtle pinot finesse. This is built to last and at least 15 years in the cellar would be no problem.

WinePilot | Shanteh Wale | 97 points
Matured in 85% new oak for 11 months and a further 18 months in bottle. The final blend has around 45% whole bunch inclusion. When you look at the tech details you might think ‘well that's a fair amount of fuss ie time and labour but when you taste the wine all of it fades away. Because here you'll find a treasure trove of Bing cherries, Mirabelle plums and staining mulberries. There is christmas magic of spices and bergamot skin. Shards of brulee toffee and persimmon. Tannins are sturdy but woven together with finite acidity. You'll be smacking your lips and tongue finding another nuance with each sip. It’s dizzyingly delightful and worth every moment of painstakingly considered preparation, for this is a wine that will stay with you. Drink now and will cellar for another 6 years. I’d be inclined to serve this with pork and black fungi dumplings and black vinegar. It doesn't need a lot, just the right bite. 

Jane Faulkner | 96 points
This is up there as one of the finest Cri de Coeurs to date. It retains a core of cherry fruit, some kirsch, chinotto, blood orange juice and zest. Plus lots of spices and cedar wood flavours – not oaky, though. Fuller bodied, textural tannins with a little hazelnut skin feel to them, then fine acidity freshens the palate in time for another sip.

Campbell Mattinson | 95 points
I like how fragrant this wine is, and how dry, and how spicy, and how well sustained. It’s as good a Pinot Noir as I’ve seen out of Crittenden Estate; actually it’s the best. Strawberry, red cherries, a gun smoke element, a minerally/ferrous note, and a long, impeccably-well-controlled dryness through the finish. Dry herb notes – let’s call them “Italian herbs” – murmur throughout. This is very good.

Winsor Dobbin | 96 points
Attention to detail in both the vineyard and the winery are hallmarks of the Crittenden ranges. The wines are made with regenerative farming practices and minimal intervention in the vines and thoughtfulness from winemaker Rollo Crittenden in the winery. This flagship pinot from the family-owned Mornington Peninsula producer is an absolute standout: full of depth, structure and textural interest, it finishes soft, sexy and smooth on the palate. Classic cherry and berry flavours merge with savoury/undergrowth/deli notes to deliver a complex but disarmingly easy-to-drink wine that will beguile pinotphiles. Super food friendly.

QWine Reviews | 95 points
Svelte. Silky and Lacey, this Cri de Coeur is a divine Mornington Peninsula Pinot Noir from Crittenden. A wine with fabulous agility and grace, yet it comes with well-handled depth and detail. Dark cherries, strawberries, slivers of finely grated dark chocolate, mushroom compost and tea leaves introduce themselves with a scope of grandeur and elegance. Apricot kernel, smoked meats and orange rind work their way nicely into the frame but the shape and attractive bevelled edges have me fixated. Fine-grained tannins are melting and build a captivating moreishness. What a beautiful wine to embrace with the one you love. Drink to eight years.

The Real Review | Huon Hooke | 95 points
Deep-ish red-purple, bright and clear; the bouquet is sweetly cherry varietal, bold and brash, with a generous quota of oak. It has a firm tannin backbone that suggests either food or a stint in the cellar would suit it. A solid pinot noir with a big frame, that would surely reward some extra cellar time. 

Andrew Graham | 95 points
Extra good Mornington Pinot. Sourced from the now 40yo Home Vineyard, 45% whole bunches, and a very surprising 85% (according to the notes) new oak. Twiggy, a little menthol, but more fruit than minty, and indeed, it all leads to a lovely sappy raspberry palate cut with mulberry and then a little smoky stewy cherry. Lots going on. Lots swirling below the surface – a chocolate oak line, a bit of woodsmoke and some late, sappy, sappy tannin. Wonderful, complex, evocative. Bloody good Mornington Pinot. Best drinking: open it now and watch it unfurl over dinner, or hold for a few years (but not too long). 18.7/20, 95/100. 13%, $95. Would I buy it? Oh yes.