Credaro 1000 Crowns Chardonnay 2020

When Margaret River chardonnay sings, it’s an opera. It tells a story about the region, the fruit and the symbiotic relationship they enjoy. The 1000 Crowns 2020 Chardonnay – an excellent wine – relies almost entirely on the quality of the fruit to tell the story. It’s pristine, pure, with real energy. Barrel work is beautifully integrated. I hear you saying, “as it should be,” but it is not always the case. Gentle, lifted florals introduce the wine with citrus blossom, honeysuckle before a display of citrus. Citrus is the star here. On the palate, it’s all lemon, a touch of tart quince, grapefruit pith and lime juice helping keep to a straight line led by brisk acidity. The tastebuds get a workout, the lips smack, the mouth feels the crunch and embraces the flavour. As it should be!

Jeni Port

Wine critic at Winepilot

Jeni Port is one of Australia’s top wine communicators. Based in Melbourne, Jeni created the first wine column in the (then) Sun News-Pictorial before moving over to The Age and becoming that paper’s longest-serving wine writer. Over the years she has written for most Australian wine magazines and these days calls WinePilot home. She is also a Tasting Panel member on the Halliday Wine Companion. She was named Wine Communicator of the Year and Legend of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival in 2014 and in 2018 Legend of the Vine. She is a founding board member of Australian Women In Wine and is the co-deputy chair of Australia’s Wine List of the Year Awards and China’s Wine List of the Year Awards.

Wine writer and critic