2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay

2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay

95 pts
Garagiste |Mornington Peninsula |Chardonnay
Top value Mornington Peninsula Chardonnay from the legend that is Barney Flanders.
4.5
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
6 Reviews
Price:
$33.00
Stock:
Sold out
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Description

Another fantastic release here of one of Victoria's best-value Chardonnays.

This year’s blend brings together fruit from some of Garagiste’s top vineyards—65% from Balnarring, with smaller portions from Merricks North and Tuerong—where vines averaging 25 years old bring depth and concentration to the fruit.

Pressed as whole bunches and wild fermented in 500-litre puncheons, this Chardonnay is all about texture and finesse. It spent seven months on lees, building a round, supple mouthfeel balanced by a bracing saline streak that keeps everything lifted and refreshing. You’ll find layers of citrus, white flowers, and stone fruits, with just a hint of oak adding subtle structure.

There is never a lot of this wine around and given the value on offer, it's no wonder. Great buying.

95 points
"Year in, year out, this never waivers from offering great value for the quality in the glass. Another excellent chardonnay vintage on the Peninsula with plenty of natural, invigorating acidity... It’s a little spicy, really juicy, with texture on the finer scale. Nothing else to do but chill this down, not too much, and drink with friends."
- Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points
"Complex and quite umami in character. Grapefruit, apple, saline, nutty, Japanese ginger, and a little struck match. It has bright acidity, a certain juiciness in with all that nutty almost sake-like character, creamy almond, fine chalky texture, and a finish of excellent length. Really good Chardonnay, and all things considered, jolly good value. Charismatic, is my last word on this wine. Say no more."
- Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

95 points - "Year in, year out, this never waivers from offering great value for the quality in the glass. Another excellent chardonnay vintage on the Peninsula with plenty of natural, invigorating acidity, which drives this. In the mix: white nectarine, lemon juice, zest and pith with some yellow grapefruit, too. It’s a little spicy, really juicy, with texture on the finer scale. Nothing else to do but chill this down, not too much, and drink with friends." - Jane Faulkner (Halliday Wine Companion)

94 points - "Complex and quite umami in character. Grapefruit, apple, saline, nutty, Japanese ginger, and a little struck match. It has bright acidity, a certain juiciness in with all that nutty almost sake-like character, creamy almond, fine chalky texture, and a finish of excellent length. Really good Chardonnay, and all things considered, jolly good value. Charismatic, is my last word on this wine. Say no more." - Gary Walsh (The Wine Front)

Customer Reviews

4.5
Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars
Based on 6 reviews
Total 5 star reviews: 3 Total 4 star reviews: 3 Total 3 star reviews: 0 Total 2 star reviews: 0 Total 1 star reviews: 0
6 reviews
  • SS
    Simon S.
    Verified Buyer
    5 months ago
    Reviewing
    2024 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Great wine

    One of my favourite Chardonnays, with a beautiful citrus and minerality flavour.

    Was this helpful?
  • AF
    Ayal F.
    Verified Buyer
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    1 year ago
    Wine Knowledge Level Enthusiast
    Reviewing
    2023 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Exceptional!

    Supremely good Mornington Chardy from Barney! Great value 🙌

    Was this helpful?
  • LM
    Lachlan M.
    Verified Buyer
    3 years ago
    Reviewing
    2023 Garagiste Le Stagiaire Chardonnay
    Rated 5 out of 5 stars
    Delicious

    Great lemon/flint drive typical of younger/clean Mornington Chardonnay

    Was this helpful?
Show More

This year’s Stagiaire blend draws on fruit from Balnarring (65%), Merricks North (19%) and Tuerong (16%). The Merricks North parcel is drawn from the latest addition to Garagiste’s bench of great Mornington sites. Planted in 1996, the vines lie in similar brown loamy soils to those at the flagship Merricks Grove site located close by.

Sorted in the vineyard and winery before being pressed as whole bunches to 500-litre puncheons, this wine is wild fermented with no temperature control, followed by seven months on lees to slowly enrich the texture. A couple of barrels went through malolactic, and the nicely integrated new oak component stands at 10%. It’s bursting with youthful freshness and vigour, full of citrus, white flowers and stone fruits with a mouthwatering saline thread slicing through the fleshy texture. It’s a classic Stagiaire that will only get better with time and air.


Price Bracket $31 to $40
Type White
Body Full Bodied
Variety Chardonnay
Country Australia
Region Mornington Peninsula
Australian State VIC
Feature High Score
Reviewed By The Wine Front
Halliday Wine Companion
Critic Score 94
95
Alcohol 13%
Size 750ml
Vintage 2024
Closure Screw Cap

Garagiste Wines

Garagiste is the project of Barnaby Flanders, one of the most respected names in Mornington Peninsula wine. Since launching in 2006, Flanders has focused on making serious, small-batch Pinot Noir and Chardonnay that reflect the distinct sub-regions of the Peninsula.

He started out at Merricks Grove in 2000 and still sources from that vineyard today, alongside parcels from places like Tuerong, Balnarring and Main Ridge. Each site brings something different - whether it’s the sandy soils of the north or the higher, cooler slopes in the south - and Flanders leans into those differences rather than smoothing them out.

His approach is minimal but exacting. Chardonnay is whole-bunch pressed, fermented with wild yeasts, and sees restrained oak. Pinot Noir is all about balance - picked for freshness, made with a light touch, and bottled without excess. The wines are clean, detailed, and built to age, but they’re also approachable from the outset.

Together with winemaker and business partner Cam Marshall, Flanders also makes the Le Stagiaire range - a more accessible price point that offers legitimately some of the best value Pinot Noir & Chardonnay in Australia that still carries the same regional clarity and intent. Across both labels, the focus is sharp: site expression, thoughtful farming, and no shortcuts. Garagiste remains one of the benchmark producers in Mornington. If you want to understand what makes this region special, this is a very good place to start.

Winemaker Barney Flanders Discover Garagiste Wines

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