Crittenden Estate is a long-established producer on the Mornington Peninsula, a cool maritime region of Victoria, Australia, renowned for elegant white wines and structured reds. The vineyard is situated on the Peninsula's northern slopes, where sea-influenced breezes and restricted warmth encourage slow ripening of Chardonnay with natural acidity and mineral complexity. 'Cri de Coeur' (French for 'cry of the heart') is the estate's flagship white wine, produced from carefully selected Chardonnay parcels on clay-loam soils. The 2020 vintage in the Mornington Peninsula was marked by a long, cool growing season that preserved acidity and developed subtle fruit complexity. Hand-harvesting and rigorous bunch selection ensure only optimal fruit reaches the winery.

Chardonnay grapes are whole-bunch pressed directly to oak—a significant proportion of new French barrels—where the juice undergoes spontaneous (indigenous) yeast fermentation. This extended cool fermentation in barrel, without temperature control, allows slow development of flavour complexity and subtle malolactic integration. The wine remains in contact with its lees throughout barrel aging for 10–12 months, with periodic stirring (bâtonnage) to enhance textural richness and reduce greenness. No fining agents are used; the wine is carefully racked and settled before bottling unfiltered, preserving natural aromatic compounds and mineral expression.