2024 Yarra Yering Crécy Chardonnay | 96 Point Yarra Valley Chardonnay

🏆 96 HALLIDAY | 95 WINE FRONT | YARRA YERING CHARDONNAY AT ITS FINEST

One of the Most Exciting New Chardonnays from Yarra Yering

The Crécy Block – A Study in Chardonnay Clones

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points – The Wine Front

Yarra Valley, Victoria

RRP $77 a bottle

One of the Most Exciting New Chardonnays from Yarra Yering

When Yarra Yering releases a new Chardonnay from a specific block of its historic vineyard, you pay attention.

The 2024 Crécy Chardonnay explores a different expression of this legendary Yarra Valley estate, combining traditional Yarra Yering Chardonnay material with two highly regarded modern clones.

The Crécy block contains seven unique clone and rootstock plantings, and the 2024 wine is a blend of 35% old-vine Yarra Yering clone, 35% clone 548 and 30% clone 95.

The result is outstanding.

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points – The Wine Front

For RRP $77, this is a serious Chardonnay from one of Australia's great estates.

Tasting Notes

Expect a beautifully layered Chardonnay showing:

• Nectarine and white peach
• Preserved lemon
• Lemon zest
• Grapefruit
• Honey and beeswax
• Subtle herbs
• Brine and mineral notes
• Creamy lees complexity
• Fine French oak

The cool 2024 season has given this wine a wonderful citrus and mineral backbone, while full malolactic fermentation adds creaminess and texture.

There's genuine weight through the middle of the palate, but the wine never feels heavy. Pithy citrus, acidity and gentle phenolic grip provide tension, while integrated French oak adds structure and complexity.

It's powerful yet taut, creamy yet mineral, complex yet incredibly precise.

Critical Acclaim

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion 2027
95 Points – Campbell Mattinson, The Wine Front

Yarra Yering's current release information confirms both scores, alongside further recognition for the 2024 Crécy.

Campbell Mattinson's 95-point Wine Front review highlighted nectarine, brine, wax, honeyed cream, herbs and preserved lemon, but particularly praised the wine's control, confidence and ability to age.

This isn't just a Chardonnay for drinking immediately.

It's a Chardonnay worth putting in the cellar.

The Crécy Block – A Study in Chardonnay Clones

This is where the wine becomes particularly fascinating.

Rather than simply replicating Yarra Yering's flagship Chardonnay, Crécy is a study of different Chardonnay clones growing within one block.

The 2024 blend is:

35% Old Vine Yarra Yering Clone
35% Clone 548
30% Clone 95

Across the Crécy block there are seven individual clone/rootstock combinations.

That gives winemaker Sarah Crowe a remarkable palette of Chardonnay material to work with.

The old-vine material connects the wine to Yarra Yering's history, while clones 548 and 95 bring their own expression of fruit, structure and texture.

It makes Crécy far more than simply a second Chardonnay.

It is its own expression of the Yarra Yering vineyard.

Serious Chardonnay Winemaking

The winemaking is every bit as impressive as the vineyard story.

The fruit was:

Hand harvested
Chilled overnight
Whole-bunch pressed
Barrel fermented in French oak
40% new French oak
100% malolactic fermentation

The wine then remained untouched on full yeast lees for 10 months in barrel, followed by another four months in tank on primary lees before bottling.

That extended lees contact builds weight, texture and complexity, while the cool-vintage acidity and citrus character keep everything beautifully focused.

It's an excellent example of modern Australian Chardonnay: texture without heaviness and oak without losing fruit purity.

Yarra Yering Pedigree

Few Australian estates carry the history of Yarra Yering.

The vineyard was established in 1969, and Chardonnay was among its original plantings. Today, winemaker Sarah Crowe continues to explore what this remarkable site can produce.

The 2024 vintage was challenging early, including Yarra Yering's wettest January in more than 55 years, but warm and dry conditions followed through February and March. Slow, patient picking ultimately delivered fruit with concentration, freshness and excellent natural acidity.

Crécy is particularly exciting because it shows that Yarra Yering is still evolving.

More than half a century after the vineyard was established, the estate continues to explore new blocks, clones and expressions of its extraordinary site.

Food Pairings

Perfect with:

• Lobster
• Seared scallops
• Kingfish
• Roast chicken
• Grilled snapper
• Crab pasta
• Mushroom risotto
• Pork belly
• Comté and other aged cheeses

This deserves a good Chardonnay or Burgundy glass and doesn't need to be served too cold.

Cellaring

Here's where I think this wine becomes even more exciting.

The 2024 Crécy is already beautifully balanced, but both the winery and critics see considerable development ahead.

Yarra Yering recommends cellaring for up to eight years under suitable conditions, while The Wine Front specifically notes that the wine is built to age and will benefit from additional bottle time.

Drink now–2033+.

If opening it young, give it some air and don't serve it refrigerator-cold.

Why We Love It

This could become a seriously important Chardonnay in the Yarra Yering range.

You have one of Australia's great estates taking a specific block and exploring the interaction between its traditional old-vine Chardonnay material and modern clones 548 and 95. Then Sarah Crowe gives it serious winemaking treatment: whole-bunch pressing, barrel fermentation, 40% new French oak, full malolactic fermentation and extended lees maturation.

And the critics have responded:

96 Points – Halliday Wine Companion
95 Points – The Wine Front

What I particularly love is the combination of nectarine, preserved lemon, minerality, brine and creamy lees texture. There's richness, but also serious tension and structure.

At RRP $77, the 2024 Yarra Yering Crécy Chardonnay gives you an exciting new expression from one of Australia's most celebrated wineries without moving into the considerably higher price territory of its top Chardonnay releases.

If you love serious Yarra Valley Chardonnay—or premium white Burgundy—this is absolutely one to buy, drink and put a few bottles away in the cellar.

👉 96 Halliday + 95 Wine Front + Yarra Yering. If you love precise, beautifully textured cool-climate Chardonnay, the 2024 Crécy deserves a place in your cellar.