Angus Hughson, Vinous Media, June 2022
2021 Credaro '1000 Crowns' Chardonnay
£165 per 6 bottle case in bond
As you know we taste all wines that we select for our regular drinking offers in order to have the chance to evaluate them and see if the make the cut. We have rather exacting standards, too!
It is fascinating when we then get a chance to retaste after a bit of time in bottle to see how they have evolved – sometimes wines far exceed our expectations with a little time in bottle, sometimes they develop as expected and rarely do they disappoint.
One wine that I recently had the chance to revisit is 2021 Credaro Chardonnay ‘1000 Crowns’ and it still impresses me and strikes me as a keen value. Western Australia can produce really beautiful Chardonnay; soft-textured, ripe with a sense of refinement. Clearly there are some outstanding estates producing headlining Chardonnay and then there are a few notable producers who are little off radar, like this one, Credaro.
Credaro was founded in 1922 by Cesare Credaro, the great grandfather of the current owner, who was originally, as the name may suggest, from northern Italy. Their vineyard holdings are extensive, with over 140 hectares under their ownership, covering seven sites with five key vineyards in Woolston (where the original block of vines was established on some 55 hectares), Carbanup, Wilyabrup, Yallingup and Treeton. Their top wines are marketed under the label ‘1000 Crowns’, so called as that is the price that Cesare paid for the land when he first arrived from Italy.
They only made 640 cases of the 1000 Crowns Chardonnay in 2021, so this is boutique level production by anyone’s standards, and yet the price remains incredibly fair.
So just how has this vintage changed since we first offered it? I would suggest that the smoky touch of oak is not quite so evident, it is more integrated, and the acidity seems better allied to the creamy concentration of fruit. In short, the wine has come together really well and is drinking in its prime.
I am happy with my initial assessment, but I have included Angus Hughson’s note from vinous.com below to provide some extra colour.
2021 Credaro '1000 Crowns' Chardonnay
£165 per 6 bottle case in bond
92 points, Angus Hughson, vinous.com
The youthful 2021 Chardonnay 1000 Crowns shows admirable complexity and plenty of winemaking technique. Vibrant aromas of pineapple and peach skin are wrapped up in sweet vanillin and nougat oak. Bright acidity provides a fresh and vivacious texture to support grapefruit flavours with a slight smoky/flinty edge adding interest before a tangy finish. 2024-2030.
My original note from September 2022:
Pale in hue, the aromas here suggest juicy peach, grapefruit and citrus with a certain smoky, leesy touch. Such a zesty style, with plenty of tension to underscore a beautiful fruit – all fully ripe stonefruits, nectarine, peach and grapefruit. The concentration is certainly not obvious, in fact the wine takes time to open – it is an energetic style with a saline note to the acidity as well as a gently creamy texture, yet the fruit is bold. So harmonious, beautifully poised, there is a sense that there is so much more to come in time, as is borne out by the fact that this 2021 just blossomed with air. Really intrigued to see how this performs in time as it seems to have a tight core of fruit. (SL) Drink : 2022-2032.
Initially, when we first offered this in 2022, it was a wine to buy and hold for a couple of years. Now with a couple of extra years of bottle age, this is a wine to have delivered and start enjoying. The good news is that it is offered here at the same price!
Please let us know of your interest.
All the best,
Simon
